Half a million views across TV and online – I wrote about COW in my last post and, since then, I’ve been pondering: how come it did so well?
When I think about what made this film so successful, I’d say:
– the people who originated, developed and delivered the idea were the very people the film was aimed at. Lesson 1: consult and collaborate with your target audience
– it was a surprising subject which hadn’t had much coverage. Lesson 2: be fresh
– no punches were pulled in portraying the crash, so people who saw the film talked about it afterward. Lesson 3: be memorable
– the producer/director Peter befitted from many years of experience in the social action / public service field and he has strong interpersonal skills. Lesson 4: the key talent counts – that’s you.
– the ‘point’ of the film can be shown and grasped in one hard-hitting 30 second sequence. Lesson 5: build out from the point by adapting press-release and news story writing skills when making a fact-based short like this
– great title: COW. Lesson 6: choose a good title
That’s just half a dozen; if you want to add more, feel free to use the Comments.