Movies are starting to rely on social networks and online game virus marketing

Posters, trailers, television commercials were the "troika" of movie marketing, and now they are becoming supporting roles. In Hollywood, more and more movies are starting to rely on social networks and online games for viral marketing. They look cheaper and more efficient.

The action thriller "Hunger Game", released in North America March 23, can be seen as a search for new Hollywood marketing methods. The hunger game, based on Collins's science fiction novel, describes the "Shihui" established after the catastrophe, and the rulers, in order to punish the various administrative districts that waged the rebellion, required every district to send a pair of teenage boys and girls to the arena to participate in a survival contest called The Hunger Game.

The story does not sound particularly innovative, and the size of the film's investment and cast is extremely general, but it has broken many box-office records since its release. Industry insiders estimate that it will even set off another "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" style of the youth whirlwind.

The New York Times believes that most of the box-office results of the hunger game are due to the Lion Gate's sophisticated marketing plan. In fact, this is not an easy "publicity" film. The chief marketing officer, Tim Pearson, said the first problems they faced were how to find a "right" theme for the film. Collins's novels are highly realistic and ironic, but he fears that "violent games in the arena and the participants are minors" can easily lead to social controversy.

One morning he had a whim: what would it be like if I didn't mention it? At first, his colleagues challenged him-the battle scene was the greatest aspect of the hunger game and could not be ignored in the propaganda process. But the idea was finally preserved, "the plot of the film is beginning to be determined by the story of 24 children vying for a chance to survive." We set the rules for each other, not talking about the death of the remaining 23 children. We only say that only one person has finally won the game. "Then the movie-making group deleted the original slogan-let the game begin. "This shows that we are not going to entertain these brutal competitions. ”

After the theme is reasonable, how to carry out effective advertising has become the key. In Hollywood, film marketing often accounts for 30% or more of the cost of production. There are only 21 people in the team, with a total budget of around 45 million dollars, which is medium size. In addition to distributing posters and placing hard ads, he uses limited money and manpower for online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, iphone games and Yahoo.

As early as last March, "Hunger Games" began to systematically publish a large number of staff information through Facebook. Next, Perry assigned 1 commissioners to continue to focus on and manage all the fan blogs about the movie. Daniel Dipama, senior vice president of digital marketing, has developed a detailed online promotional time schedule, with 12 colors in total, detailed daily and even per minute work plans. The online publicity program includes a lottery that allows 5 fans to visit North Carolina State's premiere of the film. The premiere did not invite reporters to participate in the report, "We do not want to make the public misunderstanding that this is another Hollywood-style cliché propaganda." "In the past, people used to tell the public which movies are better, but it is not so now, the public attitude is more active, and we are willing to let the public comment on the quality of the film," Dipama said. ”

by August, MTV. COM published a 1-minute film trailer, which announced the film's official website address--thecapitol. PN. The site allows visitors to register a digital ID card in the "Shihui" built in the movie, which attracts 800,000 of users. In October, The Hunger game also played a "gimmick" on Twitter, allowing all users who had previously registered on the site and had a digital ID to run on the site to compete for mayoral positions in different parts of the Shihui. In November, Perry's team posted a formal film promo on itunes, which attracted 8 million of visitors in just 24 hours.

December 15, the first 100 days of the film's release, The Hunger game launched a new poster, dividing it into 100 small, confusing pieces, and posting these digital posters on 100 pages, allowing netizens to post fragments of posters they found on Twitter. and stitching it up. "It's a silly little game, but it's a big part of it," he said. "said Perry. Last week, he worked with Microsoft to launch a new game on Facebook that would allow netizens to experience a virtual Capitol tour.

Pui Lun's "trick" is to let the audience think they found a movie, and actively consciously into it, like role-playing games, once involved in the difficult to extricate themselves. Hollywood marketing experts call similar online movie marketing arg (alternate Reality Gaming), called "intrusive virtual reality interactive game". On the surface, fans build the Word-of-mouth effect of the film through word of mouth. Behind it, it contains more ingenious marketing philosophy.

The genesis of Arg can be traced back to the Dark Knight of the Batman series. In 2008, in an effort to promote the "Dark Knight" of the Year, Warner Bros. designed nearly 30 sites related to the movie plot, covering all aspects of the Gotham Police Station, the railroad Company, the taxi company, the bank, the church, the newspaper and the television station. The small details of each site may be the key to helping a user solve a puzzle, and the complexity and sophistication are breathtaking. As a reward for the mystery, new posters and promotional films have been released. Interestingly, in Warner's Gotham Television agency website, netizens can also see a series of movies around the Batman, Dent, "clown" and other films produced by the main characters, the Fidelity is like running a real TV channel.

"You have to give viewers a lot of fresh stuff, surprise them, and try to keep these surprises going until the DVD is released." "This is what marketing a movie is all about," explains Perry.