Outreach for Cause: Discussion on Social Entrepreneurship and Documentary Filmmaking

http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/marketing-communication/stories-of-change

I participated in a thorough and valuable discussion-- Stories of Social Change-- at the Skoll Foundation's discussion platform, about the intersection between social entrepreneurship, systemic change and filmmaking.

Quoting a post on web platforms for documentary distribution/marketing, "from the perspective of a nonprofit, social entrepreneur or activist, there is a distinction between marketing for a film and marketing for a cause. What I've found from consulting primarily on the nonprofit/cause side of the fence is that filmmakers, distributors, marketers, etc., don't always pay enough attention to marketing/outreach on cause. Outreach for film and for cause are related but different-- and should involve different strategies for information dissemination and audience engagement... [and] it's the responsibility of the social entrepreneur/activist to make sure the cause is marketed and awareness-raising is tied to a film (which is true for any distribution vehicle)."

Article about Filmanthropy

http://www.entrepreneur.com/worklife/successstories/article195142.html

I wish the authors had spoken a bit more about investor returns and effective business models (particularly given the publication) beyond the need to limit budgets and conserve resources. But there are still kernels of wisdom here-- particularly for non-filmmakers who are not used to film budgets. Film financing is often a conundrum for non-industry people who are trying to figure out their use of media.

Republished from The Art of Social Change, at ArtTribesNetwork.com