The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a premier event that plays a pivotal role in the success of Calgary’s abundant arts and culture industry while supporting Alberta and Canada’s film industry. Proudly the largest film festival in Alberta and among the top festivals in Canada, CIFF provides a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers to present their works to a broader audience of cinephiles of all ages every fall. CIFF typically hosts over 30,000 attendees across 11 days, and was named one of the “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine for the last nine years.
Since 2023, Pedestrian has worked with CIFF to amplify their message, humanize their brand and become more accessible to a broader range of film lovers in the city (and beyond) by utilizing a strong content strategy, high-quality visuals and strategically placed digital ads. From press conferences to artist talks to the red carpet, Pedestrian has interviewed international stars and local experts to showcase the breadth of knowledge, creativity and talent that attendees get to experience at the festival.
In 2024 we supported the CIFF team with the execution and marketing of the 25 Anniversary of the festival. For this particular campaign, it was more important than ever to have a strong strategy in place that allowed us to solidify CIFF’s voice in the industry and tell the story of the festival’s legacy, the people and films that make it so great — across all digital platforms.
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For the 25th Anniversary, Pedestrian was tasked with supporting the team to develop, create and execute a digital ad campaign leading up to and during the festival. This campaign was meant to creatively tell the story of CIFF’s 25-year legacy and impact, while establishing relationships with new key target markets in and around Calgary. This campaign was meant to show, not tell – inspiring audiences and curating organic engagement, while building out marketing funnels to increase conversions and ticket sales across the entire festival. Pedestrian also supported the team with content creation and social media management during the festival. The goal of this content was to be high quality and show off stars of the festival, generate conversations, tell the stories behind the films, and celebrate diversity — engaging CIFF regulars and the industry overall
Our digital team took an organic approach to each campaign to develop multiple ads that were memorable and human-centred, designed to not only connect with the viewer but prompt a sensory response with an engagement or a call to action. We aimed to show and not tell in each ad set so we were able to successfully reach new audiences and inspire them to engage — establishing long-term relationships rather than one-time ticket buyers. Similar to previous years, we also supported the team with on-location coverage, interviewing filmmakers, crews and talent on the red carpet, and shared stories organically across all digital platforms. Through a comprehensive content strategy, we determined how to creatively bring the audience along for the ride by asking questions that provoked ideas, engagement and conversations about the films, festival and the industry as a whole. In both campaigns, it was important to visually showcase that CIFF was more than just an opportunity to watch movies, rather an opportunity for the film community to gather and celebrate their passion, talent and dedication to their craft.
"Fantastic team, a pleasure to work with, and provided us with tangible positive results. A fantastic choice for marketing needs for organizations small and large." - Clinton Halahan, Marketing Manager CIFF
