Digital innovations
IFFR enhanced its online services for audiences on several fronts, most notably by introducing a brand new account environment.
To improve website usability, IFFR.com launched a new account environment in 2019, offering new functionalities for general audiences and professionals alike. The homepage now provides direct access to all account features, including user tickets and agenda. Over 34% of ticket buyers made use of the agenda feature. IFFR Pro guests saw their festival meetings displayed in their IFFR.com agenda, were offered an overview of all attending guests and granted easy access to special publications and IFFR’s Video Library.
The account environment was also linked to the festival programme on IFFR.com. Through intuitive motion graphics, users could view their favourited films and share them with others more easily. Over 20% of ticket buyers purchased tickets from their favourites overview, and films were favourited a total of 214,067 times. Another tool to help visitors find the films they like is the IFFR Film Finder, introduced in 2019. This year, a new feature was added, allowing users to filter suggested films by preferred time and date.
The IFFR 2020 programme was additionally published a month earlier than previous years. This directly contributed to 34% more visits recorded on IFFR’s programme pages and an increase of 47% in visits of the specific film pages, when compared to the same period leading up to and during IFFR 2019.
The streaming platform, IFFR Unleashed, which previously had its own website, was integrated into IFFR.com ahead of the 49th festival edition. This made it easier to connect audiences to films and related editorial content, improving overall engagement.
The IFFR organisation implemented a new CRM system by Salesforce, to improve the work process and allow for prospective development. The system will be expanded in the coming year. In 2019, IFFR began building an API, which will eventually integrate all data from the festival’s various platforms and applications. This will grant more flexibility in altering applications, implementing new features or sharing data with third parties, making IFFR’s online environments future-proof.