Marketing Communication Strategy of National Indie Movies

Abstract

Independent films or more familiarly referred to indie films in general are films produced outside major label or company/production house (PH). Since it is not marketed through a commercial distributor line, indie film practitioners or indie filmmakers must be smart and intuitive in searching for opportunities to promote their work to a wide audience. Although there have been many indie films by Indonesian filmmakers who won numerous awards both nationally, regionally and internationally, but the funding problem often hindered their efforts to market their works, so only a handful of spectators who enjoyed the indie film. This problem was attracted the author to do research on the marketing communication strategy of national indie movies. In this article, the authors use qualitative research methods, precisely descriptive-qualitative research methods. Interview techniques, observation, library study and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) are used to collect all of research data. Data analysis using case study method. The author has conducted interviews and FGDs with two young producers who are also indie practitioners in Indonesia, namely Ifa Isfansyah (Fourcolours Films) and Ismail Basbeth (Hide Project Films). The research results show that indie filmmakers in Indonesia, especially in Yogyakarta, make film festivals (both national and international) as the main marketing medium for their works. In addition to using film festivals as a promotional event, indie filmmakers in Indonesia also use some media/other ways, through social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Path, and Youtube), websites that market alternative films (Layaria, ID Film Center, Kineria, VidSee, Buttonijo, nonton.com) and through press screening.