A Short Movie Contest, With Intel Inside

Intel’s brand is baked into a new AtomFilms.com indie movie contest, in a marketing effort that’s a hybrid of sponsorship and “branded entertainment” models.

The short movie challenge, dubbed the Intel Indies Film Contest, calls on video and animation directors to create live action or animated shorts on a specific theme and awards $45,000 in cash and home electronics equipment to winning entrants.

Films must incorporate the theme of “magic wand” and use an Intel processor as part of their production process. A panel of judges includes Intel staff along with Tinseltown directors and film experts.

The contest will be promoted through keyword advertising on search engines, ad placements on AtomFilms.com, promotion in AtomFilms’ newsletter, and PR efforts with sites that target film-makers.

Besides raising Intel’s profile among participants in the contest, the company plans to use video submissions in its own multi-channel marketing efforts.

“Intel is looking at this as an opportunity to have content they can showcase in a number of different marketing channels as well,” said Scott Roesch, VP and general manager of AtomFilms. “Some of the details on what that may be is something we’re… holding back until later in the program.”

AtomFilms has conducted what it calls “branded entertainment” efforts of a similar nature in the past. Marketing partners have included Mountain Dew, Lucasfilm, Sony, Honda and HP.

Of these, both HP and Sony used material submitted to sponsored contests in their own marketing efforts. Back in 2002, Sony sponsored the “Make Your Mark” promotion whereby anybody could pitch a film idea, and possibly receive the film equipment with which to create it. Later, it showcased the resulting films at a big event at the South by Southwest film festival, and eventually integrated that material with a print campaign.