INDUSTRY INSIGHTS: The Difference Between a Fundraising Demo and a Marketing Trailer
Story Consultant Fernanda Rossi answered the following question for our NALIPsters in anticipation of the upcoming program Doing Your Doc to take place in Durham, NC, October 14-16. In addition to the two full day workshops on story structure and trailers, funders and industry professionals will be in attendance for lectures and one-on-one mentorship sessions. All info and registration
Fundraising and marketing trailers are very VERY different. At the dawn of fundraising trailer history, some 10 years ago, people thought that a sample was a cross between a music video and a film preview. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
A fundraising demo has to convince a few people to spend a long time with you and a lot of money on the film, so there better be a story somewhere there. The marketing trailer has to entice a huge number of people to commit a few hours and little to no-money; in that case eye candy goes well with the popcorn.
Therefore a fundraising sample is more like a short without an ending: it has full scenes revealing excerpts of the story to-be and a cliffhanger in the end to imply potential for a longer story. On the other hand, the marketing trailer also known as a film preview is more like a music video: catchy sound bites, flashy montages and graphics. The main goal is to dazzle prospective lay audiences not to reassure investors and funders.
