Saturday I started in Union Square taping fliers to anywhere there was room. I was nervous about doing this at first-- I mean, I'm an outsider to NYC so I wasn't even sure if what I was doing was legal. However, after taping up fliers in front of numerous police officers without so much as a quizzical look, I realized they probably had bigger fish to fry on the streets of Manhattan. Armed with my cell phone GPS, I put fliers up from Union Square Park down the streets to Washington Square Park, then all over Washington Square Park, all the way to the IFC Center, and then to Tribeca, and back up to the IFC Center. I used up a brand-new roll of Scotch tape that day.
Here are some photos from Saturday:
1. The Way We Get By at the Union Square subway stop!
2. The Way We Get By at Washington Square-- it definitely adds to the scenery.
3. I gave some fliers to police officers I met while postering Washington Square. One of them said his dad is a veteran and plans to take him.
4. As you can see here, Hermoinee Granger is fully endorsing our Battle Buddy promotion for The Way We Get By.
5. Check out that guy's awesome trumpet!
6. I took this at the IFC Center. Notice how The Way We Get By flier is in the center, like the sun. Now, notice the other, smaller, postcards circling it.
Sunday I woke up early to do something I haven't done in about six years: I went to church. Actually, I went to five churches. I'd never been to a mega church, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I was kind of afraid everyone inside would somehow "know" I hadn't been in a while. Fortunately, everyone was incredibly welcoming and had an earnest interest in The Way We Get By. That day I focused mostly on youth groups and volunteer organizations. Hopefully we can get a ton of volunteers of all ages out to the screenings this weekend.
Sunday photos:
7. One of the directors for the St. Paul Community Baptist Church was excited to hand out fliers and show the youth group the film trailer.
8. This is the Christian Cultural Center. It looked like the Pentagon from the outside and had a rock band playing all throughout the sermons. I'd never been in a church this large before-- they probably had about 100 different flat panel TVs inside! Perfect, I might add, for watching The Way We Get By trailer on.....
Monday and Tuesday I spent both days going to as many veterans and military recruiting organizations as possible. This was by far my favorite part of the whole trip. Every person I met was so helpful and excited about the film coming to NYC, it made my whole trip worth it 10 times over. I had the pleasure of meeting Iraq veterans, Afghanistan veterans, Gulf War veterans, Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans, and WWII veterans. I've never gotten to go to Bangor and experience the "real deal" of troop greeting, but I shook a lot of hands and thanked every soldier I met while in New York. It was fantastic!
Monday and Tuesday photos:
9. This is one of the recruiting officers from an Army National Guard recruiting station in Manhattan. Hopefully he can recruit people to The Way We Get By!
10. The Marine Corps Band had an amazing outdoor concert in Manhattan. I tried to pitch the film to one of the officers present, but she told me she'd heard about it already and sent the information to everyone she knew. It was great to know that the word was really getting out.
11. This was at a VFW post in lower Manhattan. When I asked if I could take a picture, the veteran on the left replied, "Sure you can, but don't get my cards in the picture!" I'd say I did a pretty good job of that.
12. This is Richard Dugal from the Catholic War Veterans. He was a huge help and took me around to all of the other veterans offices in his building to hand out fliers to.
13. This is Lieutenant Commander Suzanna Brugler from the Navy Office of Information. She was super excited about the film and was nice enough to email our fliers to a lot of other Navy offices around NYC.
As you can note from the pictures, my grassroots marketing experience in NYC was great. My feet are sore and I'm about three shades darker from walking around in the sun, but it was all worth it. I don't want to speak too soon on this, but I predict the film will be a major hit at the IFC center this weekend. If you live nearby, it's definitely going to be a film you'll want to see, but get your tickets online early-- it's going to be a sell out!
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