Anyone can make a video today, and there's more content out there than ever. Far fewer people can get a film in front of the right audience, or have the knowledge and stamina to run the PR campaign that gets it seen. Dr. Benjamin Garner does both: he makes social impact documentaries and pairs each one with a hands-on media campaign that carries the story into newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and social media.

Dr. Garner has produced four documentary films broadcast on PBS, including two distributed nationally through NETA that have each aired in 30 or more states, with more than 700 broadcasts combined. Heartland Local Food has an estimated audience reach of more than 2 million people, and Southern Vines reached more than 40,000 viewers through Georgia Public Broadcasting. Dr. Garner is also an Associate Professor of Marketing and Director of the Sales Program at the University of Central Arkansas, with more than 25 peer-reviewed publications. That combination of filmmaker and marketing strategist shapes every project: each film is planned from the start with its audience and impact in mind.

Case study: Arkansas Wild
Arkansas Wild: The Story of Trout Tourism on the Little Red River explores fishing tourism and conservation in Heber Springs, Arkansas, telling the story of the Little Red River Foundation, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and local businesses. The film has aired 358 times on PBS stations in 85 markets across 30 states, from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta to Washington, D.C., and Little Rock, reaching stations that cover more than 40 percent of U.S. households.

The broadcast was only half the story. Dr. Garner personally pitched more than 250 news and media outlets and followed up with each one, earning dozens of placements and mentions. These included stories in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Business, and Arkansas Money & Politics; coverage on Arkansas PBS; a feature in Flylords magazine; and a guest post on the Orvis blog. The film was also screened publicly in Little Rock, Searcy, Bentonville, and Conway.

​How Dr. Garner works
Every project starts with a question: where does this story need to be seen to make a difference? For some films, that means pursuing a broadcast on a local PBS station. For others, it means a shorter, sharper version built for YouTube, social media, and the organization's own website. Each film is paired with a launch campaign fitted to those goals, including personal outreach to journalists, screening events, and short clips for social media. The launch is where most of the impact happens, and because it's so hands-on, Dr. Garner takes on only a few projects at a time.
He's drawn to stories about the outdoors, food and agriculture, travel and tourism, and marketing.

Reach out if you have a project in mind
Dr. Garner is selective the projects I takes on, but he always enjoys a conversation to see if yours might be one of them. Based in Conway, Arkansas.
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Email: [email protected]

Sample Projects
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