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THE CANADIAN FILM CENTRE'S WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

The Emmys, the Grammys the Oscars - what's an entertainment biz without an over-the-top awards show? Taxi thought it was time that the Canadian Film Centre's Worldwide Short Film Festival have an awards night to call its own.

This year's campaign is the sixth Taxi has developed for the festival. The strategy has been to demonstrate that shorts have many of the characteristics of features, but at the same time offer something a little different.

This time around, TV executions took viewers into the audience on the night of the show, and gave an up-close (and appropriately brief) look at the expected cast of characters. Print offered a peek at the acceptance speeches that get prepared ahead of time, as well as some of the abbreviated contracts, scripts and fan letters a winner would be familiar with.

Transit and radio reinforced the unique appeal of the shortened format. And a Web site offered the chance to hear what the award show audience was really thinking when the stars were up at the podium. The site also provided all the info about the festival itself.

The campaign drew applause: Delegate registration was up 36% from 2004, and the Web site had more than 1.3 million visitors during the month the festival ran. Box office revenue was up 20%, and advance ticket sales accounted for more than 70% of tickets sold.

Also, the festival continued its transformation from a small Canadian event into a global gathering, with over 3,000 films having been submitted from all over the world.

TELEVISION

Best Actress	Craft Awards
Tribute

PRINT

Budget	Contract
Letter	Licorice
Script	Speech

RADIO

Acceptance	Death Scene
DirectorSexy

INTERACTIVE

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