CFTPA wants more marketing money for English films

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) tells the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage studying the country’s feature film industry that movie marketing budgets should be based on the size of the audience being targeted, and not on the film’s production budget. In its September 15 submission to the committee, the CFTPA calls on the government to raise the marketing budgets in English Canada to the same per capita level as is currently available in French Canada. The CFTPA’s submission is a response to the committee’s interim report, which lays out a number of questions for further consideration. An excerpt from the CFTPA’s submission appears below, under specific questions posed by the government committee. Commercially successful filmmakers often spend as much marketing a film as making a film. Canada’s feature film policy suggests that the average marketing budget for a $5 million film should be approximately $500,000. Is this sufficient? CFTPA Recommendation: It is recommended that average marketing budget targets for both English and French-language films be established relative to the size of the population in each linguistic market and the cost of reaching that population. It is recommended that the average marketing budget target for English-language films be increased to achieve the same per capita level as it is currently for French-language films. It is recommended that more emphasis be placed on building audiences in English Canada at the grassroots level. Explanation: We are not convinced that there is any discernible link between the cost of production and the cost of marketing, except in very rare instances. We do believe, however, that there is a direct correlation between the cost of marketing and the size of the public being targeted. As such, it makes little sense that the average marketing budgets for English films is set at the same level as it is for French-language films. The English-speaking population in Canada is almost three times larger than the French-speaking population, and it is spread out over a much larger geographic area. Unlike production where assistance is allocated on a linguistic basis of two-thirds to English films and one-third to French films, the resources in support of distribution are not allocated along linguistic lines. To make headway in English Canada in terms of reaching larger audiences, it is necessary to increase the average marketing budget for English films to the same per capita level as it is currently in French Canada and focus more attention on building audiences at the grassroots level. To what extent is the difference between the levels of success in Canadian French-language and English-language feature films due to differences in marketing budgets? Recommendation: See suggestions made above. Explanation: We would add that the French market is to a certain degree protected from foreign competition by virtue of language. Moreover, it is highly integrated and cross-promoted within all French-language media including television, magazines, feature films and radio. This has directly resulted in the building of a star system that is so important for the growth of the industry. None of this yet exists to any significant degree in English Canada.

CFTPA wants more marketing money for English films

News | 09/27/2005 4:00 am EDT

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