News
Upscale Sponsors Embrace Film Fests
By Robert Marich
Dec. 13, 2011 – Film festivals have a knack for corralling trendy clothiers, financial services, media and luxury brands as corporate sponsors. What draws the marketers is the affluent and urban-skewing audience that attend and also follow film festivals.
Here are some recent tie-ins for these categories:
· In late October, Timberland apparel and footwear touted its fourth straight year as “Official Footwear and Outerwear Sponsor” of the Sundance Film Festival, which is promoted at in-store events. “Women attending the [the in-store events] are encouraged to enter the Timberland Sundance Film Festival ‘Girlfriend Getaway’ Sweepstakes for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip for four to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City,” says a Timberland press release. Timberland issued at least flour related press releases about its fest sponsorships.
· Financial services outfit Esurance sponsors the audience award at the Austin Film Festival; among the winners of that award is “Slumdog Millionaire” with which the insurer has an association through its fest sponsorship. Other financial categories include credit cards and banks.
· The media category – newspapers, TV outlets and online platforms—is another active category. Asian video content online aggregator Mela is a sponsor of the New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine-Fest. Premium pay channel outfit Starz is a sponsor of the Hollywood Film Festival.
· When major studio film “J. Edgar” was announced as a world premiere at the AFI Fest, Audi cars attached itself to the announcement as a festival sponsor. Luxury categories popular with fests are wrist watches and apparel, in addition to automobiles.
· Baume & Mercer unveiled a updated "Hamptons" wrist watch line with a press release headlined “New Hamptons Film” that plays off both the exclusive seaside resort getaway for New Yorkers and the area’s film festival. B&M is a sponsor of the 19th annual Hamptons International Film Festival and an executive of the watchmaker handed out some fest prizes. During this year’s fest, Baume & Mercier hosted “the highly anticipated and star studded Wolffer Estate party…where guests will have the opportunity to view the new Hampton collection inspired by a 1940s museum piece from the Swiss Maison d’Horlogerie’s archives.”
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