SARASOTA, FL – Feb. 19, 2008 – For the third year in a row, the Sarasota Film Festival has tapped atLarge, Inc. as its interactive partner. The 2008 campaign marks the 10-year anniversary of the escalating festival success story. The Festival's prominence and revenue peaked after selecting atLarge, Inc. as its interactive partner back in 2006.
Sarasota Film Festival Executive Director Jody Kielbasa first approached atLarge, Inc. because he believed atLarge, Inc. could turn the festival's online presence around. At the time, their Web site was working against the Festival image instead of promoting the Festival's engaging spirit. As Kielbasa explained, the site "lacked the ability to communicate effectively with our budding audience."
The 2006 atLarge campaign reversed this trend. It pushed online ticket sales up by a staggering 250 percent and forged patron relationships through the My/SFF My Festival portal. The customized portal let patrons create their own portal of movie preferences which could be shared with friends. Once purchases were made through the seamless online box office, a customized festival schedule of all of their movies and events was saved in their My/SFF portal. Over 2,000 patrons subscribed for My/SFF accounts to create their customized festival experience and avoid ticket lines. It was the first customized festival experience of its kind and was lauded a phenomenal success throughout the festival circuit.
In 2007, atLarge, Inc. was chosen once again to deliver another captivating campaign. We continued to refine the My/SFF customized portal making it easier for visitors to search by movie genre, director, actor and title. In addition, we enhanced the My/SFF experience by recommending movies based on a patron’s past purchases and preferences. We also added video and interactive flash elements to push visitor engagement even further. It worked. We increased online sales by over 160 percent -- an impressive feat given our initial 250 percent increase the year prior. Our flash interstitials and videos promoting the special events with stars such as Edward Norton and Steve Buscemi brought event attendance and revenue to an all-time high.
Kielbasa said the decision to partner with atLarge again in 2008 was a given. “We have consistently achieved dramatic results by collaborating with atLarge…results like massive web sale increases and online experiences that are compelling, interesting and user-friendly -- results that have been improved upon each year.” He added that the 2008 campaign reaffirmed his decision as it’s exactly what the 10-year anniversary festival needed. “The 2008 site has spectacular animation and fluidity; and patrons will connect with the festival like never before through the Festival’s commemorative photo galleries and video portals. I could not be more pleased.”
“The Festival has attracted hundreds of leading independent films from around the world as well as the directors and actors behind them such as Robert Altman, William H. Macy and Allison Janney in its 10-year history” said atLarge President Anand Pallegar. “For 2008, we wanted to create a campaign that would honor the Festival’s rich history while embracing what is destined to be the largest, most successful Festival yet. Through captivating design and multimedia integration we’ve captured the magic and the growth of the Sarasota Film Festival.”
