Amplifying the message with PR

Established in 2016, Birmingham Film Festival is a 10-day international celebration of moviemaking, showcasing independent and professional films from around the world. The annual event attracts thousands of visitors to the free screenings at the iconic Millennium Point, as well as a programme of seminars and workshops bringing together some of the top people in the industry.

The festival is the biggest film and media event in the West Midlands and culminates in a glittering red-carpet awards ceremony.

Birmingham Film Festival relies on corporate sponsorship to enable it to run and so that its wide programme of events can continue to be accessible to as many people as possible. With the impact of the pandemic and rising costs, it was vital for the event to continue to maintain a high profile.

The challenge therefore was to raise awareness of the event and among different audiences with the overall aim of attracting film submissions and securing sponsors, but with a very limited budget.

Birmingham Film Festival is a significant event in celebrating and promoting Birmingham as a creative hub of talent for the film industry.

While the festival has achieved a decent profile since it first started in 2016, there is a challenge in making sure sponsors are secured year after year, so that it remains successful.

As budget was limited, EBY delivered the cost-effective solution of creating engaging content for specific target audiences that could be shared online through the festival’s website and social channels and distributed to target media.

This included analysis of local, regional and national target publications and the creation of a database of media contacts across the sectors of business, film and local news.

The EBY team prepared and issued a series of targeted press releases, written for the specific publications.

Birmingham Film Festival was featured in various news publications, including local news sites and various B2B publications. This authoritative content could be shared across its own web and social channels.

The 2022 festival received over 1000 film submissions and secured eight high profile sponsors which enabled the event to go ahead with a packed itinerary of free screenings, plus workshops with top industry experts, and networking events.

The 200-seat Gala Awards dinner also sold out.