An interview with Dave Mechem and Lisa Jean of the faith-based marketing firm, Working Title Agency

by Ken Aguado (@kaguado)

The faith-based film phenomena kicked into second gear this past fall with the successful release of the Christian film War Room. This low budget indie drama follows on the heels of two other recent Christian hits, God’s Not Dead and Heaven Is for Real. The low cost and high profitability of these kinds of films has Hollywood taking notice and trying to figure out how to market to this niche audience. So I thought it would be a good time to chat with two of the specialists at Working Title Agency (WTA), the preeminent faith-based marketing firm whose team members helped launch all three of the above hit films, and many more. I spoke to Lisa Jean and Dave Mechem.

Lisa focuses on domestic and international theatrical marketing, while Dave is mostly focused on the home entertainment marketplace for faith-based films. Both have long track records in this field and both are experts at bringing these specialty films into the marketplace.

Ken Aguado (KA): Lisa and Dave, thanks for talking to me. Let’s dive in. It’s possible some of our readers may just becoming aware of the success of this niche market for Christian-themed films, but they’ve been around for many years. What are some of the other films you’ve worked on?

Dave Mechem (DM): We’ve both worked on a number of studio films but I find a lot of enjoyment in working with independent films with strong faith stories like The Drop Box, Old Fashioned and Beyond the Mask. They gathered strong support from a grass roots movement during a limited theatrical release and then expanded that audience in the home entertainment platform.

KA: You both worked at AFFIRM FILMS, the faith division at Sony, right?

Lisa Jean (LJ): Dave and I helped launch AFFIRM FILMS at Sony and we worked in partnership with a savvy team of marketers on several of the Kendrick Brothers films, such as Fireproof, Courageous, and Facing the Giants. AFFIRM FILMS also marketed Soul Surfer to the faith community. We were fortunate to oversee several smaller films in the faith space, both limited theatrical and direct-to-video, before joining The WTA Group.

KA: That’s an impressive track record. How have things changed for you since joining WTA?

DM: The marketing team at AFFIRM FILMS was a subdivision of Sony’s global marketing department. Transitioning to Working Title Agency meant joining a team that was solely focused on the faith-based marketplace. And now Lisa and I get to work much more closely with filmmakers and producers, and at much earlier stages of the process — often at the script stage.

LJ: Our WTA colleague Kris Fuhr, who came from Sony Provident, led the team on some of the recent notable faith films including War Room and Heaven Is for Real, and we’ve worked together for years so it was an easy transition. Dave and I focused heavily on building a relationship with Pure Flix Entertainment and have seen the successes of God’s Not Dead, Do You Believe, and Woodlawn. We are currently prepping God’s Not Dead 2 with Pure Flix for release on April 1^st, 2016, which coincidentally is National Atheist Day.

KA: Now there’s some marketing irony. Is that what they call “counter-programming”?

LJ: Perhaps there was some divine intervention to landing on that date, but the annual National Atheist Day holiday was not on our radar.

KA: The Passion of the Christ grossed over $600 million, worldwide. Was that the film that started the current trend?

LJ: The Passion of the Christ certainly spawned a movement and Hollywood took notice.

KA: Yes, it’s funny how $600 million in worldwide box office gross will do that.

DM: The Passion opened up the floodgates in a way that no one in Hollywood could ignore.

KA: Now that the market for faith films is in full swing, is there any concern that the marketplace will become over-saturated?

LJ: With the proliferation of faith content through multiple distribution channels, and in response to the increasing demand, it is not surprising that more than a dozen faith films are releasing theatrically this year. The traditional release time frames have been Easter and the fall, but due to the competitive landscape there has been some date experimentation to try to accommodate all of these faith audience targeted films. To that end, there is a strong degree of audience segmentation since not all faith films are targeted to the same faith audience.

KA: Why did it take Hollywood so long to recognize this segment of the marketplace?

DM: There is an element to these films that goes beyond entertainment. It motivates people to take action and share the message, and this is not your typical Hollywood scenario. There is an element of hope that this community wants to share.

KA: It seems that most of the recent hit films have originated outside of Hollywood and the usual sphere of film financing. Can you characterize how these films are getting made?

LJ: The ROI [“return on investment”] on the successful smaller, independent films can be incredibly attractive. A distinguished group of high net-worth Christian investors supported many of these films with the intention to inspire and entertain. For example, we recently partnered with Giving Films to help launch their faith and family film label, and they are committed to donating 100 percent of their film profits to charity.

KA: When does Working Title Agency get involved and how do these project originate?

DM: As I mentioned, we get involved in various stages, depending on the project. A number of the films originate from best selling books or true stories that encourage and inspire, centered around our faith.

KA: Many of the Christian films seem intended for Evangelicals, who make up perhaps 25% of the US population. Is there something special about this segment of the marketplace?

LJ: We market to a variety of faiths and, as with any marketing plan, the content drives the targeting strategy. Not all of the films we handle play to the conservative evangelical base. For example, select Charismatic Christians or Catholics might be inspired by a film about life-after-life, whereas conservative Evangelicals would potentially find it objectionable. Mormons have supported some films with inspirational messaging, but not others, due to inherent theological conflicts. We never underestimate the value of screening the film to the appropriate gatekeepers in order to better understand the target demographic and overall playability.

KA: So potentially there is a vast untapped marketplace out there.

DM: Exactly. There are estimates of over 250 million people in the U.S. that consider themselves Christians, and I think they are looking for entertainment that fits into their value system. After the theatrical release, faith-based movies in the home entertainment industry are some the strongest performing titles across all genres at retail, and it has been that way for the past 10 years.

KA: Do faith-films skew domestically? Or is there an international audience?

LJ: We’ve seen an increasing demand for faith films in foreign markets, and we sometimes engage third parties to distribute our films overseas. I communicate regularly with foreign territories to ensure that they have all of our U.S. resources, however the international distributors are keenly aware of their audience, and they adapt the films for their markets.

KA: So that’s not too different from a traditional foreign roll out.

LJ: We strive to go day and date in English speaking territories and often roll out to Latin America quickly since we have the U.S. Hispanic marketing materials. Other territories require more advanced planning due to translations.

KA: As a producer, one of the things I find most interesting about faith-based films is that they are reviving a genre that Hollywood has really abandoned – the venerable drama. Do you think there’s room for a faith-based comedy in the marketplace?

DM: [Laughs] I think a number of people have found some faith-based titles very amusing…

It seems to be a challenge for our market, but I felt Mom’s Night Out had a lot of humor and it performed well and resonated with audiences. I also felt Believe Me was a thought-provoking film with smart, humorous dialogue, but it couldn’t find a wide enough audience that enjoyed that kind of satire.

KA: Do you think it’s possible for faith-based films to cross over to attract a general audience? Or does it have to come from the other direction? I’m thinking of the 2009 film The Blind Side which, while not intended as a faith-based film, found an audience in that world and went on to huge success.

LJ: People have often cited The Blind Side as the holy grail of filmmaking, and they strive to replicate that success. There seems to be a faith and football film practically every year. Good storytelling with faith messaging can inspire the masses. Agnostic filmgoers who saw Soul Surfer were not discriminating when they viewed Bethany Hamilton as an unbelievably determined athlete who happened to be a Christian. They were moved by her unwavering perseverance that led to incredible triumph despite her real life hardship.

DM: As we see more talented writers, actors, and filmmakers in this space the likelihood of another crossover hit emerges. But the acting, dialogue, and story have to ring true with believers and skeptics alike. Both groups want to grasp something that’s genuine and authentic.

KA: Last question. I know many filmmakers in Hollywood who would love to explore working on faith-based projects. What advice can you give them for breaking into this segment of the entertainment business?

LJ: As with any content in the creative process, it is best to develop, produce, and distribute what you are most authentically driven to imprint on the world. If the message is inspiring and you feel that a larger audience, including the faith community, will be transformed by the experience, then it isn’t a matter of breaking into the faith segment of the entertainment business, it’s about making the best possible film and marketing it well.

DM: Know your audience and be honest in your storytelling.

~

Ken Aguado is a film executive, producer and author. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Pictured: Lisa Jean and Dave Mechem of Working Title Agency, stills from the upcoming God’s Not Dead 2