BLOG 11 - Inspired by merchandise!

Or:

**How I ended up with loads of extra stock…**

In March 2017 I decided to set up a Kickstarter campaign for a short film based on my ‘Bitz’ character. I had tried lots of little animation projects but these were ‘hobby’ projects and this was to be my first foray into ‘crowdfunding’. I chose to develop the ‘Bitz’ project as this was a character close to my heart (my first puppet design) but also because I hoped my followers (and the whippet community) would like Bitz the Whippet products and merchandise. Check out Bitz original kickstarter campaign here.

If you’re not familiar, kickstarter (and other crowd funding sites) are used to raise money needed to bring people’s project ideas to life. Everything can be crowdfunded but it’s very popular with filmmakers (although can be very difficult to reach the target). For your campaign you write a proposal with a ‘proof of concept’ ( a sample of what you aim to achieve) and try to grab people’s imagination and trust in your idea. ‘Backers’ pledge an amount of money and choose ‘Rewards’ in return. If you’re crowdfunding a product (eg. a game) the backers are basically pre-ordering the product before it is produced. In the case of animation/filmmaking, the rewards are often limited-edition merchandise items relating to the film and the backer’s name in the credits.

Producing the merch…

My aim was to make and sell branded ‘Bitz the Whippet’ merchandise, hoping this would entice the dog owners AND animation fans. It was exciting to make a Bitz logo and slap it on everything! Mugs! Badges! Bags! Tins! T-Shirts! Tote Bags! Books!

Penny modelling the original Bitz tote bag…

Eric modelling the original Bitz pin badge

I wanted lots of options and ways for supporters to get involved… but I didn’t think enough about some main crowdfunding reward issues (which became apparent as I gained more crowdfunding experience):

1) How many backers would I realistically get?
2) What is the minimum production number for each product?
3) What is the profit margin of each item?

(remember the aim was to make money to help fund the film project, not just sell items)

1) Number of backers/rewards claimed. I had received loads of ‘likes’ and comments on my posts, and loads of encouraging messages when I asked if a Bitz short film was a good idea. I didn’t know how many backers my kickstarter would get, but I probably thought a few hundred people spending a small amount… In reality I got 28 very generous backers who pledged (and even just donated) larger amounts than I would’ve imagined.

2) Minimum production number for each product. For example, the enamel badges are expensive as they need to be ordered in 100+. This is fine when you sell them all, or sell them regularly for a long time. I only sold 15, so was left with a lot of badges! T-Shirts and bags were a minimum of 10. The mugs could be ordered in any quantity so I only ordered as many as I sold, but this leads to the next issue…

3) Profit Margin. Items that are bought in bulk have a bigger profit margin but this only applies if you sell them all. Small runs have a guaranteed profit but this is much lower. Also, there’s a limit to how much you can charge for certain items (even if crowdfunding rewards are always cost a bit more, due to the nature of ‘supporting a project’). ie: Mugs, which are made to order cost £10 each but can’t really be sold for much more than this.

Overall my first Kickstarter campaign was a success, raising more than the £1200 target, but from that amount I needed to pay to produce all the product rewards.

In the end I was left with a lot of badges, a few tshirts, bags and books, with cash/profit/funds all caught up in these products. I did manage to sell a lot of these leftover items after the film was released and in my next crowdfunding campaign, so, every bit of backing really did help.

In summary, my first 2017 foray into crowdfunding ‘rewards’ raised a lot of questions:

Did the people who backed the project really want the product ‘reward’ or did they just want to support the project regardless?
What are the most popular products?
What were the best products for ‘low production run / high profit margin’ balance?
Was there a market for selling these products generally, rather than just in a fundraising campaign?

Regardless of this learning curve, the campaign reached it’s target! 28 very generous people took a chance on me and put their money behind Bitz. I was truly grateful. The amount raised wouldn’t cover the total cost of time needed to make a film but it gave me the support and validation I needed.

Join me next time when I talk through redesigning Bitz puppet, building a shed in my share room and planning a film I could achieve in three months…

Thanks for reading!

James

CURRENT WORK

*MORY FILM PRODUCTION* Mory’s film is finished! I will talk more about the challenges, successes and failures in a future blog post, but in the meantime you can watch the ‘Whibbits! Mory Episode’ here

*MODEL MAKING* I am currently designing the prototype for an all black (with a little grey and white) whibbit called ‘Tux’ (His name comes from tuxedo). I will make 6 of these over the next 2 months, one for me to animate with, and 5 are available to pre-order NOW! There are 4 left, so if you want to give Tux a forever home you can order one from my shop page.

*MERCHANDISE/FUNDRAISING* As my latest animation is finished I can using this to raise funds for the next stage of the whibbits project. I am running a raffle to win the actual Mory puppet used in the animation. I am also selling badges and supporters packs, with all proceeds going towards the next animation. I can’t make the whibbits come to life without you, so visit the shop if you want to get involved!