As I advise filmmakers on how to do film marketing I mention the principles of permission marketing. I go on and on about how it's important to not market movies to people that don't want to hear to be marketed to. Using permission marketing is simple: find fans, ask them if you can keep contacting them, and then keep in touch by giving them information of value and not just commercial offerings.

Some may be skeptical of my claims and cite mainstream movie marketing as a reason they shouldn't have to care about permission. Indie filmmakers are qualitatively different than Hollywood. They sell mainstream culture, we sell a sub-culture. By definition sub-cultures are more personal and relevant. They are smaller and more intimate. Hollywood has good reasons to not care about permission marketing that you don't.

Set In Their Ways

Movies have been marketed and sold the way they are now for a long time. Hollywood may be called a small town but it's full of large companies. Studios are huge and most are part of much bigger corporations that aren't naturally nimble. This corporate environment is an impediment to doing anything other than the status quo. They may approve a wild advertising campaign, but they will never get behind the idea of not advertising at all.

Audience Expects Ads

It's become expected that big mainstream movies will advertise. It's almost an indication of quality to much of the audience. Not only the substance of the ads, but how pervasive they are adds to the perception of a film. In certain industries there are marketing expectations that need to be met or else you will have a hard time competing. Big movies are advertised on TV and on billboards and in the newspaper, if you want to be in that game you have to follow suit.

Low Audience Trust

Even if the Hollywood studios decide to supplement their ads with a permission marketing campaign it's not clear that people would participate. People feel cheated by studios all the time when they are tricked into seeing a movie that is nothing like the trailer or the best parts were in the trailer. Bait and switch is a common tactic that big studios use to get people to watch their movie. Without trust permission marketing doesn't work.

They Would Abuse The Asset

With the quarterly profit expectations that corporations have they often cut corners in order to make their numbers and keep the stock price up. With a list of contact info for movie enthusiasts there would be too much pressure to monetize it. The asset of the list would be seen as a possible profit maker instead of the slow burning marketing vehicle it is. So even if one quarter they are able to muster up the courage to start a permission marketing campaign, they could ruin the whole proposition the next quarter when they need to add a couple million to the bottom line. They sell or rent the list or send spam to the list which makes the money, but kills the goose.

As an indie filmmaker you are making movies that can be confused with being in the same class as Hollywood movies, but they aren't. Instead of copying Hollywood marketing, treat your fans with respect by asking for permission to market to them. Show them that courtesy and they will stick with you throughout your career, burn them once and you will be lumped in with the rest of the profiteers.