Help promote Serenity - part 1!

POSTED BY: WhoIsRiver
UPDATED: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 19:25
VIEWED: 5417
PAGE 2 of 2

PREV PAGE 1 2

WHOISRIVER

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 11:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Rielpryn:
Quote:
Originally posted by WhoIsRiver:
It's worth noting the sidewalk/pavement outside of a cinema is public property, so you can legally stand out side it can give people leaflets.

No they're not. We tell folks to shove off at my theater, if they don't leave police are called. Ask first before you stand outside and possibly bother the customers, many theater managers will let you as long as its nothing obscene.

Gabriel Pryn
"I reject your reality and substitute my own."
Browncoats of Memphis: http://firefly.meetup.com/53/

Well, you shouldn't be telling people to 'shove off' as the side walk is actually NOT the cinema's property (unless they explicitly own that land - which usually isn't the case). Many companies THINK they can do this, where in reality they have no legal right to threaten anybody outside of their area. In actual fact, they can get themselves into a legally dodgy area by doing so. So good luck with that.

You can call the police and they can make people move along if they consider them to be causing a disturbance - handing out leaflets does not qualify for this.

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 3:28 PM

WhoIsRiver,

Great to see some enthusiasm for promoting the BDM! Thanks for taking the initiative to get the ball rolling.

Let me point you to two shiny sites run by two marvelous Browncoats:

http://the11thhour.home.att.net/

http://www.prettycunning.com/

Both of these sites have some great artwork on posters, fliers & bumperstickers to generate interest. We used them at Dragon Con in Atlanta back in September and I know other Browncoats have used them at numerous Cons around the country (dare I say, WORLD) to great effect.

As to the question of legality and property lines, etc, we Browncoats are a loyal lot, but we are a peaceful lot first and foremost. No sense in causing trouble or making anyone all uncomfortable, so I would suggest that before hanging anything up or standing near a business to hand out fliers that we ask the management if it is okay. It only takes a minute or two, but it keeps everything nice and peaceful like.

I think the idea of hanging up fliers is great and very effective. The suggestions to hang them in comic and game shops will make them visible to the demographic 'Versal is looking for and will generate a buzz for those not familiar w/ the show. Keep in mind the Firefly/Serenity comic miniseries is coming out in July. The comics can be used to generate interest as well, and if fliers are already up in local comic shops it could only add to the sale of the comics.

Cons are a great opportunity to really get others interested in the show. Even if you can't swing a table at a Con there are always tables around that allow people to put out fliers for whatever they are promoting. Print of some fliers and set them on those tables. You can talk to people around the Con and give them a flier if they are interested.

If you are lucky enough to operate a table at a Con, set out fliers, bumperstickers, post cards, whatever hand out you can come up with to get the word out. You can draw people in with posters on the wall or front of the table. Banners work well too. Another draw is a television playing the DVD set for people to check out. Be ready to answer questions, and again let your enthusiasm for the series and movie show when you are talking to people. Costumes will draw people in too. It worked well for us at Dragon Con.

Book stores may be another possibility for fliers and posters. Some bookstores have bulletin boards for book signings and the like where (if we ask permission) we may be able to hang fliers about the series on DVD and the BDM. Keep in mind that the novelization for the BDM is due out in September sometime so use that to pitch the idea of hanging fliers in a store. If a bookseller thinks they may get additional sales by the flier going up they will be more open to the idea.

I have posted fliers on my office bulletin board and have them hanging in my office as well. This has actually sparked interest here and gotten me more than a few converts. I also have people from other companies and around the country that visit our office, allowing me to reach even more people w/ the addiction that is Firefly/Serenity.

I would suggest carrying around some of the smaller fliers with you whenever you can. I have handed them out at bookstores when I see people browsing the sci fi section. I strike up a conversation and work Firefly in. If they are open I tell them about the BDM and hand them a flier w/ the fan site addresses on it to check out. If they start looking they may become new Browncoats. I also use this technique at places that sell or rent videos. If they are in the sci fi or western sections I pitch Firefly.

When I tell people about the DVD set, I tell them to check it out for themselves on Amazon.com. There they can read the reviews, see how it is still selling, and check links to learn more.

I am never pushy, just enthusiastic about the show. You all know the old saying that enthusiasm is contagious, and it works when selling Firefly and the BDM. That is just what all of us are doing, selling p

CHRISTHECYNIC

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 3:51 PM

I'll do what I can, but the population of my entire state is less than that of some cities.

I'll be going on a road trip when my friends graduate from high school (they are young ones) maybe I can get my contacts in New York, Boston, and Miami to help, but I shall not hold out hope.

SLAYERFEST

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 4:09 PM

I am assuming you are UK based as many of the proposed ideas in your message are already being doe very successfully in th USA. We should remember that there are subtle differences between US and UK laws when discussing the legality of any action and not assume that we all have the same system.

We are just entering the big convention season in the UK and maybe some folks would like to set up fan tables at events such as Memorabilia in Birmingham or Collectormania in Milton Keynes, or see if you can pay for a table at other conventions.

I will soon be making badges available promoting Summer's official website and Serenity itself. keep an eye out at Starfury: Serenity. I will also have a delivery before too long of the official Serenity badges as distributed at Wondercon to give out to fans too! I will be carrying these with me instead of flyers.

I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION THAT UK FANS SHOULD ENSURE THAT FLYERS HAVE THE CORRECT DATE FOR THE UK RELEASE AS THE FLYERS AVAILABLE ONLINE TEND TO CARRY THE US RELEASE DATE TOO!

Also worth considering that people may be inclined to accept a colourful, well-designed business card with details of the movie or websites etc. They are easier to put in your pocket and will turn up when the person gets home and empties their pockets. Plus they are cheap to print up on home computers!

Andy@summerglau.co.uk

WHOISRIVER

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 4:15 PM

Yup, UK based. Note that I'm only talking UK laws here - I'm not clued up enough on US law to say about that.

Also, just to be clear, I'm not saying we should be breaking the law, or anything like that - I'm just trying to make it clear that handing out flyers on a public street isn't illegal in the UK, unless a company actually owns the street (which is very unlikely).

An important point: although it's great people are targetting conferences and such, the real numbers of ticket sales are outside of this : Joe Public. We *NEED* to start targetting them, too. Leaflet drops are the best idea I can think of so far.

ZEEK

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 4:15 PM

One thing I'm going to be doing is just putting the Serenity icon as my logo on AIM and as my avatar on any sites that let me choose my own.

I hope it will act sort of like a teaser. If people see the icon enough, they will be familiar with it when commercials and trailers hit. Hopefully making them go "ooohhhhhh that's what those icons are".

RIELPRYN

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 7:25 PM

Ok, I think I was confused. In my area there's the area in front of the box office, then a parking lot and then the sidewalk and street. Most people come to the area in front of the box office to pass out flyers, which is owned by the theater, because nobody walks around here, and handing stuff out on the sidewalk is likely to get you run over. Mostly we tell the folks handing out flyers by the box office to("politely") go away.

Of course, I'm actually in the box office, so I've been trying to get my hands on a button or something w/ Serenity on it, so when folks ask "what's that movie?" I can explain it.

Did that make sense?

Gabriel Pryn
"I reject your reality and substitute my own."
Browncoats of Memphis: http://firefly.meetup.com/53/

PREV PAGE 1 2