IFFS The International Film Festival Summit Europe

Funding is unequivocally the most important issue that festivals and management must deal with. How to effectively target, contact, pitch, and retain sponsors and other forms of funding can be a difficult challenge to overcome for even the most seasoned professional. 

Moderator: Bruno Chatelin, Chief Operating Officer, Filmfestivals.com
Francesco di Cesare, Marketing Manager, Venice Film Festival
Andrea Galante, Director, Milano International Film Festival

 What do sponsors want most: ROI…  be sure to ask them and understand
International sponsors with a festival circuit strategy: track these from other festivals
Local sponsors:  maximum brand visibility, sector exclusivity,  product placement, tickets, excitement for the clients, retailers, sales force

Do

- Create privileges,  added service / value for your audience (pro or general) that can be sponsored and look for service providers that will sponsor
- Offer a large variety of partnerships/sponsorships / categories (official media partner, supplier, sponsor of…)
- Create an Industry lounge, business services create and sponsors that can deliver  (example buyers lounge, web café…
- Offer panels for sponsorship
- Be inspired by festival sponsoring documents from your competition a solid document PowerPoint PDF with rates… sponsoring levels
- Trust sponsorship scouting agencies, ad agencies and pay them to do the job (incentive is not enough)
- Brainstorm with your current  sponsors around their promo, your promo: Share with them on advance news and strategy

- Use sponsors to maximize festival awareness from sponsors (POS material, media campaigns) Quick/spiderman
- Create contests around the festival participation  and get affiliated media  to relay it
- Offer them something to remember and that lasts longer than your festival week : share with sponsors  newsletter your website or fest21 blog so that the sponsor website vibrates and buzzes while fest is in action
- Create a sponsor club: create synergies, work on win win situations between your sponsors and yourself
- Be fair & transparent  if you want to keep them fair to sponsors, filmmakers, audience….
- Do not create situations  where professionals feel excluded,
- Be cautious about populating your room with the wrong crowd for the films
- Be organized yet  flexible some privileges can mean a lot to the sponsors