Would Blockbuster Movies Benefit From Social Media
After reading this review of the advertising and marketing programs for Marvel’s IRON MAN movie and Warner’s DARK KNIGHT (batman) movie, I started wondering just what a social media contingent to the program would have looked like. The article’s author, Antony Young, gave the edge (they tied at 4 stars) to the Dark Knight and cited the web presence to be one of the differences between the two efforts. But what could either side have added with social media?
Possible Movie Promotional Extensions With Social Media
- YouTube video conversation: Why I Love Batman (or Iron Man).
- Podcast: behind the scenes on the set of Iron Man (these seem to be getting more popular)
- Blogger Outreach: give 5 top comics/entertainment bloggers early access for interviews, photos, etc.
- Flickr campaign: Marvel did this with Hulk.
- uStream chat with _____ : Wouldn’t it be cool to hang with Christian Bale for a bit?
- Affiliate sales program: what if they gave bloggers a little button that offered movie goers a dollar off for an early ticket purchase, and gave bloggers a dollar for each sold?
- Wiki “barn building” campaign: ask fans to find every scrap of interesting web presence for Iron Man or Batman (great for lawyers to use later for copyright infringement - ouch).
Would It Work?
I’m not so sure. Think about it. Movies are SUCH a mass medium. It’s all about bulk, and though social media tools are inexpensive and pervasive, wrangling millions of people isn’t exactly their strong suit (anybody remember Snakes on a Plane?).
But maybe it dosn’t have to work to be worth doing. As a lifetime superhero fan, I’d have really enjoyed any of those above efforts, and probably would’ve nerded out with lots of people on them. It would’ve raised my sentiment for the movies. I’m sure it would have left me with a resonating experience, and others like me.
So you tell me: should a blockbuster movie do something like that for the reason that it would improve sentiment and spread good will? Or would that even matter in the long run? Let’s be real for a moment: businesses do exist to make money, not to make me happy. But I’m not sure. What’s your take?
