From Marketing to Performing the Market: The Emerging Role of Digital Data in the Independent Film Business

New consumption patterns and the impact of piracy are radically disrupting the independent film business, reducing revenues and increasing competition. However, innovative producers are responding by leveraging digital marketing and distribution technologies to develop new ways of creating awareness and delivering films to audiences. The creation and application of tools for direct audience engagement is changing the way the industry is organised and how market activity is managed. Producers are able to use film trailers as ‘socially distributed points-of-sale’ and extra-filmic content throughout a film’s life to develop interest, capture data and exploit intellectual property rights internationally. This chapter presents a detailed case study of two feature documentaries to provide insight into emergent technological, economic and organisational developments in film marketing practice. We analyse the financing and implementation of campaigns that use spreadable Video-on-Demand tools, social media outreach strategies and data management processes. This research contributes new evidence to demonstrate the evaluative and mediating role of Digital Engagement Metrics in terms of market performativity, the productive shaping of economic transactions.