Brutal Blue Project Plan
The Original Idea
The Product
At this point, I’m not clear what the product actually is – other than a baseball movie about an umpire.
The product might be the script itself.
Or, it could be the YouTube channel.
Or, maybe it’s the journey of making the movie and access to “behind the scenes”.
In any event, there appears to be a never ending appetite for baseball movies, so it’s full steam ahead and I plan to make the movie and execute this plan I go.
The Team
Milt Michael. (Me)
Ryan Graham: My old catcher, now retired in Mexico. He’s a bit of an artist and sometimes stubborn…LOL
Nicolay Bastos: Responded to a Craigslist add asking for help with Premiere Pro. Is now on contract critiquing the script and our workflow. Her service is aptly named “Head Strong Art & Copy”…LOL
Objectives
1..Build a large audience on YouTube.
2..Build a loyal audience on Facebook.
3..Build a database of contacts, properly organized and tagged to enable smart email campaigns.
Web, Social Media & Tools
YouTube: The Brutal Blue channel will be the main platform to attract viewers.
Facebook Page: The Brutal Blue Facebook page is likely to be the easiest to maintain and build fans due to the base of friends that Milt already has.
MiltonMichael.com: This site is kind-of the catchall site for participants and future projects. (I have a primitive storyboard constructed for a movie about the life of Louis Riel).
BrutalBlue.movie: This site is operational but not being used much at present.
ActiveCampaign: Will contain email addresses and information and behavior resulting from each contacts communications, clicks and downloads.
Zapier: Is the tool required to “zap” information from one tool to another
Patreon: Is for members who pay to support the work we do or to gain access to hidden content.
Vimeo: Used to host videos that are not quite ready for YouTube upload.
Facebook Group: The Brutal Blue group has very little action so far, but may help generate engagement.
Others: No other medias are active as yet.
Market Segments & Strategies
| Segment | Size | Competition | Unique Selling Advantage | Strategy |
| Baseball Movie Fans | Huge | Modest. All baseball movies available on Netflix, Youtube etc |
Brutal Blue is a unique because the main character is an umpire and there's lots of baseball philosophy tied into the story. | Produce high quality slide stories and publish on YouTube. Use targetted SEO titles and key phrases. |
| Softball Fans | Modest | Small. Facebook groups where players and parents hang out to discuss, boast and complain. |
Milt has 997 Facebook friends, est 80% are softball connections. | Post to personal page monthly, point to YouTube or Facebook page. Buy Facebook ads that feature Jayne's role. Tag as "Softball" and run email campaign to that list |
| Umpires | Tiny | Tiny or none. | Estimated 10% of Milt's facebook friends are umpires. | Target Facebook friends, who are umpires with videos and posts that feature Lou. |
| Creators | Small | Huge. All the "How to" videos and courses on writing and producing stories and videos |
I believe this is the first movie ever released on YouTube, one chapter at a time. Other creators may find that interesting | Record zoom meetings and document progress. Provide opportunities to go behind the scenes. |
The Sales Funnel
Description
Fish: YouTube and Facebook audience.
Clickers: Those who cick a link but leave within 30 seconds.
Viewers/Watchers: Those who watch 30 seconds or more. Includes subscribers and friends.
Members: Those who submit a form, thus provide their email address.
Customers: Those who make a purchase to subscribe
Strategy
Fish: Provide multiple ways for people to find the product and track which ways produce most clicks
Clickers: Track the percentage of Clickers to number of Watchers. (33% thus far)
Watchers: Track when they fall off. Provide ways for them to act by submitting a form.
Members: Track their behavior via tags. Ask for feedback. Provide products they ask for.
Customers: Reward with extras. Continue asking for feedback and segment into marketing categories.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The script. Although it’s far from complete, it is more than 160 pages and has been receiving positive response.
Graphic storyboarding. Ryan’s work is unique and provides an excellent method of storyboarding and assisting in writing.
Weaknesses
Social Media Marketing
Web technologies
Opportunities
Strong demand for baseball movies. The recent “Field of Dreams” game was an overwhelming success which illustrates the love affair we have with baseball and baseball stories.
YouTube and Facebook provide a means of targetting and reaching a huge audience
Threats
Copyright theft
Trademark infringement or complaints. This is something we as writers and creators must consider at all times. A complaint about political correctness or permission could result in a suspension or ban from social medias.
Death or departure of one of the team members
Priorities
1..Release chapters 1-3 on YouTube and measure response.
2..Improve the quality of the product.
3..Improve the work flow.
Projects
1..Complete the first 3 chapters and upload to the YouTube channel by Sept 9. (Milt, Ryan)
-match slides to script
-voices for Yogi, Pete, Joe
-post to Vimeo and have critiqued “Calling all Critics!”
-put link and promote on BB Facebook page
2..Improve the storyboard of the entire script. On-going; but agree on some changes and have others under review by Sept 9. Eliminate unnecessary scenes, improve structure, and enhance characters. (Milt, Nicky)
3..Formalize the work flow. Save psd’s of each slide, use standard dimensions and higher quality images. Learn to use After Effects to animate some slides.
4..Develop a CRM using ActiveCampaign utilizing lists, tags, and custom fields