PRESS RELEASE DETAIL

For Immediate Release

Release Date: 02/02/2012

Businesses can offer services, discounts through ‘By Baton Rouge’

Baton Rouge area businesses have a new high-tech tool to offer their goods and services to the area’s growing film and television industry. The new “By Baton Rouge” program features an app that producers can use on their iPhones or ipads to find local vendors for their projects.

Last year, the film and television industry spent an estimated $200 million in the Baton Rouge area, and the new “By Baton Rouge” app will allow local businesses to try and land a piece of that action.

“Whether your business is a restaurant, a bar, a hair salon, a plant nursery, a baby nursery, a lumber yard or an office supplies outlet, this new app will allow you to offer your goods and services directly to the film and movie industry,” Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden said in unveiling the new app today.

Mayor Holden noted that the new app will even allow local businesses to sweeten the deals for the film and television productions by offering discounts or even complimentary services.

“Through this new app, prospective vendors can offer a percentage off their entire purchase or a complimentary service. Like any other business, film and television productions are always looking for vendors who will positively impact their bottom line,” the Mayor added.

The application was developed by and is offered through Reel-Scout Inc., a company that has gained a reputation for its work with film offices across the country. Reel-Scout also offers the only nationwide location library for the film and television industry. Since 2004, Reel-Scout’s software has been used by film offices to market their city, region, or state’s locations to film and television productions across the world. Through the Reel-Scout service, film and television productions can search for on-line photos of possible shooting locations in different states to help find suitable places to film their projects. Over the last eight years, Reel-Scout’s client list has expanded from a single film office to more than 70 film offices today.

With “By Baton Rouge,” Reel-Scout is expanding the program from prospective locations to possible vendors and businesses that offer services needed by film productions.

To register for “By Baton Rouge,” simply go to www.filmbatonrouge.com and click on “Vendor Discounts” along the right side of the screen. You will go to a site where you can sign up to display your goods and services, and even set discounts.

The program will provide participants with “By Baton Rouge” decals for their storefront entrance to help identify those businesses as film and television friendly.

All qualified film and television productions will receive “By Baton Rouge” vendor discount cards that will list the name of the production, along with beginning and ending dates. The card will expire at the ending date in order to prevent any misuse of the program.

The new “By Baton Rouge” app will be available at no cost to all film and television productions to search not only for vendors and shooting locations, but also for crew members.


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