‘Creating a platform’ for branded content
Film festivals have been spotlighting branded content, to some degree, for years. Since 2016, a sanctioned Brand Storytelling event runs nearby the Sundance Film Festival, creating space for marketers to mix with filmmakers in Park City, Utah.
“Whether that be on the brand side or the Hollywood side, I think it’s a unique room for [marketers and filmmakers]. I don’t think there are a lot of these rooms that exist out there for them to have a singular conversation in,” Brady said.
Given Tribeca Enterprises’ commitment to scaling the X event, more of them can do that in New York this June. Headlining speakers include: Jon Bon Jovi and Jesse Bongiovi, who will discuss their Hampton Water business; Jonny Bauer, CEO of Blackstone-backed agency FundamentalCo, and Jenna Lyons, the agency’s executive creative director; Christy Turlington Burns, who will discuss Every Mother Counts, her nonprofit focused on maternal health.
“Tribeca firmly believes that authentic, high-quality, heart-changing storytelling exists within the world of brands and deserves to be celebrated,” said Jane Rosenthal, cofounder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises, in a statement shared with ADWEEK. “From feature-length films to 30-second commercial spots, Tribeca X encompasses the full range of brand storytelling, a space brimming with creativity, innovation and the best kind of rule-breaking.”
New advertising awards categories
Last year, Tribeca X awarded winners in the Best Feature, Best Short, Best Series, Best Immersive and Best Audio categories. This year, it’s upping that programming to include the Creator/Influencer Collaboration, Movie or Series Trailer, :30 Commercial Spot, :60 Commercial Spot and Video Game categories. Submissions close April 2, and the festival will announce its official selections in May.
“It’s the brand equity of Tribeca, the relationships that Tribeca holds in the Hollywood industry, the relationships that Tribeca holds in the brand community that provide the weight and depth to the conversation that can exist at X, and that will continue to be core to it,” Brady said.
Tribeca X films picked up for distribution include Dear Santa, a U.S. Postal Service documentary picked up by IFC; Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds, a Sony Interactive Entertainment documentary distributed by Disney+; and All the Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Hip Hop and Skateboarding (1987-1997), an Adidas film distributed by Greenwich Entertainment.
The Tribeca X track, as an official Tribeca Festival event, grants full festival benefits to any of the X attendees—a distinction from the Sundance-sanctioned Brand Storytelling event in Park City, which runs separately from Sundance and is not part of the festival’s official programming.
“There was never really a thought to do this separate from the festival,” said Brady. “We don’t see this as anything different than what we’re already doing at Tribeca Festival—curating the best storytelling, providing that storytelling a platform … Do we have aspirations to keep growing the X brand in that conversation across the year? Of course,” Brady added.