“Fried Green Tomatoes”…”Driving Miss Daisy”…”The Trip to Bountiful”…”Cinema Paradiso”…remember these films? They are the kind that linger—like a good book, storied memory, or evocative dream. If you enjoyed even one of these movies, you may be surprised to learn that generally speaking, films focusing on older women don’t do as well as those that focus on older men (according to a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal). Though I have to admit, that isn’t exactly a news flash.
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When the new film, “Bonneville,” about three older women who take a poignant road trip together, failed to attract theatrical distribution from a major studio for this reason, its producer and subsequent distributor SenArt Films decided to get creative by tapping the power of partnerships to generate word-of-mouth buzz and by going where their target market naturally is. This kind of old-fashioned, yet innovative marketing deserves, if not a round of applause, at least a sideways glance.
Rather than spend a fortune on paid advertising (television, billboards etc.), producer Robert May and film distributor expert Jeff Lipsky, screened the film for 5,000 people at Florida-based senior centers, followed by Q&A sessions with the screenwriter. In addition, they formed partnerships with three powerhouse organizations that cater to the 50+ crowd: Princess Cruises, American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Red Hat Society (RHS).
While each marketing partnership yielded positive chatter leading up to “Bonneville’s” premier, the Red Hat Society led the pack, by screening the film for several thousand of its members. Reaching older women via RHS is a shrewd move on the part of May and Lipsky, as many of the film’s themes will surely resonate with an organization whose members are not afraid to redefine traditional notions of aging.
SenArt Film’s strategy seems to be paying off. According to IFilm, of eight limited specialty releases, “Bonneville” appears to be the most successful.
Amanda Sobanet