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More marketers and filmmakers are joining the ranks of film industry attendees as the 41st annual Sundance Film Festival kicks off this weekend in Park City, Utah. The festival, which will run from January 23 to February 2, has typically played host to advertisers such as Adobe, Acura and Shutterstock, which set up homes on the high street with experiential marketing and programming to appeal to attendees.
While that’s still the case – the festival has countless returning sponsors as well as new ones like Casamigos and Singles – more marketers are looking to the festival not just as a potential experiential marketing proposition, but as an event that can help shape their marketing efforts for the year ahead. Anecdotally, marketing executives, advertising agency executives, and talent agency executives noted that there was more interest in attending the conference than in previous years.
There are several reasons. The Brand Storytelling Conference, which takes place in Park City from January 22-25, has brought more marketers to the area. It’s not just a matter of right time, right place. With more creators participating in the festival, it’s a place where marketers meet potential creators and foster working relationships, Executors noted. This interest in Sundance also comes as marketers have a renewed interest in brand marketing after years of focusing on performance over brand. One example of this: Investing in Brand studies continue apace How marketers are trying to create entertainment that people want, rather than just advertising. With that being the case, the festival is likely to help marketers network with potential talent, look for funding opportunities for their brands to get into the mix with new creatives and also seek inspiration.
“We’re really talking about what’s the future of this intersection of brand, entertainment and creator content,” said Ziad Ahmed, head of next gen at Talent Uta. “If you’re a brand that wants to have a voice in that conversation, these moments that are so integral to storytellers and artists are so essential.” Those conversations are going to happen there, and if you’re not talking to these producers, these creators, how do you know what stories are coming out? “
Festival partners such as Shutterstock, Acura and Adobe recognize this importance. “Successful brand marketing requires creativity and authenticity, and since Sundance brings together the best in the business, it makes sense for marketers to turn to it as a place for creative inspiration,” said Aiden Darné, VP and Global Head of Shutterstock Studio. He added that: “The rise of brand studios is essential to Sundance.”
“Film is at the center of culture,” said Stacy Martinet, vice president of marketing strategy and communications, Adobe. “And now when you think about the different distribution models of filmmaking, the different ways people connect with film financing has created an opportunity for brands to be more involved in the film industry and new ways to work with creators.”
Hundy Liu, Manager, Acura Marketing, noted that “Being surrounded by creative energy from emerging artists also opens up opportunities for partnerships in future projects.”
Marketers attending Sundance recognize that the appeal of brand entertainment isn’t just big blockbuster moments like Barbie or Lego, explained Paul Furia, head of content and creative packaging, Mother Media, but overall “is being able to identify that there is another and is different and is different and is different and is different and is different and is different and is different and is different and is different and is different and A better way to reach your consumer than to rely solely on for advertising. “
Matt Rotondo, head of brand at Sugar23, one of the shops working with brands to create brand studios like Studio Starbucks, is attending Sundance for the first time in years. As the growing brand trend continues, Rotondo noted in an email that “it’s one thing to be content,” as brands have begun to do, but “the most important thing is to get a lot of value from how they use it,” something he hoped would happen. learn more about this week.
As marketers use the festival to connect with film industry talent and creators for potential advertising partnerships or soon-to-be brand studios, expectations from the industry are that the pressure on brands and entertainment will only continue.
“It’s a renaissance for brand marketing,” Martinet said. “Brands that are able to tell a narrative well. This is a new era that will do so. It’s all social, mobile, it’s a departure from the past. It’s exciting and Sundance plays an important role in understanding modern storytelling and what’s important. ”
