Viral Marketing

Viral Marketing is a method of brand awareness and product promotion that uses people spreading the word on existing social networks and by word of mouth. Primarily it is family and friends that pass on the word and is a method of advertising that repeats itself in a viral process which is free of charge. For example web sites and its users passing on a marketing message to other sites or users, passing on an offer to friends and family or making advertisements so interesting that viewers will circulate them along to others

Watchmen Viral Marketing mini case study

Watchmen is one of Paramount’s largest releases of 2009 and the media agency MEC Global wanted the lead up to this to be remarkable. Watchmen has a devoted online fan community and they rewarded them with a multi-market revelation of their viral teaser that consisted of numerous trailer teasers to create attention from other cinema goers. Rubber Republic, who are specialists in viral marketing produced and online PR and broadcasted a campaign in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The campaign involved leading film and graphic novel bloggers being spoken to in the six countries which amplified their anticipation about the release of the film. Also videos were uploaded to social media and video sites which raised exposure to much more than a million views to the movies YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/watchmenmovie?blend=4&ob=4. The film had an extremely successful release as on the opening weekend it had earned already over $185 million at the worldwide box office.

Tron Legacy Viral Campaign

Tron is a video game, a comic book and a TV series this is what in media terminology is called synergy. Synergy is when media production is synchronised with distribution to maximise audience consumption on different media platforms. A media platform is how the type of media text is accessed. New technologies promote this consumption of media through hardware and software being developed, promoting the consumption of media for e.g. game consoles and computers.

After the first Tron film 26 years later in 2008 San Diego Comic Con and Disney featured a preliminary trailer of Tron Legacy, which was the sequel that many fans wanted. A viral campaign emerged on many websites on February 25^th which gave fans a chance to get the tickets to the Tron Legacy premiere in five different cities around the world.

The site Flynnlives.com sent out fan mail that entailed a box containing numerous bits and the word. This box led fans to another page that showed a countdown and sent then on a scavenger hunt apread acroos twnty-five countires in twenty-seven locations, this would unlock the mystery. This was the page it led them to, http://www.flynnlives.com/zerohour. Flynn was the creator of Tron,

Those who received the fan mail and went to the locations had to find an operater wearing a company t-shirt who would give them a phone and a phone number to call in order to get the following clue. A picture from the first Tron movie would be revealed would be revealed by every clue and when they are clicked would reveal a bigger picture as a background. The prize winner blogged about her experience - http://www.miss-selector.com/2010/02/la-recherche-de-kevin-flynn-ou-comment.html

This is a picture of the website and how the puzzle would be revealed:

At the end of the event five locations of IMAX theatres that showed the latest trailer on the movie was revealed. However, this is not all that was uncovered, fans also discovered a discussion forum which involved yet more clues that were trying to be solved. A video was also released of the fans meeting up. http://www.flynnlives.com/discussionforums/  http://www.flynnlives.com/meetup.htm

Many blogger and twitter users as well as movie fans talked more about the campaign and as Jeff Bridges, the main stat in Tron won an Oscar the hashtag on twitter, #flynnlives was boosted.

After the campaign the search for terms related to Tron enlarged singnificantly showing the success of it. The line chart above shows the number of Google searches for three Tron terms.

The mastermind behind this campaign who included so many countries and people was 42 Entertainment, a company that specialises in making alternate reality games. The campaign used difficult clues and kept things a mystery as they had faith in their audience and catered to its uniqueness. Fans were kept interested and intrigued as the campaign was both online and in real life, catering to different needs. Also, the geographic location was not limited as Tron is a global brand and showed confidence in the product which would push the movie to a bigger debut through brand awareness.

In conclusion viral marketing entertains the fans excitement due to the word of mouth buzz and shows it is a commendable venture. This is created as the audience feels more involved on a personal level and fell as though it is obligatory for the movie to be promoted by them to friends, family, and anyone who will listen.

Sound

The role and importance of sound/voiceover/music in trailers is to tell the story, express feelings and show the motivations of characters. They can create particular atmospheres and synchronous sounds give a sense of realism. Also, certain emotions can be created through music and its rhythm as it provides a tone and attitude of characters and the story itself. Changes in moods can also be foreshadowed for example inharmonious music can imply approaching catastrophe as it is not yet visible but the sound is subtle however the viewers are still aware. The sound relates with the visuals in a trailer which is a small amount of time to create an advertisement to reach out to the intended demographics. The voice over is like a narrator that gives specific details about the film and explains certain aspects. The sound also sets the scene and raises emotion at exaggerated points. In a conventional horror film trailer there are certain patterns such as orchestral music which is very common as it can vary through events and is very powerful. Long and eerie music is also commonly used to build up towards something through the use of strings which is then followed by orchestral hit. 

Genre

Horror genre is where films feature scenes that alarm the viewer by the use of deathly and paranormal means. The purposes of these scenes are to frighten and revolt the viewers by applying their fears, nightmares and shock of the unknown. This thrill is anticipated by the viewers through an adrenaline rush which is what attracts them. Also, another of function of the horror genre is to highlight the rules and restrictions of society by showing the fate of people who disobey these. Many horror plots involve the use of the supernatural, including an evil event or force in the usual, everyday world. This can include ghosts, ancient curses, the devil, demons and hauntings. However, some films portray a less spiritual view through the use of serial killers, injury, disease outburst, werewolves, vicious animals, vampires and cannibals. Another objective of the horror genre is to echo a revelation of the apprehensions of a period of time.  For instance, Nosferatu (1922) is not only a film about vampires but also portrays the fatalities of the Great War and the Great Flu Epidemic. As generations move on horror films also modify, particularly with the monster characters involved. For example in the 1990’s Silence of the Lambs involved a monster character which was a human that killed people in a well thought out and non-realistic manner. On the other hand in the 21^st century audiences wanted an evil beyond humans by the use of ghosts, aliens and zombies. This was due to Eastern and Western superstitions converging.  

A sub-genre is primarily a genre within a genre with its own distinctive topic and characteristics. They are derived from film genres adapting and developing from similar stories that involve genre paradigms, which are seen as boring and dull. If they did not evolve the film genre would stagnate and be seen as repetitive. Also, sub genres are determined in response to socio-historic factors. For example, the current economic breakdown generated the movie sub-genre of recession with films such as Drag Me to Hell. Horror has many sub-genres for instance “Slasher”, this is where a psychopath murderer that is sometimes masked stalks and explicitly kills a series of young adults in an unprovoked manner. Other horror sub-genres are animation, comedy, extra-terrestrial, holiday, monster, natural, supernatural and teen.  

Hybrid genres are when two film genres are combined. Film genres should be flowing and consistently evolving from sets of paradigms otherwise movies would deteriorate and would be told in the same approach repetitively. In order to keep viewers surprised The Seven Basic Plots written by Christopher Booker need to be framed in different genre combinations, which are often contradictory genres. Horror movie hybrid genres usually start with a set of horror paradigms to ensure the audiences initial attention prior to adding other genre characteristics. Some horror hybrid genres are:

• Horror Romance – Twilight
• Horror War – Dead Snow
• Horror Sci-Fi – Alien
• Horror Historical Drama – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
• Horror RomCom – Shaun of the Dead

What genre are you going to concentrate?