So What Does a PMD Do Exactly?
Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure to work for filmmaker/author Jon Reiss. By helping Jon run his business and by continually experimenting with the techniques espoused in his groundbreaking book Think Outside the Box Office, I’ve transitioned from an ordinary struggling filmmaker to a purposeful Artist Entrepreneur / Producer of Marketing and Distribution (PMD). Jon invented this brilliant PMD crew position, so indie films would finally have someone dedicated to handling a variety time consuming but very necessary tasks. A good PMD will help films connect with their core audience and thereby improve their chances for success.
Jon Reiss - Author, Think Outside the Box Office
As I began sharing what I’d learned from Jon with my NYU Grad Film School friends, I realized that I was practicing strategies that most of them didn’t yet fully grasp or know about. That’s when I decided to become a PMD and start helping others fully embrace this new paradigm.
But as I’ve engaged with interested filmmakers from LA to New York, the same question keeps popping up — “What would you do for my film as a PMD?” In order to address this as best as I possibly can, I’ve started a list of PMD Responsibilities, which draws heavily from Think Outside the Box Office, Jon’s article, PMD-for-hire Adam Daniel Mezei’s article and my own careful consideration.
I hope that fellow PMD’s, filmmakers, producers, publicists, distribution executives and others will contribute their thoughts, so this list can evolve and get better. So please let me know what you think!
PMD Responsibilities
- In consultation with producers and director, determine the primary goal of the movie (launch career, make most money, reach largest possible audience, etc.)
- Identify and engage with the film’s core audience
- Develop a marketing and distribution strategy
- Draft a marketing and distribution budget
- Assemble and supervise necessary specialists: distribution consultant, lawyer, webmaster, graphic designer, sales representative, publicist
- Audience outreach to individuals and organizations through social networking (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr) and real world contact
- Social Media Optimization
- Search Engine Optimization
- Author original blog posts, invite contributions from related bloggers, link to related blogs
- Moderate and filter blog comments
- Set up Google Alerts for news related to film
- Attract and share favorable publicity
- Create fun/engaging content and transmedia materials (website, photos, videos, key art, EPK)
- Connect with potential distribution (theatrical, DVD, television, digital) and marketing partners
- Build and manage fan mailing list
- Keep all content consistent with the film’s tone/brand
- Track progress and success of marketing and distribution efforts through web analytics
