“Branding the Bates Film Festival”

By Abel Ramirez (BFF 2019; Bates Class of 2020)

In many ways, planning a local film festival offers valuable insight into many aspects of running a small business, providing festival organizers with the opportunity to delve into whichever business aspects they may prefer. As I am extremely interested in the creative side of business, the work that I focused on while running the second Bates Film Festival was often related to the festival’s branding. Throughout the course of the semester, I helped create a cohesive brand through the festival’s poster, website, merch, social media, and other marketing collateral in order to legitimize the festival by means of a consistent and cohesive brand experience on- and off-line. 

“The students enrolled in the Film Festival Studies course collectively decided on the direction and mission statement of the Bates Film Festival. Following such decisions, I then took on the job of aligning the branding of our festival to said directions/missions. “

Daniel Dayan

In “Looking for Sundance. The Social Construction of a Film Festival,” Daniel Dayan explores the ways in which a film festival is constructed, specifically focusing on Sundance Institute’s Sundance Film Festival. Dayan asserts that “like all events that are not spoken for by the rules that define everyday life, festivals need constant captioning. Their participants need reassurance as to what goes on. Thus, they keep offering definitions for themselves through what they do, how they dress, and — endlessly — through what they say” (48). In that, Dayan states that a festival’s branding is what defines it. As Dayan described in the context of Sundance, the Bates Film Festival also offers a definition for itself through its branding. Notably, the students enrolled in the Film Festival Studies course collectively decided on the direction and mission statement of the Bates Film Festival. Following such decisions, I then took on the job of aligning the branding of our festival to said directions/missions. 

Dayan affirms that a festival “acquires a collective dimension through a number of features that serve as providers of unity catalysts for community, propositions for a shared experience” (49). The last among these features is “the local dimension of the event, the sense of a common space provided [in Dayan’s analysis] by Park City” (49) and provided by Bates College within the context of the Bates Film Festival. Furthermore, a vital part of the Bates Film Festival’s mission revolves around community: “We work for equity and justice by welcoming a variety of viewpoints, seeking out partnerships with local communities, recognizing structural inequalities, and advocating for individuals from diverse backgrounds.” Such work, however, takes place within the space provided by Bates. Thus, when selecting the poster for this year’s iteration of the festival, I pushed for the design which adapted an iconic part of Bates College (Hathorn Hall) into a vintage film projector. Through this, I hoped that the Bates Film Festival would demonstrate its ability to transcend its local dimension. In turn, transforming into an event that can stand by itself, while simultaneously complementing its locality as opposed to viewing it “as an afterthought [which] seems to have been added as a last-minute adornment,” given the festival’s “modular construction” (Dayan 49). Thankfully, said poster design was selected, providing a foundation upon which the rest of the festival’s designs could be centered. From that point on, the poster design was utilized in the creation of the website, merchandise, and other marketing collateral I created such as the napkin-dispenser advertisements in Commons and the television advertisements displayed throughout campus. 

BFF 2019 Official Poster
BFF 2019 Commons Napkin-Dispenser

As I previously mentioned, the way in which a film festival’s time is spent is mostly by “answering questions about self-definition, identity, and character” (48). Having worked on the branding and design of the website, merch, and other collateral for many hours, I can attest to Dayan’s assertion. Dayan furthers his statement by mentioning that “this definitional activity [should be] on the minds of all involved,” from the festival’s organizers, to those who run social media (48). If all members involved in the planning of the film festival are aware of its definitional goal, then continuity between branding is ensured. However, if not all members are cognizant of the festival’s definitional goal, then its branding may suffer inconsistencies. This may lead to the promulgation of differing messages regarding the festival’s identity. Bearing this perspective in mind, I would have altered the way in which we approached our marketing through social media. 

I hoped that the Bates Film Festival would demonstrate its ability to transcend its local dimension. In turn, transforming into an event that can stand by itself, while simultaneously complementing its locality.”

For the next iteration of the Bates Film Festival, I believe it would be best to create a “Brand Manager” role that focuses on maintaining brand consistency throughout all mediums, particularly social media. Per Matt Plummer, “in the last decade, overall use of social media has skyrocketed. People spend almost 2.5 hours a day on average using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,” thus, justifying a need for close attention given that through such means, the Bates Film Festival can establish its brand within a wider audience (9). In this past festival, our social media lacked a certain cohesion tying it back to our established branding. For example, while there certainly were intentionally crafted Instagram stories and posts promoting specific events within our programming, there were also others that completely strayed away from the festivals branding (e.g., low-light/effort selfies posted as Instagram stories with timestamps promoting events). Unbeknownst to the student poster, I believe that these actions hindered the festival’s branding instead of working towards a unique and consistent identity. 

“For the next iteration of the Bates Film Festival, I believe it would be best to create a “Brand Manager” role that focuses on maintaining brand consistency throughout all mediums, particularly social media.”

Regardless, I am extremely proud of the work and the ultimate result of the second Bates Film Festival. While there is always room for improvement, I believe that great strides were made this year in terms of the festival’s branding. I look forward to seeing how the festival continues to develop its brand. I know that once its identity is fully realized, the festival will receive the recognition that it deserves. 

Works Cited

Dayan, Daniel. “Looking for Sundance. The Social Construction of a Film Festival,” Film Festival Reader, 45-58.

Plummer, Matt. “Building Power Through Social Media.” International Musician, vol. 112, no. 9, Sept. 2014, p. 9.