Virginia Film Office
The Brand
Founded in 1980, the Virginia Film Office was started with the goal of bringing revenue into the state of Virginia through the film industry. They work with decision-makers involved in all medians; including films, television, documentaries, and commercials. Focused on increasing the film industries’ presence in Virginia, the Virginia Film Office also works to help stimulate the economy through bringing in new business. They market to potential filmmakers by showing them the advantages Virginia has to offer their production; including a variety of different filming landscapes, numerous historical locations, and unlimited resources. Whatever stage a production is in or whatever they need the film office is there to help.
The Ask
How can the Virginia Film Office position Virginia as a premium filming destination and attract productions to film in the state?
The Method
To achieve film industry growth in Virginia I first had to gain a better understanding of the film office's work and the film industry as a whole. I began by creating three research objectives to answer: what is unique about the Virginia film industry and how does that make it a premium destination, who in the industry are we trying to attract, Where is the industry changing and what is the room for growth? To find these answers I conducted secondary research involving, a brand audit of the film office, a competitive analysis, I looked at the financial incentives and trends of the film markets for each state, deep dive of the film and entertainment industry and looked at filmmakers and the industry trend for them. Along with my secondary research, I developed a survey and conducted over twenty hours of interviews with industry professionals.
Insights
Virginia has a strong film community that is anchored by a film office that is a resource to all.
There is a lack of uniqueness amongst film offices as most states promote their financial and geographical incentives to sell their state.
Young creators are key to the industry and Virginia has a creative and collaborative environment to help the industry grow from within.
Technology has transformed the entertainment industry and changed the way and type of media that is made and consumed.
Entertainment is a diverse, rapidly changing industry. It’s not enough to focus on film but instead, embrace all forms of entertainment.
Organization:
Competition:
Audience:
Culture:
Category:
Organization: Virginia has a strong film community that is anchored by a film office that is a resource to all.
Competition: There is a lack of uniqueness amongst film offices as most states promote their financial and geographical incentives to sell their state.
Audience: Young creators are key to the industry and Virginia has a creative and collaborative environment to help the industry grow from within.
Culture: Technology has transformed the entertainment industry and changed the way and type of media that is made and consumed.
Category: Entertainment is a diverse, rapidly changing industry. It’s not enough to focus on film but instead, embrace all forms of entertainment.
Organization:
The entertainment industry is constantly evolving and the content that’s getting created is being influenced by young creators. By targeting young content creators the Virginia Film Office can build relationships with them and encourage the creators to stay and make content in Virginia.
Opportunity
Reposition the Virginia Film Office to expand its operations and solidify its future
Target Audience
Age: 20-35 years old.
Experience: People who are just starting out in the industry and have little to no experience.
Budget: Productions that spend under $250,000 and are not eligible for tax incentives.
Attitude: They have a passion for storytelling and are interested in telling their story however they can.
Network: They are new to the industry and limited network of people they know.
Education: Took classes in production, storytelling, or other forms of entertainment.
Location: They live in Virginia and more specifically reside in Richmond.
Strategic Recommendations
Strategic Recommendations
Target young content creators
The entertainment industry is constantly evolving and the content that’s getting created is being influenced by young creators. By targeting young content creators the Virginia Film Office can build relationships with them and encourage the creators to stay and make content in Virginia.
Utilize technology
The way and type of entertainment that's being consumed is changing and technology is leading that change. Through the utilization of technology, it will help the Virginia Film Office stand out from its competitors as a technologically advanced state while also attracting creators who want to work with the technology.
Expand into more entertainment
The field of entertainment is vast and one of the most popular forms of entertainment is video games. Due to their storytelling and filming technology, they have gained interest from Hollywood and actors for inspiration and unique stories. Although Hollywood is starting to draw interest to this form of media it is still a relatively untapped market. This offers Virginia the perfect opportunity to fully embrace and work with this form of media and be considered the state to go to when working on anything related to video games.
YouTube
I wanted to utilize the film office's preexisting channels and as most people use YouTube to view content I found an opportunity to take advantage of that by promoting locally created content on the film offices channel. I expanded the film office's YouTube channel to include more playlists that each focus on the different types of content that Virginians are creating. Their channel also includes a playlist containing interviews, tips, advice and behind the scenes from new talent in the entertainment industry that the film office wants to spotlight to show the talent that Virginia has to offer to productions.
VR
To increase awareness for what Virginia has to offer productions and to showcase the state as technology advanced I created VR locations that people can explore. The VR allows users to virtually location scout for their project and experiences the variety of locations Virginia has to offer. The users are also able to not just see the locations but also move around to help them see where they could frame different shots.
In addition to the offerings of virtual tours, I created a press kit for the Virginia Film Office. Included in the press kit, I designed a virtual reality headset and a collection of 360 photos for the film office to send to different studios and content creators showcasing the state.
Website
With expanding into other forms of entertainment, targeting a new audience, and the inclusion of virtual tours the Virginia Film Office needed a place to house and promote this information. I updated their website including their homepage and location page to reflect what Virginia has to offer everyone.
Along with updating their site I also designed a new webpage that is targeted to the young content creators. On this page, it has information about the film industry in Virginia and how young filmmakers can get involved. As well as it allows young filmmakers to submit their work to the film office for advice, or help and the film office even will promote on this page the type of content that is being made and a profile about the person who made it. Finally, emerging filmmakers can find links to helpful information for them including a faq, or internship opportunities.
To promote their expansion into technology and video games I created a webpage that gives the viewer information about the interactive media industry in Virginia. Here it mentions that the film office can help anyone in entertainment and they are more than just film. The page showcases some video games made by locals and has links to well-known companies in Virginia that create interactive media such as video games or VR.
I created a series of Instagram posts promoting the Virginia Film Office's new strategy. Theses posts are designed to talk about the wonders of the state and what it and the film office has to offer productions. These live on social to reach the larget audience and because of the data from my survey, I found that the vast majority of the target audience is very active on Instagram.
I designed a series of social posts to inform people of this new offering on the Virginia Film Offices website.
Virginia has a variety of different landscapes that can meet any productions location needs. To promote this I developed Instagram posts that show wherever landscapes are needed they can be found in Virginia. The intention of this is to educate people about the state's versatility.
By expanding into other forms of entertainment beyond just film, the Virginia Film Office needed to advertise their new abilities. I rebranded them as the Virginia Entertainment Office to promote that they work with all forms of entertainment. I also promoted their new branding on Instagram with posts talking about how they are evolving to be a resource for any content creator.
To increase awareness among young content creators I crafted posts that are targeted specifically towards them and talk about how the film office can help them. These posts are designed to show new creators that Virginia has a lot to offer and the film office is here to help anyone even if they are inexperienced and just starting.
With the introduction of virtual location scouting, I wanted to advertise that the film office now offers this. I designed a series of social posts to inform people of this new offering on the Virginia Film Offices website with the intention of increasing excitement for the state and draw more traffic to the film office's new site.
By expanding into other forms of entertainment beyond just film, the Virginia Film Office needed to advertise their new abilities. I rebranded them as the Virginia Entertainment Office to promote that they work with all forms of entertainment. I also promoted their new branding on Instagram with posts talking about how they are evolving to be a resource for any content creator.
My Role
Brand audit
Target persona
In-depth interviews and research
Brand positioning and strategy
Strategic recommendations and executions
Creative director
Project and brand management oversight