Title	THE WORLD'S MOST CLAUSTROPHOBIC CINEMA
Brand	GÖTEBORG FILM FESTIVAL
Product/Service	FILM FESTIVAL
Category	G05. Breakthrough on a Budget
Entrant	STENDAHLS ADVERTISING AGENCY Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation	STENDAHLS ADVERTISING AGENCY Gothenburg, SWEDEN
PR	STENDAHLS ADVERTISING AGENCY Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Production	FANNY & ALEXANDER Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production 2	STUDIO MINT Gothenburg, SWEDEN

Name	Company	Position
Martin Cedergren	Stendahls	Chief Creative Officer
Andreas Gunberg	Stendahls	Head of Strategy
Jens Flensburg	Stendahls	Client Director
Zeynep Sahin	Stendahls	Art Director
Mats Tellving	Stendahls	Art Director
Sandra Bondesson	Stendahls	Copywriter
Annie Lundgren	Stendahls	PR Manager
Linda Fernell	Stendahls	PR Strategist
Gustav Öhman Spjuth	Fanny & Alexander	Film Director
Alexander Gibbons Barth	Fanny & Alexander	Film Director
Sofia Englundh	Fanny & Alexander	Production Manager
Sebastian Danneborn	Freelance	DOP
Robin Johansson	Freelance	Editor
Jonas Wikstrand	Freelance	Composer
Sebastian Guest	Terrassen	Digital Artist
Gabrielle Wikhede	Ljudbang	Sound Designer
Emelie Nilsson	Media Monks	Digital Artist

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Göteborg Film Festival decided to offer something Netflix don’t. Introducing: The World’s Most Claustrophobic Cinema. The highlight of the festival was Nobel Prize winner Harry Martinson’s end-of-the-world movie, Aniara. Like the film’s characters, we wanted the audience to feel claustrophobic in deep space. The comfy theatre seats were replaced with 8 coffins. Each coffin was constantly monitored and equipped with a panic button.

background

Streaming apps, tablets and mobile phones have replaced the big screen experience. People are staying home, and cinemas are struggling to survive. In the age of Netflix, the Film Festival needs to turn movie-streamers into moviegoers. The brief was to come up with a creative and sensational idea strong enough to break through the international media noise while offering something unique that cannot be experienced either at home or at other festivals. The objective was to attract international attention that positions the festival in an innovative and creative context and by that get more visitors to the festival.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Göteborg Film Festival decided to offer something Netflix don’t. Introducing: The World’s Most Claustrophobic Cinema. The highlight of the festival was Nobel Prize winner Harry Martinson’s end-of-the-world movie, Aniara. Like the film’s characters, we wanted the audience to feel claustrophobic in deep space. The comfy theatre seats were replaced with 8 coffins. Each coffin was constantly monitored and equipped with a panic button.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The film industry is facing a major shift as streaming services like Netflix and HBO have become a major threat to cinemas. Therefore, it was important to create something that Netflix can’t offer – something really unique. Something that requires extreme courage. That makes you shake with fear and feel sick to the stomach with anxiety. A love it or hate it experience. This wasn’t just a rash, foolhardy gimmick: instead, it was a strategy for survival against the giant streaming services. The usual media target audience for film and culture was obviously important, but the strategy was to reach a brand-new audience: not just the usual festival goers, but also those difficult to win over – the “Netflix addicts”.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The film trailer for The World’s Most Claustrophobic Cinema was published on YouTube four weeks before the Film Festival opened. The International buzz came quickly and become a viral hit that kept on going. The Main assets: a film trailer, dramatized images, a press release. Media Budget: 0 €. To get an extra hype we had limited ticket sales, where people had to sign up early and challenge others to attend and creating an exclusive feeling. You registered for tickets on a unique website, where 28 screenings were exclusively dropped. The limited screenings were also available to select media, leading to even more buzz live from the event.

List the results (30% of vote)

This became a global news event with over 500 shared articles and great engagement on social media. The initiative got an over 1.2 billion reach and a media value of over $13,533,532 and an all-time high number of festival visitors, the best result in 42 years. Articles were published from The Times, CNET, People Magazine, AV News, as well as reports and articles in major Swedish media outlets. The event got through to the Hollywood entertainment sector media such as Hollywood Reporter and Perez Hilton X. New target groups that had never before visited the festival began discussing the campaign and planning their upcoming visits on global digital forums and social channels such as Reddit. Media mentions for Gothenburg Film Festival increased with 30%. The event was globally one of the most trending festival events on one of the world’s largest trend sites (Trendhunter) and featured on Google News.