{"id":10452,"date":"2020-12-10T07:59:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T07:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/?p=10452"},"modified":"2025-01-21T10:16:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T09:16:25","slug":"how-exit-44-entertainment-uses-woodpecker-to-reach-the-right-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/how-exit-44-entertainment-uses-woodpecker-to-reach-the-right-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer Case Study: How Exit 44 Entertainment Uses Woodpecker to Reach the Right People"},"content":{"rendered":"

Would you ever draw a connection from email automation tools to horror stories? Well, maybe when you think back to the days when you sent all your business emails by hand and struggled to keep track of the follow-ups…<\/span><\/p>\n

In this customer case study Eric Brodeur and Ty Leisher, a film & tv duo specializing in horror and thriller, share their strategy for reaching the right people: agents, managers, distributors – and others who can help them get a movie produced, promote it, or buy their scripts.<\/span><\/p>\n

They get up to 42% reply rate, and nearly 100% open rate. Impossible? In some industries, with a small list of carefully selected contacts, if you follow up, test & optimize – this can be done. How?<\/span><\/p>\n

Lights, camera\u2026 Action!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

About Exit 44 Entertainment<\/b><\/h2>\n

Co-founded by Eric Brodeur and Ty Leisher, Exit 44 Entertainment<\/a> – in their own words – creates mind-bending horror stories that leave your head spinning as the credits roll.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eric Brodeur has a history with horror as the lead assistant editor on the films <\/span>Sinister 2<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>The Grudge, Ouija, The Nun<\/span><\/i>, and others. Ty Leisher\u2019s experience in film distribution provides a unique ability to develop and position their films to market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to writing and directing their own projects, the duo also represents independent horror and thriller films for sale.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re based in LA – which is reflected in the company name, taken from the 405 Freeway exit.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you start your company?<\/b><\/h2>\n

We formed the company in late 2017 when we were developing our first feature film together and have continued to grow it since then.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eric and I have known each other going back about ten years now. We originally met through Twitter, back when it was in its infancy, and Eric organized a filmmaker meetup group that brought a lot of folks together. We hit it off and stayed in touch, eventually creating a short film together in 2015 called <\/span>Stranded<\/span><\/i>, and as time went on we decided that it was time to take our aspirations to the next level and make them a reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And which business goals does Woodpecker help you with?<\/b><\/h2>\n

We use Woodpecker for business development and contact outreach. A lot of getting a film produced is outreach to agents, managers, financiers, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to outreach for projects in development, we use Woodpecker for press relations and influencer marketing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, for our film sales division, we use Woodpecker to reach out to distributors, set up pitch meetings, and follow up as the sales process progresses.<\/span><\/p>\n

What problem does Woodpecker help you solve?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Woodpecker helps us track who we have reached out to and who requires a follow-up. In film, it\u2019s never a no until it\u2019s a no, so we are constantly trying to follow up and track who might still be interested.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve found that many people are just caught at the wrong times when they get an email and they aren\u2019t ignoring us but they are busy and receive tons of emails every day. Woodpecker helps by sending out the follow-ups for us so we have more time to develop new projects and reach out to more business partners.<\/span><\/p>\n

How were you dealing with it before?<\/b><\/h2>\n

We solved that problem in the past through a ton of spreadsheets with conditional formatting and manually sending follow up emails. It was a nightmare.<\/span><\/p>\n

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