Retailers: Indie titles need more marketing support

HOME MEDIA EXPO: Call for posters, revenue sharing

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 6/25/2008

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2008 Home Media Expo

JUNE 25 | LAS VEGAS—Rentailers told indie suppliers they need extra help in promoting smaller titles to customers, such as revenue sharing and poster programs.

During a Wednesday Home Media Expo session here, indie rentailers said they appreciate how second-tier product can distinguish them from blockbuster-geared chains. But they asked suppliers to improve their support of these niche titles, which often receive limited to no runs in theaters.

New DVD supplier Summit Home Entertainment was patted on the back for offering Rentrak revenue-sharing terms on its titles starting with one of its first releases, Penelope, on July 15.

Retailers asked BCI, which doesn’t currently offer revenue-sharing through Rentrak, to reconsider, because the program boosts titles’ profile on shelves. By splitting revenue with suppliers, stores can take in more copy depth than they would be able to otherwise.

“If you can’t put in multiple copies of a title, it will be lost to us,” said Katherine Slocum of Iowa’s Video Place. “You need that footprint in your store.”

Another session participant, Arts Alliance America (formerly Hart Sharp Video) has offered revenue-sharing on titles for some time.

The availability of posters for indie product is especially critical, retailers said.

Arts Alliance Eastern U.S. sales director Robert Messa admitted that offering posters for every title can be cost-prohibitive for indie suppliers. But rentailers said that even a relatively small one-sheet can do wonders for validating the movie’s worth to customers.

“The earlier the better on getting the posters,” added Jim Bultema of Arizona’s Hometown Video. “The customers want to know what’s coming into our store.”

At the least, retailers suggested that suppliers list their upcoming releases with box art on Entertainment Merchant Assn. Web site IndieRetailer.com.

Summit executives said they were experimenting with attaching exclusive theatrical trailers to their DVD releases for an added boost to future content. The supplier included a trailer for Dec. 12 theatrical vampire flick Twilight on the July 15 DVD for Penelope.

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