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During the latest edition of PIDS Enghien, a yearly conference taking place near Paris, France, a presentation discussed a relatively overlooked topic: studio marketing. In other words, why and how animation and visual effects studios promote their projects and teams.
Léa Latassa (Marketing Manager, MPC Paris / Mikros Animation), Joelle Cleworth (Director of Marketing & Communication, The Yard), and Romain Bourzeix (CEO, The Seed) shared their secrets.
PIDS Enghien 2024
Why do VFX & animation studio should care about marketing and self-promotion
Studios don’t always try to market themselves: when they already have an established network (connections, long-standing partners), they may not feel the need to actively promote themselves.
However, the situation has evolved due to two trends. In coutntries such as France, studios have gradually sought to enter foreign markets (where they are not yet known). The growth of the industry over the past decade also played a role. More competition means you have to make yourself visible.
In other words, studios can no longer rely solely on their existing network.
Another significant goal of marketing is related to the job market: promoting a studio is a good way to get more people to apply for a position at the company.
It’s worth noting that the studios at this roundtable discussion did not focus much on the general public. While making behind-the-scenes content available online will definitely help the audience to better understand how movies, series and ads are created, it is not the primary goal.
However, it’s important to mention that clients can also drive marketing campaigns aimed at a wide audience. For example, when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was released, Paramount Pictures worked alongside Mikros Animation to showcase the work done by the artists and organized a press junket. This is how, by the way, we interviewed Mikros Animation Paris.
Romain Bourzeix from The Seed also mentioned another possible reason to promote oneself: justifying quotes to clients. Clients tend to consider the cost of human labor as less justified than that of hardware (which is regrettable), and showcasing the equipment used by the studio (workstations, renderfarms, motion control systems, LED screens for virtual production, etc.) will help the client understand that they are not overcharged.
How to market your studio
Of course, marketing has to be efficient. You don’t want to be sharing everything you do. For example, Léa Latassa from MPC explained that part of her job is identifying which projects that are nearing completion and deserve to be promoted. In the animation industry, studios have fewer concurrent projects, so the issue isn’t as relevant.
Next, it’s essential to consider the clients’ constraints. A movie studio hiring MPC to create visual effects may have a very specific marketing plan, including embargo dates and rules on what can be shown.
Finally, the marketing team will define a message for each project.
Content can then be created, such as VFX breakdowns, behind-the-scenes videos, interviews, press articles, or even press events.
At MPC/Mikros Animation, this process is international. Video editing is done in Los Angeles and graphics are created in London.
The process also requires collaborating with the artists, which can be tricky, since not everyone wants to sit in front of a camera.
Another aspect of promotion is the overall tone: MPC maintains a somewhat “serious” tone, whereas Mikros Animation, known for its work on TMNT, Paw Patrol, and SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge on the Run, relies on a more humorous and tongue-in-cheek tone. The communication strategy may also vary depending on the social network and can inlude photos of artists, short vidéos, articles, and more.
What about awards?
Award ceremonies such as the VES Awards, the Academy Aqards, the César (a French award ceremony) or the Genie Awards at PIDS Enghien, are also an excellent opportunity for studios to shine.
The panel emphasized that these awards do require a lot of work, including creating making-of content and explaining the teams’ work.
“No CGI” marketing
What about the marketing of the clients themselves? There is a trend of advertising movies as being essentially CGI-free even though this couldn’t be further from the truth. For example, films starring Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick or the latest Mission: Impossible) often emphasize the absence or minimal use of visual effects for months. Once the embargo is lifter, weeks or months afterwards, it is revealed that these movies include hundreds or thousands of digitally altered shots.
Joelle Cleworth from The Yard confirmed that these marketing techniques can be frustrating for visual effects teams but also indicated that studios have limited control over this issue. When you’re hired to do a job, you have to abide by the client’s rules.
However, she emphasized that dialogue, communication and compromise can sometimes help resolve such situations.
She also pointed out that the opposite can occur as well: as seen above, Paramount Studios decided to put Mikros Animation in the spotlight, and this can happen for VFX studios as well. For example, Netflix showcased VFX teams working on Notre-Dame, La Part du Feu, highlighting how practical effects and CGI were combined.
Gaumont also highlighted visual effects during the release of the film Aline, a French movie inspired by the life of Celine Dion.
Promotion & marketing, the key to success
As you can see, this PIDS Enghien 2024 conference revealed that studio promotion is aimed at multiple objectives and takes various forms. Animation and visual effects studios aim to acquire new clients, attract talented artists, and sometimes engage in public promotion campaigns.
This conference shed light on an often overlooked aspect of studio strategy, yet it is essential for their future.
