Communication and reach

Online marketing and communication are increasingly important in determining our reach. In 2023, IDFA developed a new mobile-first website, consisting of three pillars: Institute, Festival, and Professionals. This way, the website now adapts better to the specific needs of IDFA’s audiences. The website draws an average of 1.4 million visitors annually, with an average engagement percentage of 57% that increases to 65% during the festival. IDFA’s social media followers has increased by 50% since 2021, to a new total of 230,000 followers. The number of newsletter subscribers has grown in recent years, to almost 93,000. For additional context to the festival program, interviews with filmmakers were published in national press, international press, and in our publications Programma Magazine and Notes on a festival. 

The audience and guest surveys, conducted among all audiences and festival guests, once again reported an overall positive festival experience. The audience satisfaction score was 8.2, consistent with recent years. Audiences enthusiastically report watching IDFA documentary films broaden their horizons. Four aspects of the festival received a score of 8.0 or higher: the quality of the films (8.2), IDFA Specials (8.1), the program’s diversity (8.1), and the IDFA Talks (8.0). For this edition, the Net Promoter Score—which measures the extent to which IDFA is recommended by so-called ‘promoters’—was 53, a bit lower than the previous two editions. Nonetheless, three out of five visitors (58%) consider themselves an IDFA ambassador.

This edition’s Google Analytics report reveals that IDFA mainly reaches a young audience online. In the audience survey, this group indicates they mainly find IDFA through word-of-mouth (42%), online media (30%), the festival campaign (28%), and through newspapers and magazines (30%). The regular IDFA visitor reports the newsletter as their primary source of information (60%).

In increasing our reach to young and diverse audiences, in-depth collaborations with (media) partners is fundamental. This includes partnerships with WePresent, OneWorld, Cineville, and We Are Public. By actively targeting colleges and universities, student and study associations, and offering them a discounted rate, the festival experienced a sharp increase in student attendance, reporting 4,500 student visits during IDFA 2023—5% of the total visits.

IDFA’s communication regarding the accessibility of our program and locations for people with disabilities was given additional importance in 2023. This includes providing clear information regarding subtitles and spoken languages, to adjustments and extra facilities such as sign language interpreters on location at specific screenings. The audience survey shows that a growing number of visitors makes use of these specifics when selecting films to see, including spoken language, available subtitles, and wheelchair accessibility at specific festival locations.

In IDFA’s communication to professionals, the most important goal is to position IDFA as a global, inclusive, innovative, and sustainable institute for creative documentary films; a place where the most promising talents are discovered, with extensive attention for documentary films and new media art from underrepresented countries and regions, and where the latest works by renowned and relevant makers can be seen. The program of premieres, Industry Talks and Filmmaker Talks is communicated in all its diversity by international trade magazines such as Variety, Screen, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Filmverdict and by IDFA's own publications such as Notes on a festival. IDFA's communication channels are well known and extensively used; the most used channels are the website (94%) and the daily guest newsletter (67%). In general, the communication channels are positively rated by international film professionals, with all ratings at a 7.3 or higher.

For IDFA 2023, the festival campaign was designed by talented filmmaker and artist Eliane Esther Bots. In 2020, her interactive work The Channel was selected for the DocLab competition. One year later, her impressive documentary film In Flow of Words was shown at IDFA 2021. The campaign enabled IDFA to position itself as an artistic brand and event that celebrates the art of documentary film.