Strand develops sales online
INDIE FILM GUIDE: Veteran marketer faces increased competition, weak rental business
By Cindy Spielvogel -- Video Business, 7/28/2008
JULY 28 | INDIE FILM GUIDE: Like other segments of the industry, the gay and lesbian genre has been facing a difficult climate at rental. With 19 years behind it, Strand Releasing has been in the gay and lesbian film business longer than virtually any company. But recently, according to co-president Jon Gerrans, the company has seen “steady declines in sales on gay and lesbian titles.”
Although Gerrans agrees that the increased use of gay characters in mainstream TV and movies has made the genre more acceptable, it hasn’t necessarily helped his business because of the difficulty in getting independent titles into stores. “The genre is more acceptable, but the consumer has to have the ability to get the titles,” he says.
The declines Strand has experienced have been largely on the bricks-and-mortar rental side of the business. “We’re not seeing the numbers we used to see. They’re cutting back at rental,” Gerrans says. “We’re still working hard on rental, but now we’re spending a lot of time on the online business.”
In fact, since Strand was founded, its distribution has gone through a huge change. “The lion’s share of the business is online,” he says.
The general state of the industry isn’t the only reason for the downturn in Strand’s gay and lesbian business. The genre has attracted more competition, which has had an impact on Strand. Once standing almost alone in the genre, the supplier has seen more companies pick up gay and lesbian titles. “Five or 10 years ago, there weren’t as many titles or distributors,” Gerrans says.
The influx has resulted in a lot more choices in the marketplace. Although that isn’t bad for retailers or consumers, it makes it necessary for suppliers to work harder.
“We are trying to find the best films we can find,” Gerrans says. As his company is well-known in the gay and lesbian as well as the independent and foreign film worlds, Strand is made aware of available acquisitions, he says.
Consequently, Strand is about to release two high-caliber gay films. Jacques Nolot directs and stars in Before I Forget, a French tale of a gay gigolo who battles his inner demons on a search for self-discovery. The film arrives on DVD Sept. 2 (prebook Aug. 7; $27.99).
The second film is Saturn in Opposition, an Italian film in which a group of friends come together after one of the people in their circle falls ill. It has a DVD street date of Sept. 23 (prebook Aug. 28; $27.99).
Strand has a library of about 300 titles and plans to continue to release about 20 to 25 films per year, with about 15 getting a theatrical release and the rest going directly to DVD.
Although only about half the company’s titles are in the gay and lesbian genre, the genre is easier to market than non-gay titles, Gerrans says. “They’re safer than a non-gay title without a marketing hook,” he says. “We know how to market gay and lesbian titles, how to get to a certain percentage of sales.”
Strand does so by “getting involved as early as possible—gay and lesbian film festivals are very important to get a film exposed to the audience,” he says. “Through that, the film gets an online presence, and we work to augment that.” More traditional media follows.
Marketing the film on DVD is “a little trickier than it used to be,” Gerrans says. Strand tries to employ some of the same methods it uses during the theatrical campaign, such as online marketing, grassroots efforts and working with like-minded sponsors.