07/04/2022 - Elina Kask is an events producer and in partners relations at Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn

Elina Kask is an events producer and in partners relations at Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn. She talks about her work throughout the year and during the festival and also gives us her take on hybrid events.

Cineuropa: Could you talk about your role in the festival that you work for?
Elina Kask: I am the head of festival partnerships and my job is to find corporate supporters for Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). We have a small department, involving me and a marketing coordinator. Our main goal is to find and create new collaborations as well as maintain existing relationships. 

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

From a practical point of view: how do you organize your projects? How do you find partners?
We have some new partners every year, but basically it is essential for us to maintain partnership relations for many years. We have some partners who have been with us for 10-15 years and it has been possible only because we approach sponsorships as genuine relationships.

New partners are found through mapping successful companies whose value proposition overlaps with PÖFF. It is important that our target groups are similar, which means that an association with the festival will provide companies with incomparable access to valuable audiences. 

We will contact the marketing directors of these companies and introduce the possibilities of our festival. For the next step, we will meet with the potential partner and discuss the possibilities for co-operation, focusing on the partner’s specialty, which will result in an offer according to their interests and goals. 

We customize all of our sponsorship packages to meet the objectives of our sponsors. A wide variety of pricing levels is vital for introducing and growing new sponsors. We also offer festival supporters alternative marketing opportunities besides media channels, through which they can increase the visibility of their company or brand, for both the local and the international target group, in the festival’s marketing channels. We try to figure out all the best visibility options that the festival can offer, and accordingly, develop exclusive opportunities which nobody else can offer.  

Depending on the companies’ products or services, direct marketing activities aimed at the festival’s audience (giveaways on the festival social media platforms, promotion materials in the greeting bags for guests, etc.) can be agreed upon, in addition to printed media, digital media and audio-visual media. 

Which are the activities that you consider the most important ones to be part of a film festival?
The most important as well as the most valued output for making a brand visible at a film festival, is displaying a company’s advertisements and visual identity in cinemas before all the film screenings (exclusively for festival presenters’ category), whether as a video ad or a logo in our trailer. Furthermore, product samplings (distributions of samples before screenings, giveaways in cinema halls etc.) and the exclusive right to use PÖFF logo, title treatment and sponsor descriptors in approved promotional materials – marking the participating brand’s support for film and the festival – play a key role in expanding a brand’s visibility. 

The best that PÖFF offers is reserved for the main sponsors - guaranteed category exclusivity across all programmes year-round, including the festivals and sub-festivals. 

With covid, many festivals have organised hybrid events or streamed films and events on platforms so that they could be seen by an audience abroad. How does Black Nights position itself regarding that topic? Do you think hybrid events will keep on happening?
Going hybrid with 2020’s festival was, for PÖFF and every other festival, a huge challenge. But it was also a splendid opportunity to reach new audiences. For the festival, it was more about reaching undiscovered corners of our home nation of Estonia than abroad. Whereas, when Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event went 100% online, they had more attendees (from more countries) than ever before. Even as restrictions lift and in-person meetings start again, the hybrid is very much something we’re committed to in the long term, especially with industry initiatives like the new Discovery Campus and Creative Gate platforms. The festival’s web cinema will also continue to show great cinema to viewers all around Estonia.

What would you recommend for a small festival to attract the public and retain an audience? 

• Identify & understand your audience - who they are (age, gender, majority residence, education, income) and what their interests are (why do they come to the festival - are they corporate influencers, film industry insiders, red carpet consumers or just culture aficionados)
• Prospects targeted based on audience segmentation
• Creativity is an essential tool - work out some unique activities and messages to engage the audience
• Find sponsors with complimentary offers to the public
• Offer an excellent service

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