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The whole thing started on Twitter. I followed the filmmaking blog of one of Europe’s top young filmmakers. His tweet put him in Miami a few years ago, right in my own backyard. Nino was on vacation with his girlfriend after having been at NAB. I did the only thing that you should do, when that happens–I invited them to breakfast. “If you ever need help producing a filmmaking masterclass in the States, I’d be happy to help.”
A few months later I get a PM on twitter: “Are you still up for helping us produce a Filmmaking Masterclass in the US with Philip Bloom?” For those of you who don’t know, Philip is one of the most well-known HDDSLR shooters and instructors around, so there is a big opportunity in working with world-class talent like him.
Marketing is in large part positioning your brand. Being able to work together with a world-class group of people rubs off on your brand. Find the best expert in your field and offer to help them put on an event, a show, a film, an article, a workshop – anything that lets you get your brands name out there.
Long story short, I ended up producing 2 filmmaking masterclass workshops. One in Las Vegas and one in Key West, where I learned a lot from Philip and Nino. On top of that the workshops where a lot of fun to run, I made a little money, but most importantly are the connections I made with the instructors and the students. Philip has asked me to help him with some other workshops since then and my most recent video job is a result of producing those workshops: I got to be director of photography on a documentary film for Netflix.
Some MarketingHacks are totally unplanned – like a tweet that lets you recognize a unique opportunity (MarketingHack #8). Others require months of meticulous planning and tons of hard work – like putting together a world-class event to screen your movie (MarketingHack #11).
Then there are others that fall into your lap: Earlier this year I got an email which started off like this: “PHOTO Digital Video magazine/Portable Storage Buyer’s Guide/Editorial request for February issue (SUBMISSION DEADLINE TODAY!)”
You guys know I love ioSafe drives – I’ve got half a dozen I use (some are fireproof – other’s just waterproof) – you know I take my data integrity seriously. Well the good people at ioSafe sent out that email asking me for help. “Can you write a review about our drives?”
Mind you this is not my first interaction with them. They’ve sponsored workshops of mine, I write about how much I love their product on my blog, and they’ve seen me post a photo working in the jungles of Peru on social media featuring their drives.
Back to the email – Brett from ioSAFE asks me if I could write a product review about my experience with the rugged drives. These little guys are tanks: crush proof to 2,500 pounds, drop proof to 10 feet and waterproof at 30 feet for three days. Think of it as a permanent LifeProof case for your hard drive.
The catch is the article I need to write is due the next day. No problem. Since I’ve written about the drives before I know the specs, I know what I want to say – and they know I love the drives. 30 minutes later the post is written, include the photo and it’s send back to Brett. Hey, I’ll take press where I get to write about my work anytime. I’m happy to help. And Brett’s happy to have a review in to the magazine on time. Another part of the marketing puzzle is complete.
In fact, he’s so happy he sends me one of my favorite drives as a thank you. A welcome and unexpected gesture. Check out the article titled “Cinematographer takes ioSafe Rugged Portable to Extremes“