Thumb-Stopping Moments: Why a credit comparison site decided to launch a film competition

In the age of social media the user’s attention has become a difficult prize to win. The average person scrolling through their Facebook feed for 30 seconds will see dozens of news stories, videos and adverts. The big question, ‘what grabs people’s attention?’, is something marketing departments have puzzled over for years, and the answer is constantly changing. At TotallyMoney.com we’ve always aimed to improve our service by listening to our customers. That’s why we’ve launched a competition in this spirit – the Thumb-Stopping Moments short film competition – challenging filmmakers to grab someone’s attention in just 60 seconds. Initially we approached an agency about creating a short film TotallyMoney.com could use for marketing purposes. Unfortunately the pitches we got back didn’t quite meet our expectations, and we were unconvinced the film would have the desired impact. Instead we decided to see what the general public had to offer. Some of the best viral videos are low-fi, so we have made a point of accepting submissions from filmmakers of all levels and films shot on any kind of device – we are simply looking for films that captivate and entertain. While this is a great opportunity for budding filmmakers to get massive exposure, we imagine that the £7,000 first prize (£2,000 and £1,000 for second and third, respectively) will also be a strong incentive to enter. To find out more about the competition, including how to enter, visit the Thumb-Stopping Moments short film competition page.