July 25, 2008 59 Comments

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?

Related posts:

  1. Social Media Starter Moves for Entertainers
  2. Note to Social Media Types- Build Your Interfaces
  3. Spectrums of Social Media for Marketing
  4. Making a Business From Social Media
  5. Social Media Strategy- The Planning Stage

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  • http://blog.buzzoodle.com Buzzoodle Ron

    Social Media is a great tool for word of mouth – If you put out a great product and people start talking about it, you do not have to lead the charge, others will do it for you.

    Creating a facebook batman account probably would not do much to help ticket sales. But the fact that people talk about it with these tools, organize groups to go see the movie, etc. does have an impact.

    Maybe that is the beauty of it. It is hard to game the system, but easy for people to influence their small sphere.

  • http://stevenimmons.org Steve Nimmons

    Social Media would also be interesting at much earlier stages than ‘post-production’ marketing. How about social scripting, think tanks, review panels? I hear the unions screaming in pain! Point is, why wait until final cut to involve the consumer.

  • http://blog.stevenimmons.org Steve Nimmons

    Social Media would also be interesting at much earlier stages than ‘post-production’ marketing. How about social scripting, think tanks, review panels? I hear the unions screaming in pain! Point is, why wait until final cut to involve the consumer.

  • http://www.WhyBuyUsedCars.com Eric Miltsch

    Chris –

    (Public) Companies exist to make their shareholders happy. Whichever marketing tactic is chosen, online or offline, they need to executed properly with the proper ROI structure in place.

    Someone earlier make a good point about these tactics helping the indie film scene more than the major releases.

  • http://www.WhyBuyUsedCars.com Eric Miltsch

    Chris –

    (Public) Companies exist to make their shareholders happy. Whichever marketing tactic is chosen, online or offline, they need to executed properly with the proper ROI structure in place.

    Someone earlier make a good point about these tactics helping the indie film scene more than the major releases.

  • http://getinternetmarketingstrategies.com/2008/07/6-step-checklist-for-on-site-search-engine-optimization/ 6 Step Checklist for On-Site S

    I think the blogger outreach would be a great platform, as bloggers often have such a wide audience and would probably trigger such a widespread word of mouth.
    Thanks Chris,
    JR

  • http://getinternetmarketingstrategies.com/2008/07/6-step-checklist-for-on-site-search-engine-optimization/ 6 Step Checklist for On-Site Search Engine Optimization

    I think the blogger outreach would be a great platform, as bloggers often have such a wide audience and would probably trigger such a widespread word of mouth.
    Thanks Chris,
    JR

  • http://www.savetubevideo.com youtube downloader

    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.

  • Pingback: Confluence: Agence Phéromone - Procédure et équipes

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