Inside Move: Clubbing the crix, competish
Lot 47 promo boosts buzz
Club 47, a movie-watching club sponsored by indie shingle Lot 47, recognized quickly that such incentives help build needed buzz.
Club 47 gives its 5,000 members a free sneak peek at upcoming pics and the opportunity to discuss them with one of the company's execs and someone from the production. Contests and parties are in the works, and Lot 47 hopes to have clubs in other cities by year's end. To keep expenses down, all activities -- from registration to reserving seats -- are handled on Lot 47's Web site.
"All we do is book space and show up," says Mark Lipsky, the shingle's exec VP and chief strategy officer.
Club 47 was launched last summer as a way to compete against companies with bigger P&A budgets, and instigated when "The Price of Milk," which had enjoyed good audience reaction, was panned by the New York Times. Lipsky thought that giving the public early access to films could help. "It largely overcomes critics -- at least superficially," explains Lipsky.
Club 47 screenings were first held for "L.I.E.," which enjoyed critical supportbut gained more buzz thanks to the club. "It helped propel it out there so much more quickly, which is so important these days," says Lipsky.
Subsequent screenings have included "Trouble Every Day," and "Scotland, PA." One of the first subscribers to Club 47, Sandi Carroll, runs McBeth's, a Union Square storefront that has been hosting "Scotland, PA"-related activities.
So does all the effort yield concrete B.O.?
It seems so. In its first weekend, "Scotland, PA" netted $43,366 in 15 engagements.
And while it's hard to measure results, Lipsky is happy with the numbers so far.
"For about the price of a half page in the New York Times, we've had nine months of community, brand and enthusiasm building," he says.
