CAMPAIGN
INTEGRATED EVENT MARKETING
Love and a .45 Film Screening & Q&A with Director CM Talkington
As Marketing Director for The Aggie Arthouse, I developed and executed integrated promotional campaigns supporting the organization's weekly film screenings, special events, and guest appearances. While creative executions varied from event to event, each campaign followed a strategic multi-channel framework designed to build awareness, sustain audience engagement, and drive attendance through a combination of digital marketing, editorial content, paid media, physical distribution, and community-focused outreach.
This Example highlights the promotional campaign surrounding a screening of Love and a .45 and an accompanying Q&A with writer-director C.M. Talkington. To position the event as both a cultural experience and a unique opportunity for direct engagement with an independent filmmaker, I developed a coordinated campaign spanning social media, paid advertising, long-form editorial content, print media, digital signage, and audience engagement initiatives. Each touchpoint was designed to serve a distinct role within the promotional funnel while reinforcing a consistent campaign narrative centered on the film's cult legacy, Texas roots, and the rarity of the guest appearance.
While this campaign is presented as a single Example, it reflects the broader promotional lifecycle I managed on a weekly basis throughout my tenure with The Aggie Arthouse, adapting creative strategy, messaging, and distribution channels to support a constantly evolving calendar of events.
1
Programming Announcement Carousel
Strategic Objective
As the campaign's first public-facing touchpoint, this carousel was designed to establish awareness for both the Love and a .45 screening and The Aggie Arthouse's broader fall programming slate. Released at the start of the semester during student organization recruitment season, the asset served a dual purpose: generating early interest in upcoming events while increasing visibility for the organization among prospective members and first-time attendees.
Creative Execution & Leadership
I conceived, designed, and published the carousel, developing a multi-slide format that balanced event logistics, film information, and organizational branding. Rather than presenting the screening as a standalone event, I positioned it within a curated lineup of upcoming programming to reinforce The Aggie Arthouse's identity as an active cultural organization and encourage repeat engagement with future events. This approach allowed a single asset to simultaneously support event promotion, audience development, and organizational awareness.
Performance Results & Insights
The carousel generated 4,656 views and reached 884 unique accounts—more than 2.5 times the organization's follower base at the time—demonstrating meaningful audience expansion beyond existing followers. The post also produced 133 interactions, including 42 shares, 82 likes, and 8 saves. Most notably, shares accounted for nearly one-third of all engagements, indicating that viewers found the content valuable enough to distribute within their own networks and extending the campaign's reach through organic advocacy. Performance from this initial awareness-stage asset confirmed audience interest early in the promotional cycle and informed the development of additional campaign materials that expanded on the film's story, production history, and guest speaker rather than relying solely on traditional event advertising.
2
Geo-Targeted Paid Media Campaign
Strategic Objective
While organic content served as the foundation of the campaign, paid media was deployed to extend reach beyond existing followers and maintain visibility throughout the promotional cycle. The objective was twofold: generate awareness among students who were unfamiliar with The Aggie Arthouse and reinforce event recall among those who had already encountered promotional materials through other channels. By structuring the campaign in two distinct advertising flights—an early awareness phase followed by a final reminder phase—I aimed to support both discovery and conversion as the event approached.
Creative Execution & Leadership
I designed, animated, and deployed the advertisement, transforming the event poster into a motion-based asset optimized for Instagram's high-traffic video placements. The creative incorporated event details, collaborator recognition, sponsorship acknowledgements, and a soundtrack featured in the film itself, while utilizing bold neon color treatments to maximize visibility within crowded social feeds. Audience targeting was intentionally narrowed to the Bryan-College Station market, focusing on Texas A&M students and young adults most likely to attend an in-person screening. The campaign was executed on a total budget of $30, distributed across two three-day advertising windows.
Performance Results & Insights
The campaign generated 9,996 views and reached 5,327 unique users, expanding visibility far beyond the organization's organic audience. Despite being optimized primarily for awareness rather than engagement, the advertisement produced 132 interactions, including 32 shares, 90 likes, and 5 saves, while contributing directly to 10 new followers. Particularly encouraging was the share volume, which accounted for nearly one-quarter of total engagements and suggested that viewers viewed the event as relevant enough to actively recommend within their own networks. The results reinforced the effectiveness of motion-based creative and highly targeted audience segmentation, demonstrating how even a modest media investment could substantially amplify campaign reach when supported by strong creative execution and precise geographic targeting.
3
Long-Form Editorial Feature
Strategic Objective
Beyond traditional event promotion, I wanted to create a piece of content that would educate audiences about Love and a .45, establish C.M. Talkington's significance as an independent filmmaker, and position the screening as a unique opportunity rather than simply another weekly event. The editorial was designed to generate deeper audience investment by highlighting the film's Texas origins, cult reputation, and production history while providing context for viewers who may have been unfamiliar with either the film or its director.
Creative Execution & Leadership
I researched and authored a feature-length editorial published through The Aggie Arthouse's Letterboxd platform, combining film criticism, production history, and biographical information into a narrative that connected the film directly to the Texas A&M and broader Texas communities. Rather than focusing exclusively on event logistics, the article emphasized storytelling and cultural context, creating a value-driven piece that could function both as event promotion and as a standalone editorial. The article was subsequently integrated into other campaign touchpoints, allowing the research and narrative developed for one asset to generate value across multiple channels.
Performance Results & Insights
The article generated 13,978 impressions and drove an immediate increase of 53 new Letterboxd followers, demonstrating its effectiveness as both a promotional asset and audience development tool. While the platform's audience extended beyond the campaign's primary geographic market, the editorial succeeded in expanding organizational visibility among highly engaged film enthusiasts and establishing credibility within a community directly aligned with The Aggie Arthouse's mission. Performance also reinforced the value of educational and story-driven content within the broader campaign. Audience engagement indicated that interest in the film's history, production background, and director provided a compelling complement to traditional event advertising, informing future content decisions throughout the promotional cycle.
4
Print Publication Feature: Seasonal Arts Zine
Strategic Objective
The organization's seasonal arts zine provided an opportunity to reach audiences through a more intentional and highly engaged medium than social media alone. The objective was to embed event promotion within a publication already valued by students for its creative and editorial content, allowing awareness for the screening to develop organically among readers with demonstrated interests in film, arts, and culture. This approach also strengthened the campaign's presence within campus creative communities, one of the event's most important audience segments.
Creative Execution
I designed the publication's multi-page feature spread, adapting and expanding upon research originally developed for the campaign's editorial content. The spread incorporated original layouts, archival imagery, materials loaned by C.M. Talkington, and distinctive visual treatments intended to reflect the film's independent spirit and cult reputation. By integrating promotional messaging within a broader publication that included essays, reviews, puzzles, and other community-generated content, the event was positioned as part of a larger cultural conversation rather than a standalone advertisement.
Performance Results & Insights
Nearly 125 copies of the zine were sold, representing direct distribution to a highly qualified audience already predisposed toward film and arts programming. Unlike many promotional channels that rely on passive exposure, the zine reached readers who had actively chosen to engage with the organization's content, creating a valuable environment for event messaging. The feature also benefited from repeated exposure, as readers encountered promotional references while engaging with the publication's broader editorial content. The success of the zine reinforced the value of integrating marketing within mission-driven content experiences, demonstrating that promotional messaging often performs most effectively when delivered through channels audiences already trust and actively seek out.
5
Campus Digital Signage Network
Strategic Objective
Digital signage served as the campaign's primary environmental marketing channel, extending visibility beyond audiences already connected to The Aggie Arthouse's social platforms. The objective was to create repeated exposure among students in the physical spaces they frequented most, reinforcing awareness generated through digital channels while reaching potential attendees who may not have otherwise encountered the campaign. Placement strategy prioritized high-traffic campus buildings as well as liberal arts and humanities spaces, where film-oriented audiences were most likely to be concentrated.
Creative Execution & Leadership
I designed the signage creative, coordinated distribution across the university's digital signage network, and implemented a tracking strategy to measure placement effectiveness. To maximize visibility within crowded campus environments, the graphics utilized bold neon color palettes and grunge-inspired visual treatments that reflected both the aesthetic character of Love and a .45 and the organization's broader brand identity. Additionally, I created location-specific QR codes linked to the event page, allowing campaign performance to be evaluated by distribution hub and providing insight into which campus locations generated the strongest audience response. This transformed what is often a purely awareness-based medium into a measurable component of the broader marketing strategy.
Representative example of campus digital signage placement.
Performance Results & Insights
The campaign ran for seven days across more than 30 digital displays spanning eight campus buildings, generating an estimated 10,000-12,000 impressions among students and visitors in some of the university's most heavily trafficked areas. QR tracking revealed that student-centered gathering spaces and humanities-focused academic buildings consistently generated the strongest engagement, validating the audience segmentation strategy used during placement planning. Beyond direct traffic generation, the signage played an important supporting role within the broader promotional ecosystem by increasing message frequency and reinforcing campaign recognition across multiple touchpoints. The initiative demonstrated the value of combining physical and digital marketing channels while also highlighting the importance of building measurement mechanisms into traditionally difficult-to-track awareness tactics.
6
Editorial Content Amplification Carousel
Strategic Objective
Following the publication of the campaign's long-form editorial feature, the objective shifted from generating initial awareness to deepening audience interest and strengthening perceived event value. While the article provided substantial historical and production context, its length naturally limited consumption among more casual audiences. This carousel was developed to translate the editorial's most compelling insights into a visually driven format optimized for Instagram, allowing key narratives surrounding C.M. Talkington, Love and a .45, and the upcoming Q&A to reach a broader segment of the target audience.
Creative Execution & Leadership
I designed and published the carousel, adapting research and content from the editorial into concise, highly visual storytelling. The asset featured excerpts from the article alongside behind-the-scenes Polaroids and production materials provided by C.M. Talkington, creating an experience that felt both informative and exclusive. Rather than functioning as a traditional event advertisement, the piece emphasized the filmmaker's story, the film's cult legacy, and its Texas roots, positioning the screening as a unique cultural event rather than simply another campus activity. The carousel also served as a bridge between platforms, encouraging audiences to engage with the longer-form editorial while reinforcing the campaign narrative established across earlier touchpoints.
Performance Results & Insights
The carousel generated 3,147 views and reached 550 unique accounts while producing 56 engagements, including 44 likes, 5 shares, and 3 saves. Although the audience reached was smaller than some broader awareness-focused assets, engagement patterns suggested that the content resonated most strongly with highly interested users already moving deeper into the consideration stage of the promotional funnel. The performance reinforced a key insight from the campaign: audiences were particularly responsive to filmmaker-focused storytelling and behind-the-scenes content that provided additional context beyond event logistics. By repackaging editorial research into a more accessible format, the campaign was able to extend the lifespan of existing content, increase efficiency across channels, and create multiple opportunities for audiences to engage with the event narrative before attending the screening.
7
Member-Curated Watchlist Carousel
Strategic Objective
While much of the campaign focused on introducing audiences to Love and a .45 directly, this initiative was designed to connect the film to viewing habits and interests that already existed within the community. The objective was to reduce the barrier to entry for audiences unfamiliar with the film by positioning it alongside recognizable works that explored similar themes, while simultaneously highlighting the personalities and perspectives of organization members. This approach strengthened both event promotion and community-building efforts by transforming marketing into a participatory experience rather than a one-way announcement.
Creative Execution & Leadership
I developed and designed a themed recommendation carousel centered on films exploring crime, transience, and outlaw culture, with each recommendation contributed by a different member of The Aggie Arthouse. The final slides connected these recommendations back to Love and a .45, positioning the screening as a natural extension of the audience's existing cinematic interests. By combining member participation with curated film recommendations, the asset served multiple purposes: promoting the event, encouraging audience interaction, showcasing organizational culture, and reinforcing the sense of community surrounding the organization. The recommendation list was also extended to Letterboxd, creating an additional cross-platform touchpoint for engagement.
Performance Results & Insights
The carousel generated 2,982 views and reached 346 accounts while producing 45 engagements from 43 unique users. While reach was lower than broader awareness-oriented assets, engagement remained concentrated among highly relevant audience segments already invested in film discussion and community participation. Notably, the post generated strong like-to-reach performance and a higher proportion of engagement from non-followers than several previous campaign assets, indicating that the recommendation-driven format resonated beyond the organization's immediate audience. The results reinforced the value of interest-based content marketing, demonstrating that audiences often engage more readily with thematic conversations and peer recommendations than direct promotional messaging alone. This insight continued to inform future campaigns, where community participation became an increasingly important component of audience engagement strategy.
8
Campaign Outcomes & Event Performance
Attendance & Engagement
The campaign culminated in attendance exceeding 200 students and community members, resulting in one of the organization's strongest turnouts of the semester and successfully delivering a highly engaged audience for the screening and live Q&A with C.M. Talkington. Audience response following the event was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees frequently citing both the quality of the film and the rare opportunity to engage directly with its creator as highlights of the experience. The success of the evening was further reflected in the director's extended participation beyond the scheduled program, including additional discussion with organization members following the event.
Strategic Takeaways
Across the campaign lifecycle, promotional assets generated more than 34,000 combined impressions and views while engaging audiences through a coordinated mix of organic social media, paid media, editorial storytelling, print publishing, digital signage, and community-centered content. Rather than relying on a single channel, the campaign was designed around multiple touchpoints that allowed different audience segments to discover the event through the format most relevant to them.
Perhaps the most valuable takeaway was the effectiveness of layering awareness, education, and community engagement throughout the promotional funnel. Broad-reach assets successfully generated visibility, while editorial content, recommendation-driven posts, and print media cultivated deeper audience investment by providing cultural context and creating personal connections to the event. This integrated approach became a foundational component of my broader marketing strategy at The Aggie Arthouse, where I executed similar multi-channel promotional campaigns on a weekly basis. Through continuous analysis of audience behavior, engagement patterns, and content performance, I refined future campaigns to better align messaging, creative execution, and distribution strategies with audience interests while maintaining consistent attendance and organizational growth.