Can your business tap into the Offaly Film Industry?
FilmOffaly,Offaly County Council’sFilm Commision, is proud to announceits new initiative,the FilmOffaly Vendor Card. The FilmOffaly Vendor Cardwill givelocal businesses a chance to break into the lucrative film market as well as encouragingmorefilm productions into Offaly.
Film can bring business worth tens of thousands to an area, with production companies using hotels, catering companies, taxis and restaurants; for instance the recent TV pilot in Charleville Castle saw 130 cast and crew come to Tullamore for 6 days using a wide range of services from local petrol stations to hotels and restaurants. The FilmOffaly Vendor Card will give local services the opportunity to tap directly into that industry for extra business. FilmOffaly is the first port of call for film productions looking for locations and services in Offaly. Businesses who offer a reasonable discount for their services and partner with the FilmOffaly Vendor Card, will be in a prime position to gain the film industry’s attention.
“This is a unique project for film commissions in Ireland, and it will give us a better competitive edge when attracting film productions into Offaly. It is a win/win situation for everyone and highlightsa compelling case for the innovative waythe arts can bring economic development to a county”, says Cllr. Nichola Hogan, Chairperson of FilmOffaly
Participating businesses will be advertised free of charge on www.filmoffaly.ie (a one-stop shop for Film Companies wishing to film in Offaly), as well as being included in a welcome pack to the film company. Businesses can offer discounts to production companies filming in Offaly, as well as individual crew members working on those productions. For example, a dry-cleaning business might offer a 10% discount to crew members to clean their individual items, and a 25% discount to a production company that launders more than 50 items at a time. Businesses must offer quantifiable discounts consistently to all FilmOffaly Vendor Card holders.
When a qualifying production comes to Offaly, crew members will be issued with a FilmOffaly Vendor Card, which will show that they are eligible to receive discounts. The name of the production and an expiry date will be on the card, so that businesses can confirm they are valid.
Businesses interested in participating should contact FilmOffaly at filmoffaly@offalycoco.ie or 057 9357400 to request an application form. It is intended to launch the initiative with the film industry this summer, so as many businesses as possible are encouraged to sign up in the next two weeks. However, businesses can sign up on an ongoing basis and the listings will be updated regularly. Companies can also opt out of the programme after a year or change the nature of their discounts, to make it flexible for their own needs. Terms and conditions are on the application forms and queries are welcome on 057 9357400.