Mark Hackman
Chicago Film Office
Chicago Made
The Job.
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The Governor of Illinois installed a very aggressive tax credit for shooting film and TV productions. It’s time that the Chicago Film Office grow beyond a permitting division and become a full-fledged promotional/resource Department. We need to make a strong statement to production companies worldwide that we’re open for business PLUS change the local opinion about us being a bother – constantly causing traffic and parking problems with shoots.
The Considerations.
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On the B2B side, we don’t need celebrity endorsements or “legacy” clout. Let’s get to the point as fast as possible – appeal to the numbers, satisfy industry pain points, act as if we’ve always been there.
On the local end, (not just local but HYPERlocal like, literal street corners that always get filmed), let’s help at least as much as we hurt + make sure they know about the provincial good.
The Idea.
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Blunt listicles.
Ribbons on trees.
The “Chicago Made” campaign included non-fancy ads in Variety and Hollywood Reporter about our sites, our seasons, our infrastructure – the common sense stuff that would get watered down if we paid, say, a hundred grand for Michael Jordan to give an intro. This “get to the point” mindset is the same process that’s gotten us the NFL draft, the Democratic National Convention and the NASCAR Street Race among other acquisitions.
For the locals? I’ve personally managed plenty of DMs ticked off about community notices stapled into trees. I pulled all of them out. We tie ribbons on street poles and trees with parking notices along with community flyers and larger OOH ads about locals getting hired to work movie shoots. I’ve been happy to give laundromats and churches new cork boards for their community posts.
Fix the immediate problem. Get to the point. K.I.S.S.
