Easy as S-B-T

Not so long ago, retailers across our delightful nation started to discuss new trading terms for their home entertainment departments.

Quickly the “talk” turned to adoption across the marketplace. While whispers of “Scan Based Trading” were just beginning to buzz in the corridors and conference rooms of other distributors and studios, our team was already leading the charge to transition our labels into this new world as seamlessly as possible.

Distribution Solutions manages two dedicated fixtures in 329 Menards stores

But let’s back up. Not everyone even knows what we’re talking about. To appreciate this pivot fully, here’s the backstory: the home entertainment industry existed for decades under a model where the process was pretty much as follows:

(1) distributors pitched retail buyers,
(2) orders were placed by retailers for all those awesome DVD titles,
(3) goods were shipped to retail stores and warehouses by distributors, who then
(4) collected monies after an agreed-upon interval of time.

Most of these DVD/Blu-ray goods were expected/projected to go home with happy customers, with a certain unfortunate percentage destined to return to distribution warehouses eventually. In this model, a retailer’s resources were tied up in inventory, awaiting a sale.

The Scan Based Trading model represents a different approach entirely. With SBT, suppliers maintain the ownership of the inventory within the retailers’ stores or warehouses until the item is scanned at the point of sale. This reduces financial risk on behalf of the retailer, while literally, nothing looks different to the consumer in the store.

But what’s the impact on the supplier? We asked Pat McDonough, our SVP of Sales and here are his thoughts on the topic:

“The benefit of the SBT model is that it gives Distribution Solutions control of the space, which guarantees product placement for our label partners. It also allows us to make sure that the right product is in the right stores for the best sell-through.”
Pat McDonough, SVP Sales

As far as scope, Distribution Solutions currently trades on SBT terms with Target, Best Buy, FYE, Fred Meyer, and Bi-Mart. But that’s not all…

Distribution Solutions also manages SBT inventory within Dollar General (with permanent racks in 4,700 of their 17k stores!) and Menards (a value bin AND a dedicated 4’x6′ fixture).

Our team’s dedicated floor space and fixtures represent valuable opportunities for our team to curate re-sets that support the lifecycle planning of our partners’ content. Our relationships also allow us to think outside the box (and in-line sections) and place trays and other specialty POS displays to support key releases across these accounts.

To learn more about Scan Based Trading and Distribution Solutions, drop us a note at studios@ds.aent.com

Sell It, Don’t Tell It

You’re on the couch, at the end of some kind of quasi-soul crushing week that has left you in a state of agitation. You pick up the remote and fire up your favorite app. Destination: Complete and Utter Escape. You’re seeking a cheesy rom-com guilty-pleasure (that you would never admit to having watched) — and you need it STAT!

You browse the rows upon rows of tantalizing movie posters, expanding those that show promise (or that you haven’t already watched). Your eyes stop at the attractive couple on the artwork for a new indie film called The Love Errand. Okay, you think…and you pause to skim the text that will guide your journey’s next step.

And you read: “Gina, a secretary who is also a single mom, is angry when her boss, David, asks her to run an errand that takes her to a sketchy part of town when she is supposed to be at her son’s school but ends up finding love with a shopkeeper at a bookstore.”

…and you return to the main menu with a shudder.

The above (entirely fictitious) example meets the “250 characters-including-spaces” long synopsis limit. And that is the only thing it is doing right. But stay tuned, rom-com fan and savvy marketer…help is on the way:

An effective synopsis that fits within common character-count restrictions is the goal…and fortunately, with a sense of imagination, a thorough knowledge of the content, and thesaurus.com, there are a few basic rules to go from ‘meh’ to “yeah!”

Don’t include character names. No one cares about fictitious characters and they eat up valuable story-telling space. (Exception: your documentary. For sure include the name of a notable subject!)
Sell It – Don’t Tell It! (As they say in the biz) You want to intrigue the audience so that they feel that little spark of “wonder what happens next” and dive into the super amazing trailer you created.
Be judicious with adjectives. Don’t overdo it, quantity-wise — and use words that will appeal to the genre’s target audience. Again, the ‘synonyms’ function in Microsoft Word is your friend…you can whittle away quite a bit of character count by choosing wisely here.

Easy-peasy!

Now, let’s rewind…to that moment when The Love Errand was still under consideration. You click and read:

“A single mom, working for a top publisher, finds herself in a race against time…with a daunting list of errands for her demanding boss. Sparks fly when her tasks put her on a collision course with a handsome bookseller with a To-Do list of his own.”

We both know what happens next…

Enjoy your movie! (Your secret’s safe with us.)

For more exciting tips like this, drop us a line…we’ve got a million of ’em. studios@ds.aent.com!

Getting Creative

Winning! Some of Mill Creek Entertainment’s 22 Home Media Awards

At Distribution Solutions, we work with some of the best designers in the business — experts at creating appealing packaging and engaging digital key art, and much much more! And when we say “work with” we mean that we are all part of the Alliance family of brands and our actual co-workers. (Lucky us!)

Our Minneapolis-based designers are the force behind Mill Creek Entertainment’s 22 (and counting) Home Media Awards. They provide high-quality packaging that resonates with consumers, with designs that are recognized consistently by industry peers.

The Alliance Creative team (Irvine, CA) has won over 20 NARM advertising awards, developing unique campaigns for retail. Customized, beautifully designed, internally illustrated, and stand-alone – their work is key to the sell-through of some of the best and brightest catalog titles in the music category.

Our team creates custom POS displays across entertainment product types.

Our label partners can tap into the creativity behind all those awards!

Once the assets are in-house, we take it from there, with creative direction –managing the communication priorities (genre, talent, press quotes, taglines) — and driving the process of collaboration until we reach the final approval process with our label partners. Our capabilities also include handling final packaging uploads, print proofing, printing, and getting parts where they need to be for final assembly.

Browse the galleries for a sampling of recent work…for DVD, Blu-ray, collectible formats such as SteelBook® ! Our team knows how to create value and connect with fans!

Deluxe Blu-ray Editions

If a partner can dream it, we can design it. And if they can’t dream it, our team will do the dreaming on their behalf. We thrive on creating cool, collectible stuff that fans can’t live without.

Specialty Packaging

So excellent that they’ll want two: one to open, the other to shelve with the collectibles!

Our team creates key art optimized for virtual storefronts, creating & delivering versions of that art for nearly 30 custom sizes, covering every required aspect for digital and linear platforms!

Digital Key Art

Mood, genre and the promise of a well-chosen stream.

We are proud to offer “boutique agency” quality and service, coupled with the product management know-how of our entire team..saving our label partners time, money, and the hassle of managing multiple vendors and complicated timelines.

To see more of our team’s stellar work and to learn about our rates and full suite of services, reach out to us at studios@ds.aent.com today!

From Start to Store

Operations at Distribution Solutions.

Along with dependable service and mastery of their day-to-day responsibilities, our Operations team values diligent planning, preparation, and careful execution as a pathway to growth.

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
– Will Rogers

We know that an Operations department isn’t typically full of spotlight seekers. The adjectives “reliable” and “accurate” are key qualities that might spring to mind. Our team is, indeed, focused on keeping things running smoothly, which requires epic levels of detail management. They also possess an uncanny ability to anticipate situations that will require immediate attention or will be important to address six months down the line.

The Operations team deals in the past, present, and future in a quiet, pragmatic manner that creates the foundation for our business dealings.

So it’s tempting to take them for granted. And while we here at Distribution Solutions are reminded on a daily basis of what wonders these humans are, we are totally OK with our partners relaxing and putting their trust in our Operations Team, so that they can deal with the rest of their business.

That’s the true magic of Turnkey Operations, after all.

We have a robust menu of Operations services that address the whole gamut of needs for physical and digital distribution. Our label partners benefit from whatever customized level of service they require to support their titles. And we offer a lot!

A complete list is available on our website, but here are some of the greatest hits:

Asset Ingestion & Management
BOM Build/Changes
Component Creation
Credit and Collections
Demand Management
Inventory Management
Order Management
Procurement
Replication
Return Management
Rights Management
SKU Creation
VMI Services

Our Operations team members are located across the country (in key time zones) and work together every step of the way, to ensure cost-efficient and seamlessly executed product releases. Their hard work allows our partners’ titles to move easily from start to store, turnkey.

To get details about our Operations capabilities, drop us a line at studios@ds.aent.com.

Three Key Steps

“Connect content to consumers” is a marketing team mantra here at Distribution Solutions. And nowhere is that connection to consumers so delightfully direct as it is on digital platforms.

As the digital age pushes forward, Austrian scientist Dr. Florian Kaps endeavors to save the last Polaroid factory, hoping to preserve the art of analog photography…and to encourage people to slow down and reconnect with nostalgic “real” things.

In fact, when it comes to digital platforms, we believe a holistic consideration of creative elements is essential, as it provides the opportunity to formulate a cohesive approach to the assets and messaging used to reach the intended audience for the content.

While each film or episodic property represents unique artistic expression, each follows the same DS process, an evaluation gauntlet designed to assess a title’s strengths and opportunities and to navigate around any challenges to success.

Our marketing focus is upon the three key moments of consumer evaluation, each a step in the short journey that a viewer takes from “browse” to “transact” on a digital platform:

Optimized Key Art. We evaluate art against the competition at large and other similar content to see how it stacks up. Does the title treatment pop? Can a viewer ascertain the genre at a glance, based on imagery? Are we leveraging any emerging (and relevant) trends in the marketplace? In short: we ask ourselves pointed questions, in order to identify and modify key art to ensure it is arresting enough to get someone to want to learn more.
A Supercharged Synopsis. This is where we hook ’em. Sell it don’t tell it, as they say. Our copywriters love a challenge–and one of our favorites is converting a feature-length viewing experience into a precisely worded, dynamic selling tool–in both 140 and 250 character lengths. Our success here prompts a consumer to click the almighty “watch trailer” link, where budding viewing decisions come to blossom (or wither).
A Powerful Trailer. This is it, the big time. We strive for a trailer that leaves the viewer wanting more. The aim is clear story-telling, that hits upon all the key marketing angles (great cast! important director! award wins!) that draw in the target genre audience. Here is where the excitement builds and turns a ‘maybe’ into ‘sold’ as the consumer decides there is no need to look any further.

When it comes to the “Creative Trifecta” as described above, we don’t reserve this approach for just a subset of Distribution Solutions’ label partners. This is a basic deliverable, served up regularly during the course of the collaboration, in order to build the best marketing presences possible on platforms.

Want to learn more about DS and our services? Try us at studios@ds.aent.com today!

Stream Big.

There’s probably nothing left to be said about the proliferation of streaming services and the enormous appetite to be filled in these unprecedented times. Consumers looking for content, and so much content to be had… it’s a timeless love story…

*“Oh hey…I should totally watch everything there is.”*

Beyond the biggies (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu) the streaming choices have exploded–and consumers are game to expand their consumption like never before. (Exhibit A: This Flixd article, which lists over 200 options available. Enjoy the rabbit hole.)

At Distribution Solutions, this niche-rich environment is right up our alley. Vice President of Digital Sales, Kelly McGee, and her sales team have grown our list of platform partners across all formats–SVOD, AVOD, TVOD–to capture as much of this new landscape as possible. Her game plan: create a ridiculous number of opportunities for the diverse independent film and tv content we represent for our label partners…and grow that revenue!

Yep. Our partners’ content offers a broad array of genres, directors, and unique perspectives and voices…aaaand it just so happens that the marketplace is going crazy with opportunities for accessing content, beautifully organized by interest and subgenre. It’s a glorious time to be where we are–and we are up for the challenge!

The team’s approach to getting content to consumers isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. For starters, we watch every movie we are going to pitch. (This sounds uber-basic, but that isn’t always the case in this industry.) This “screen everything” pledge gives us the foundation to understand the content and identify the target audience(s) and the platforms on which they may be found.

Once our team gets to know what a film is (and is not), consults with commercial planning, reviews with marketing, pulls comps, and determines likely performance potential, and takes at least one full breath, then we recommend a customized Go To Market strategy. Our aim is always to work closely with our label partner to help the content reach its full potential in the marketplace.

Stay tuned to the newsletter for future snapshots of our successes on digital and streaming platforms.

Don’t want to wait for some future post? Please contact us at PR@aent.com if you’d like to connect with our team.

Hello!

Distribution Solutions is excited to launch our new weekly newsletter, as we put the (pardon the slightly overused phrase) “dumpster fire” that was 2020 behind us and approach this new year with joyful enthusiasm.

Among our business goals for the new year is a commitment to shining a light on our capabilities and how we help create success for our partners. And what better way to do this than a ‘show & tell’ format!

Stay tuned for our brand-new weekly blog, containing what we like to think of as bite-sized case studies that will give readers a sense of our reach, expertise, and value in the industry.

If you’d like to know more about any topic or would like to set up a meeting with us, please email PR@aent.com.

We wish you a Happy New Year!