Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / The Rock & Kemi Adetiba: Mastering the Art of Movie Sales in Nigeria
Transcript
- 0:01Hello and welcome, my name is Tavishima Aidi.
- 0:04I saw sales and marketing challenges and I'm making
- 0:06today's recording at an undisclosed location in Abuja.
- 0:10What happens to be raining at the moment?
- 0:12So don't be surprised if you hear some interruptions in the
- 0:14background. Now, the goal of this podcast is
- 0:16business education. And if you are impressed by the
- 0:19time you're not listening, please tell your friends and
- 0:21family members in Nigeria and abroad so they can benefit from
- 0:25the questions that we tackle. They can do that by subscribing
- 0:28on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or any player of their choice.
- 0:32And if you would love to connect with me, then please call SMS or
- 0:36WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Today on the podcast, I would
- 0:43like us to look at how to sell Nigerian movies.
- 0:47The reason why is because Kami Editiba has come up with another
- 0:51banger. Whether you like it or not, The
- 0:53thing is certified like banker status because people all over
- 0:59Nigeria and abroad really love the series.
- 1:04It's a series on Netflix To Kill a Monkey and it's gotten a
- 1:10couple of us talking. Well, First off, me and my wife
- 1:12watch it. You know, we, we enjoyed it.
- 1:15I used to be in the creative space.
- 1:16I started off as a wedding photographer.
- 1:18I still currently handle documentaries for NGOs and
- 1:22corporations. And so I still know the people,
- 1:26you know, a couple of people in the field.
- 1:27And so we've been discussing the merits of that series, you know,
- 1:32whether technical merits or how the thing has been sold.
- 1:36So there's been a lot of conversation around how to kill,
- 1:39sorry to kill a monkey. And then the earlier stuff that
- 1:41she has done, like what's it called, King of Boys and all of
- 1:46that. So there's been a lot of talk
- 1:48about that, but the reason why this topic in particular came on
- 1:53my radar is because there are other film producers, you know,
- 1:57up and coming that do really correct stuff, really nice
- 1:59stuff. And one of them has sent me a
- 2:01link a while ago to her stuff. I had a look at it, a look at
- 2:05it, and I thought the thing was really cool.
- 2:08And so I told her, now look, this thing is nice, but you're
- 2:11just sending links out to people.
- 2:13Instead of sending links, why not promote this thing?
- 2:15Ha, a dirty bar came a dirty bar came.
- 2:18A database is the director behind the movie To Kill a
- 2:22Monkey, also King of Boys and then the wedding party with
- 2:27Banky W as the lead actor and then his now wife.
- 2:33But you know, back then they were not I mean they were
- 2:36dating, but it was Loki. So this lady now she responded,
- 2:41that's the the movie director who's, you know, young up and
- 2:44Comer. She was like, oh, Chemi style
- 2:46is, you know, how we are promoting movies is is too
- 2:49expensive. And you know, a conversation
- 2:54followed and it just reminded me about the good old days back
- 2:56when I was in the field in wedding photography.
- 2:59Because there's unfortunately amongst creatives in the
- 3:04creative space, like the level of beef is, is, is too high.
- 3:07And it's too, it's, it's unwarranted.
- 3:12So it's nice to be competitive and I get it.
- 3:16But there's always this thing in the Niger creative space that
- 3:20when somebody makes it, when somebody blows, you know, people
- 3:22are like, you know, she's not even that great.
- 3:25And it's not even that good. And it's because of connection,
- 3:30you know, is this is this is that is that, you know, and all
- 3:33kinds of excuses when the correct attitude should be OK.
- 3:38This person has obviously dumped something successful.
- 3:42What are the systems, What are the processes?
- 3:44What do the person go through? What can I learn from this?
- 3:46So I can use this to, you know, enhance my craft and also to
- 3:50improve my own ministry. So that's the reason why I'm
- 3:53making today's podcast episode because I think in creative
- 3:56circles, we need to let go of some of these issues.
- 4:01So it was not uncommon for a wedding photographer back in the
- 4:04day. I don't call in specific names
- 4:06like, you know, somebody star begins to shine and the person
- 4:09is, you know, beginning to book gigs all over the place.
- 4:11You know, Cano, you see the guy there.
- 4:13Lagos, the guy is there, but I caught the guy is there, you
- 4:17know, as in travelling all over the the place, destination
- 4:20wedding. The guy is there and people
- 4:21like, you know, his his style is not even that.
- 4:25It's not even that good. You know, he's just packaging
- 4:26and he's using to deceive customers.
- 4:31And we need to take a different approach when it comes to those
- 4:34of us who are creatives. In quote, we focus too much on
- 4:38technical production, on writing and direction, movie and story
- 4:42craft, editing, composition skills and all those sorts of
- 4:45things. But we should be.
- 4:47What we don't pay enough attention to is the selling
- 4:49aspect, and I think that is what has made Chemi Aditiba stand
- 4:53out, not just Kimmy Aditya, because apart from Kenny Aditya,
- 4:56I also like to use The Rock, Dwayne Johnson as another
- 5:00example of people who understand that it's not just about making
- 5:04the movie, it is about selling the movie.
- 5:06And that's the reason why these people are successful.
- 5:08And one of the reasons why I like to use The Rock is because
- 5:10people who say The Rock is an actor, he's just a wrestler.
- 5:14The guy can't do anything. The guy is one note, the guy
- 5:17doesn't have skill. But whether I would like it or
- 5:19not, the guy is outselling everybody.
- 5:22The Rock is outselling everybody, no matter how
- 5:24talented they are. So it's not just about making
- 5:26this thing, it's about selling this thing.
- 5:29It's not just about movie craft and stage craft.
- 5:32We also need to learn sales and marketing and promotion craft as
- 5:35well. So that's the focus of today's
- 5:38episode. Forgive me, I'm not putting
- 5:41everything together too eloquently.
- 5:43So to begin with, let's just look at Cameo Daisy by Let's
- 5:47Look at The Rock. Let's see the reason why their
- 5:50movies are successful, whether you agree with how good the
- 5:53movies are or how bad the movies are or how well put together the
- 5:57movies are or how badly put together the movies are, whether
- 6:00the actors are great or whether the actors are rubbish.
- 6:02Let's look into why these movies even sell.
- 6:05Now, first of all, for Cameo, she employs diverse marketing
- 6:09strategies. She's not just the one track
- 6:11person. And that is one thing that I was
- 6:13trying to get this young film producer to see.
- 6:16Now look, every time you do stuff, it's great stuff, but all
- 6:19you're doing is just sharing links amongst your friends and
- 6:21family and quite frankly, that is not how you're going to get
- 6:24your movie to blow. If it is just by sharing links
- 6:27with friends and family members, Nigerian movies or movies that
- 6:32take the international stage would not be anywhere.
- 6:35So you need to go beyond what you're doing, beyond link
- 6:39sharing and you need to start thinking of much more diverse
- 6:41marketing strategies. Now, one thing that Cameo Databa
- 6:44does very well, and by the way, those of you who say Cameo
- 6:46Databa style is too expensive, I will agree with you in a sense
- 6:51because there's some things that she does to promote her movies
- 6:53that cost money. Same thing like The Rock,
- 6:57there's some things that he does to promote his movies that cost
- 7:01money. But let me start with the things
- 7:03that are free. And you will see how even if
- 7:07somebody's success is made because they spent a ton of
- 7:10money promoting their movies, there's a bunch of free stuff
- 7:12that you can see and you can emulate and you can use to
- 7:14promote your own movies as well. So came here database.
- 7:18She's really we good with early teasers and engagements on
- 7:21Instagram, on Twitter and all these things, you know, coming
- 7:24soon. This, this, this that that that,
- 7:26you know, before the movie has dropped, she's already building
- 7:29some suspenseful chemistry. I started the game.
- 7:31This one actually is tweeting. This one actually is what is she
- 7:34tweeting about? What is this whole thing about?
- 7:36Was the same thing with King of Boys, You know, so for me, quite
- 7:39frankly, it was a shock when the movie dropped and I saw that
- 7:41King of boys was a woman. I'm like, OK, because from all
- 7:44the teasing and everything I saw, I thought King of Boys was
- 7:47going to be, how will I put it? Yeah, I knew it was going to be
- 7:52a gangster flick, but I thought it was going to be like, you
- 7:54know, a guy. So there's plenty of teasing,
- 7:57plenty of anticipation. And that is one thing that
- 8:00creators, movie producers in Nigeria don't do.
- 8:02Well, you drop this movie. This movie is beautiful.
- 8:07This movie is wonderful. But The thing is, you didn't do
- 8:09any pre buzz. No pre no teasing campaign, no
- 8:13nothing. So those of you who make movies,
- 8:18please copy can be edited by in that sense be putting out early
- 8:22teasers, you know coming soon These these these engaging with
- 8:25people on Instagram engaging with people on Twitter.
- 8:27Oh, sorry about that. Some some media just left the
- 8:32car horn going now. Wow.
- 8:36Anyway, those are the interesting things about making
- 8:39podcast episodes live. You know, all sorts of things
- 8:42just happened. And then so like I said, I came
- 8:44here later. But she does early teasers and
- 8:45she does early engagement. She's very good with putting out
- 8:48behind the scenes content. So, you know, she's working on
- 8:50the project. You don't know what the title
- 8:52is. You have an idea of who it might
- 8:54be. But then you now see a
- 8:55screenshot of her and somebody else.
- 8:57Like, OK, Cami is now doing something with this guy and
- 9:02you're you're curious and The thing is building.
- 9:05And then she puts out character posters.
- 9:08OK, like I said, she's ready. She really puts out teasers, you
- 9:11know, things like that. You can see she's not waiting
- 9:13until the movie drops before she's trying to sell it.
- 9:17In fact, look at the recent Marvel movies that have been
- 9:19coming out. You know, like Fantastic Four.
- 9:22They have been teasing Fantastic Four scenes.
- 9:25It's like since last year, like half of last year, we've been
- 9:28knowing that, OK, Fantastic Four is in the making.
- 9:31Something is going down. You know, this is Mr. Fantastic,
- 9:34this is Storm, this is this person, this is that person.
- 9:37Oh, Galactus is going to be in the movie air for real.
- 9:40Galactus is coming. Finally.
- 9:42We'll see him on screen. You know, they've been teasing,
- 9:46they've been whining on scene since last year that this thing
- 9:49is coming up. Nigeria movie makers, you all
- 9:52should be doing the same thing too.
- 9:54Then. Camera Database is also very
- 9:56good at direct fan interaction. I mean, she shows up on
- 9:59Instagram, you know, Q&A, you can get to ask her questions.
- 10:02Tell me, I like this movie. I like this one, this one, this
- 10:05one should have done like this. Why did you do like this?
- 10:07Why'd you do like that? She's accessible, she's
- 10:08available, she's talking to people.
- 10:11These things are also building anticipation for her movies or
- 10:14when the movie drops and she's available and she's talking to
- 10:17people. You know, this thing also
- 10:19generates more buzz. And then guess what?
- 10:22Based on conversations that she's having with people now,
- 10:24you don't think is going to inform the movie ideas that you
- 10:28will have in the future. Nigerian movie producers,
- 10:32directors, you guys should be engaging with your people.
- 10:35Between Q&A like Emirate about those live chats, she responds
- 10:39to comments. Does that one cost money?
- 10:47In fact, the common thing is the one that even if that like it's
- 10:51just masterful. Somebody does a review about the
- 10:55movie, she sees it, she will like it, she will comment, she
- 11:01will now, you know, maybe act one of the actors and then
- 11:05she'll now share it on her profile.
- 11:08That is user generated content. She's amplifying user generated
- 11:12content. People are seeing different
- 11:13perspectives. We are beginning to feel the
- 11:15gist, feel the vibe about the movie, the person who created
- 11:19the original thing and she shared your own whatever.
- 11:21I mean, you now, you now start feeling good about yourself,
- 11:26like a simple me, a humble me. I did movie review.
- 11:29The almighty director saw my whatever.
- 11:31I thought my thing was good enough that she even shared on
- 11:34her Instagram handle. Even me, my I'll be proud and
- 11:37I'll start talking on it one-on-one with my people.
- 11:39I did movie review and something, something Chemi saw
- 11:43it, she liked it. She even put it up on her
- 11:45status. Can you see how Chemi's getting
- 11:49organic buzz around her stuff without having to pay?
- 11:53Then she's also very good at leveraging the cast and crew,
- 11:56you know, getting people to promote, you know, promote and
- 12:01talk about the project. And then she uses her own reach,
- 12:03you know, as a big time in quote director, you know, to amplify
- 12:07that reach. Like I said, act the person, put
- 12:10it on her profile, you know, all those sorts of things.
- 12:13So even for somebody that you're definitely broke, there's some
- 12:17creativity that you can put to creating some anticipation
- 12:22before your movie drops. Instead of you make this movie
- 12:25in secret, The thing is out, it's wonderful, but then you
- 12:28just share links between family and friends.
- 12:31That is not how you're going to get your movie to blow.
- 12:33So the expensive part is yes came out about those traditional
- 12:36media and PR. So she's doing media interviews,
- 12:40press screenings, press premieres because people will
- 12:43say yes, she's been out Toronto International Film, first of
- 12:46all, Cannes International Film Festival.
- 12:48Yeah, I understand that one requires major bar because I
- 12:52don't know about the application process or the application fee,
- 12:55but at the very least you must have visa, at the very least you
- 12:57must buy ticket. At the very least, you should
- 12:59have money for hotel, so you know, if you're struggling for
- 13:04school fees or if you're struggling for your daily bread,
- 13:07it's not the kind of thing that you can do.
- 13:09But before we get to that level, before you say what she does is
- 13:12too expensive. I can't promote my movie that
- 13:14way. Can you see that there's a whole
- 13:15bunch of free stuff that she's doing that you are not doing?
- 13:19You are only sending out links to your family members and to
- 13:22your friends saying, please watch my YouTube channel.
- 13:26Please subscribe to my YouTube channel.
- 13:28Please share my video. It is not like that that your
- 13:31movies were to become a blockbuster.
- 13:33It is not so creatives, please when somebody blows, it's not a
- 13:39matter of saying it's too expensive.
- 13:41She's from a rich family. She has the connects.
- 13:44It is this it is that woe is me, I'm from a poor family and so
- 13:47look, that is not the attitude. Some people will say she's not
- 13:51even that good self. This person is a better movie
- 13:53director and like, and so, so you're better than her.
- 13:57So another person is better than her.
- 13:59Are you, are you moving your market?
- 14:00Are you selling your stuff like she's selling it?
- 14:03Making it is one thing. Selling it is another thing
- 14:06altogether. And that's the reason why I also
- 14:08talk about the rock. People who say the rock, the guy
- 14:11know the axe that the guy is flat.
- 14:12The guy is one note, you know, but it doesn't matter.
- 14:16It doesn't matter whatever it is, even when he was in Jumanji,
- 14:20I said the rock in Jumanji. Are you sure this thing can
- 14:22work? But the guy made it work.
- 14:26He sells movies. It's about selling the movie.
- 14:30It's not just about making the movie.
- 14:33Now The Rock self, if you notice, and that's the reason
- 14:35why I look at The Rock and I look at Cameo Databa and I use
- 14:37them as my examples. It's the same thing with The
- 14:39Rock. In fact, The Rock said that
- 14:41social media is his primary marketing hub.
- 14:44Social media already on his phone, the same phone that you
- 14:48have. So for him too, is all about
- 14:50engagement, talking to people, dropping teasers, responding to
- 14:55people's comments once in a while, dropping motivational
- 14:58messages. In fact, he likes to share
- 15:00workout routines that oh, I'm going to be in Shazam.
- 15:05You know, he had been doing this thing since Wendy Shazam.
- 15:07Sorry, not Shazam, Black Adam. I can't remember when Black Adam
- 15:10came out, but I think like the year before or two years before,
- 15:15he already started posting workout workout routines.
- 15:17I'm going to be in Black Adam. I'm now getting in shape and
- 15:20he's now showing us this is how they bench.
- 15:22These are the squats, this is how they do crunch, you know,
- 15:24all these kinds of things. You know, boys be seen boys be
- 15:28getting motivated like ah, correct the rock, ah correct.
- 15:32Black Adam. Is it true Black Adam?
- 15:35Is he going to fight with Shazam?
- 15:37People are already getting motivated and I'm top those of
- 15:40us who are fitness not OK, well, I'm not fitness not anymore.
- 15:43But those of you who are fitness not not you will see.
- 15:45You will see. Let me even copy his routine
- 15:47self. Let me be benching like the rock
- 15:49so I'll be like the rock. You see, he's doing this like 2
- 15:54years before the film has dropped you.
- 15:58You're making the wonderful movie in secret.
- 16:01Dropping it today and then now just sharing link.
- 16:05Subscribe to my channel, watch my video, tell your friends,
- 16:09share it with other people. The Rock also does lots of
- 16:13behind the scenes. Oh we just finished the shoot
- 16:15blah blah blah this is my Co star Something something
- 16:17something we did this incredible stunt blah blah blah.
- 16:20Lookout this movie dropping in summer theaters 2020 whatever
- 16:26behind the scenes. Give me all kinds of reviews.
- 16:31All that is free. Movie directors, actors,
- 16:36producers, Nigerian producers, actors.
- 16:39You can be doing this thing for free.
- 16:40The app is already on your phone.
- 16:42If you don't have idea get ChatGPT, get Google Gemini and
- 16:48just enter a simple prompt. I am a Nigerian movie director.
- 16:51I'm currently working on the script.
- 16:54Script is about this disease dot dot dot dot dot.
- 16:56The movie is supposed to drop in two years.
- 16:58I'm thinking of simple promotional ideas that can be
- 17:02done in the cost effective way on social media.
- 17:06Give me a simple 18 month plan. An 18 month plan that can be,
- 17:14you know, executed to generate some buzz around the movie.
- 17:17You know, of course, give it some more details.
- 17:18Then hit send. It'll come up with something.
- 17:21Some of the things will make sense.
- 17:22The one that makes sense, put it on one side.
- 17:24The one that is crap, Delete. Now.
- 17:28Start trying to execute on those things.
- 17:30If idea is your problem, AI tools are here to make the job
- 17:34easier for you. Anyway.
- 17:37Yes, the Rock also spends money because it is rumoured.
- 17:39I have not you know is gist that I'm hearing so I can't tell you.
- 17:44I know this for a fact, but I hear that he pays the the movie
- 17:48studios pay him. That's minus the money that
- 17:51they're giving him for the film. They give him one M $1 million
- 17:56cash for promotion and that he does promotions, paid promotions
- 18:02as well for the movies. I mean, think about that.
- 18:08You know, some of us Nigerians will look at things from a short
- 18:10sighted perspective. You say is it not another
- 18:12person's film? Why am I promoting another
- 18:15person's film? He he knows what's up.
- 18:18I want to be a leading man. I want to be a superstar
- 18:21blockbuster. Something, something, something
- 18:23in order to do that, people gas to see my face.
- 18:26They need to know me. I need to be in circulation, I
- 18:28need to be around. So yes, he's promoting another
- 18:31person's film. The other person might make more
- 18:34money compared to him, but for him, he's looking at the long
- 18:38picture, the long game. If I'm promoting and everything
- 18:43I appear in is guaranteed to be a hit, then go.
- 18:46They rush me. People will be rushing for me.
- 18:48People be looking for me. That's now.
- 18:51I will not become a big star on the screen and that's why he's
- 18:54getting these roles. Even though people will say the
- 18:57Rock, he's flat, the guy know the ACT, he's one note, there's
- 19:01your Muslim, Muslim, Muslim nothing.
- 19:03That's why he's making it. So please.
- 19:08OK, 20 minutes. Some of what I'm trying to say
- 19:10is, is not just about creating film up and down because we have
- 19:13creative talent in Nigeria. It's not just about creating
- 19:16these things. It's also about selling and
- 19:19promoting this thing. It is called the movie business
- 19:23for a reason. You guys are paying attention to
- 19:25the movie aspect. You're forgetting the business
- 19:29aspect. If you don't do the business
- 19:32aspect, if you don't make money, then after a while your wife
- 19:36will start asking you questions that, look, I love you and I've
- 19:39been supporting you, but you've been doing this thing for 15
- 19:42years now. We're not seeing any new returns
- 19:45and I'm tired of doing all the work.
- 19:48It's too much for me. Can you go and see if you can
- 19:51get your job back at Zenith Bank?
- 19:53It's not that your wife is being a bad wife, it's just that,
- 19:56look, it's the harsh reality. It is movie business.
- 20:00If the money is not coming in through the business side, you
- 20:02know your poor wife is suffering and you know it's too much on
- 20:07our head or the other way around.
- 20:11They say you're like Cameo Databa.
- 20:12You know, you're the you're the one that is doing the movie
- 20:15thing. After a while, your spouse is
- 20:17thinking, look, we've been on this thing for a while now.
- 20:20When are we going to see something tangible?
- 20:24It's not just about creating fine art.
- 20:26We also have to sell this thing. So in my own opinion, too many
- 20:32young bloods in the Nigerian space, creative space.
- 20:35You're paying attention to technical production, you're
- 20:37paying attention to writing and direction, you're paying
- 20:40attention to movie craft, story craft, you know all these sorts
- 20:43of things. But that is not all.
- 20:45There are other things that you should be paying attention to.
- 20:47You should be paying attention to sales, you should be paying
- 20:50attention to promotions, you should be paying attention to
- 20:52merchandising. That is something that came here
- 20:55Dirty Bird did for King of Boys. You know, I heard that she
- 20:58printed some stuff I didn't see sharp.
- 20:59I heard that there was like T-shirts and you know, stuff
- 21:02like that. Merchandising, what people do
- 21:05that very well. Like take Star Wars, it was
- 21:09merchandising. They made, they made shirts,
- 21:12they made face cap, they made toys, they made all kinds of
- 21:15things because it's about making money.
- 21:18It is the money that will support all the other things
- 21:20that you need to do. And in my own opinion, I think
- 21:25this is the reason why in Africa now, if anybody says animation,
- 21:30they would think of South Africa first before Nigeria.
- 21:33I think because S Africans have figured out that, look, it's not
- 21:36just about technical craft, but also have to be able to sell the
- 21:38thing. So Nigerian, South African
- 21:41animators, that's what they're doing.
- 21:42They're trying to improve their craft, but they're also trying
- 21:44to sell the thing. South African animation, you can
- 21:48see it on DSTV, you can see it on other platforms.
- 21:50Nigerian animators, where are you?
- 21:52You will keep creating nice stuff, correct stuff, dope stuff
- 21:56and then just drop it on YouTube, nothing else.
- 21:59That is not how Nigerian animation, Nigerian cinema is
- 22:02going to blow. It's not just by making stuff,
- 22:04dropping on YouTube and then sharing link.
- 22:06Please subscribe to my channel. Please share with your friends
- 22:08and family members, support my channel.
- 22:11It's not like that anyway. 20 minutes.
- 22:14So let me bring it to a close. That's all for today, remember
- 22:17if you would love to connect then please call, send a message
- 22:20or WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Thank you for your time and
- 22:26attention. I'll catch you next time.
- 22:28Same place in your headphones or in your speakers.