Our latest MASSIVE audience research study told us that 83% of 16-24s get their latest film news from social media. That is not a surprise, nor is it exclusive to that audience or the topic. But in an industry that once relied so heavily on newspapers and billboards, social media (and the influencers whose lives we share through it) is changing the game for the movies. And we need to change with it.

Our Approach

When we generate ideas and build campaigns at elevenfiftyfive we’ve always had a fairly simple approach, starting with these three questions; Where are the people we are looking for? What are they doing? And how can we make that better?

We have an agenda. We have products to sell, minds to change. But we try to do that by improving what people are doing (in real life or online). For 14 years we’ve been making film experiences better. And, over the past few years, we’ve been fixated on making film conversations better too. Film and cinema is big. However, the surrounding conversation is enormous.

How many times each day do you hear or read,What are you watching? What shall we watch? Have you seen….?

The scale is so vast here because we all know about more than we have seen. How? … because of ‘the conversation’. The conversation that once happened around the office water cooler is now happening on social media, and accessible to everyone.

As marketers we need to be in “the conversation”, sometimes we need to guide “the conversation”, and that is how we (at elevenfiftyfive) think about social media and The Power of Influence. Importantly, it is how we think about influencers. People, channels, collectives or even companies that have the power to influence ‘the conversation’ on social media.

Creating unique campaigns

We turn this approach into campaigns by exploring popular conversation topics that might connect our project with our audience.

Let’s say we’re working on a horror movie. Targeting horror fans is obvious but perhaps this particular horror film also features popular themes such as gothic fashion or 80s nostalgia or food. Focussing on these aspects, alongside more conventional horror themes, could allow us to reach far more people than just those into gory slashers. It reframes the way in which people can and will talk about this film, creating new territory to join or fuel a conversation.

Once we have these topics, we will search for influencers or creators who are fuelling those conversation topics and using social media to do it.

We contact them and tell them about our horror movie and how it features gothic fashion. We then employ or encourage them to create something authentic to what they do and what their audience respond to, but now it’s naturally focused on our film. Like all good things, this approach is simple and highly effective but the devil is in the detail.

Pitching campaign after campaign to a roster of individuals with high follower counts would be easier for sure, but less authentic and perhaps less effective. Our success has come from hard work in research, delivery and reporting. Faaria is one of our research Jedi’s and is often turning personal interest into campaign gold…

“I personally enjoy following a lot of people on social media channels that are making interesting things as I find that inspiring. So a lot of the time (while we are building campaigns) I like to go through my following list to see who seems like they'd personally enjoy the film or brand we are working with and would be inspired to create something from it. Their work needs to be engaging and similar in theme to the topics / vibes we are looking for. I always see it as a really good opportunity for me to connect with people whose work I admire and to foster really positive relationships with them off the back of it.”

It was this fresh, considered and personal approach that led us to our influencer work on Saint Maud, Censor, Pirates and most recently The Feast. These have included a horror-inspired drag look, nail art inspired by the video nasty era, a 90s garage DJ set streamed live on TikTok and a rabbit table-centrepiece, made out of mushrooms, amongst plenty of others.

With our last 3 projects alone, we have placed films in front of more than 200,000 people via our unique, crafted and effective influencer campaigns.

You don’t need to be a film brand to capitalise on this.

Today, consumer brands need to be highly active on social media to stay front of mind and present in the lives of their consumers. But why talk about yourselves when you could talk about the film on everyone’s lips. 92% of the UK population have an interest, film and cinema, providing a perfect route for brands to talk about subjects beyond (but relevant to) themselves.

Watch Lists, for example, are a simple and powerful way to leverage brand ambassadors and fill gaps in content schedules. High level talent & product integrations are an unmissable way to allow your brand to ride on the wave of current releases. Or how about a limited edition item of clothing, designed by an influential creator, inspired by the latest blockbuster, sold and promoted in collaboration by all? Sounds much better than #ad.

If you are interested in using our approach and The Power of Influence to drive your project forward, or if you think Faaria should be following you, we’d love to chat!

David Kapur, elevenfiftyfive co-founder

Want to see more of what we do? or Interested in working with us?