Marketing Movies, the Web 2.0 Way
on iMedia Connection
by Erik Flannigan, June 13, 2006
AOL's entertainment programming VP explores the advances that entertainment is making toward realizing the full marketing potential of Web 2.0.
It's hard to believe that less than ten years ago, movie studios considered online marketing to be little more than a glorified billboard pasted into a web address. Enter "The Blair Witch Project" and studio executives saw firsthand how the power of the internet could translate into serious box office. We've come a long way since then, as the web now represents an ever-increasing slice of a studio's marketing pie. Now, as the advent of Web 2.0 ushers in a new era for film promotion, how can marketers take full advantage of what the web has to offer amid a drastically changing movie landscape?
Two degrees of Kevin Bacon
Social networking sites represent the next generation of word-of-mouth marketing. In less than 12 months, we've witnessed News Corp.'s purchase of MySpace, the Weinstein brothers' investment in ASmallworld.net and the launch of AIM Pages by AOL-all evidence that some of the web's and Hollywood's biggest players are confident that the social networking phenomenon isn't going away anytime soon.
Unlike previous online scenarios, these interactive community sites enable entertainment fans to get even closer to the original source material. In just a few clicks, fans can forge a meaningful connection to their favorite actors, characters and filmmakers, and at the same time, spread news, rumors and opinions faster than ever before. The notion of "six degrees of 'Kevin Bacon' " has truly become a mere two steps away.
The impact of this changing landscape is significant. If harnessed correctly, the closer connection to consumers will allow marketers the opportunity to build significant worldwide fan bases long before a film hits the big screen. This is especially valuable for sequels, where an audience that may have first discovered a franchise on DVD (e.g., X-Men) will turn immediately to the web to extend their enthusiasm and seek ways to make a deeper connection to what's coming next. It will also give non-endemic advertisers new ways to reach consumers, allowing them to target specific demographics and interests unlike ever before.
The immediacy of the web
Beyond the recent onset of social networks, movie studios are leveraging the web more tactically. As theatrical windows shrink, and films live or die by their opening weekend grosses, online campaigns are starting earlier than ever before. A studio needs to ensure that moviegoers are very much aware of the new Will Ferrell comedy well before it hits their local multiplex, as Thursday night television buys just can't reach the ever-younger demo that occupies those opening-weekend theater seats.
Another impact of the web's power is the simultaneous global release of tent-pole films. The opening of movies like the Matrix sequels and M:I:3 not only curtails online piracy -- which could directly impact box office -- but also creates a press-friendly worldwide media event, showering even more attention on the film. And it probably doesn't hurt to tell a global opening-weekend box office story with certain films, not just a domestic one.
Programming is marketing
Studios are also creating more entertainment assets beyond trailers to help generate early buzz and awareness of new films. Websites like Moviefone.com and Google are taking advantage by creating original programs like the "Da Vinci Code Google Challenge" or Moviefone.com's "Unscripted" series, in which two principals from a film interview each other about the making of the movie. This creates more excitement for consumers, forges new promotional opportunities for the studios and allows non-endemic marketers to associate their brands with marquee talent. Across the board, this new focus on building online campaigns is a winning combination.
Big studio films aren't the only ones making the most of the internet. The makers of independent and short films are also using the web as a platform to showcase their work. Moviefone.com's Short Film Festival is just one example. As more film-related content arrives online, brand marketers have an opportunity to become more innovative in associating campaigns.
Case study: American Express, the Tribeca Film Festival and Moviefone
A great example of a non-endemic brand aligning itself with an entertainment property both online and off is American Express. As a founding sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival since its inception five years ago, American Express has been dedicated to growing the Festival by attracting audiences and building community spirit in compelling ways.
This year, the company launched "My Life. My Card," a competition inviting consumers to submit their story online via a 15-second clip for a chance to win a cash prize and be honored during the Festival. At the same time, American Express partnered with Moviefone.com to promote the competition and align itself with a special series of "Unscripted" interviews shot onsite at the Festival. Additional offline marketing and advertising tactics enhanced the overall American Express campaign, though the online component was the core of the program.
American Express successfully created their own entertainment initiative by tapping into the power of the web and the online community to help generate content. They harnessed the power of social networks by allowing individuals to create and share their own clips, and they understood the importance of joining forces with respected brands, the Tribeca Film Festival and Moviefone.com, to successfully reach their target audience.
Overall, the American Express/Tribeca Film Festival initiative was a huge success and a great example to all marketers looking to capitalize on the web's ability to reach a wide moviegoing audience.
Whether studios tap into the full reach of the web or brand marketers align with web sites in producing original online content, the emergence of Web 2.0 will forever change the media landscape, which is good news for consumers, advertisers and content developers.
As vice president of programming, Erik Flannigan oversees four distinct but interrelated entertainment sites on AOL and AOL.com including Moviefone.com, AOL Music, AOL Radio and AOL Television. Flannigan is responsible for the overall development of innovative and original programming within each of these categories.
by Erik Flannigan, June 13, 2006
AOL's entertainment programming VP explores the advances that entertainment is making toward realizing the full marketing potential of Web 2.0.It's hard to believe that less than ten years ago, movie studios considered online marketing to be little more than a glorified billboard pasted into a web address. Enter "The Blair Witch Project" and studio executives saw firsthand how the power of the internet could translate into serious box office. We've come a long way since then, as the web now represents an ever-increasing slice of a studio's marketing pie. Now, as the advent of Web 2.0 ushers in a new era for film promotion, how can marketers take full advantage of what the web has to offer amid a drastically changing movie landscape?
Two degrees of Kevin Bacon
Social networking sites represent the next generation of word-of-mouth marketing. In less than 12 months, we've witnessed News Corp.'s purchase of MySpace, the Weinstein brothers' investment in ASmallworld.net and the launch of AIM Pages by AOL-all evidence that some of the web's and Hollywood's biggest players are confident that the social networking phenomenon isn't going away anytime soon.
Unlike previous online scenarios, these interactive community sites enable entertainment fans to get even closer to the original source material. In just a few clicks, fans can forge a meaningful connection to their favorite actors, characters and filmmakers, and at the same time, spread news, rumors and opinions faster than ever before. The notion of "six degrees of 'Kevin Bacon' " has truly become a mere two steps away.
The impact of this changing landscape is significant. If harnessed correctly, the closer connection to consumers will allow marketers the opportunity to build significant worldwide fan bases long before a film hits the big screen. This is especially valuable for sequels, where an audience that may have first discovered a franchise on DVD (e.g., X-Men) will turn immediately to the web to extend their enthusiasm and seek ways to make a deeper connection to what's coming next. It will also give non-endemic advertisers new ways to reach consumers, allowing them to target specific demographics and interests unlike ever before.
The immediacy of the web
Beyond the recent onset of social networks, movie studios are leveraging the web more tactically. As theatrical windows shrink, and films live or die by their opening weekend grosses, online campaigns are starting earlier than ever before. A studio needs to ensure that moviegoers are very much aware of the new Will Ferrell comedy well before it hits their local multiplex, as Thursday night television buys just can't reach the ever-younger demo that occupies those opening-weekend theater seats.
Another impact of the web's power is the simultaneous global release of tent-pole films. The opening of movies like the Matrix sequels and M:I:3 not only curtails online piracy -- which could directly impact box office -- but also creates a press-friendly worldwide media event, showering even more attention on the film. And it probably doesn't hurt to tell a global opening-weekend box office story with certain films, not just a domestic one.
Programming is marketing
Studios are also creating more entertainment assets beyond trailers to help generate early buzz and awareness of new films. Websites like Moviefone.com and Google are taking advantage by creating original programs like the "Da Vinci Code Google Challenge" or Moviefone.com's "Unscripted" series, in which two principals from a film interview each other about the making of the movie. This creates more excitement for consumers, forges new promotional opportunities for the studios and allows non-endemic marketers to associate their brands with marquee talent. Across the board, this new focus on building online campaigns is a winning combination.
Big studio films aren't the only ones making the most of the internet. The makers of independent and short films are also using the web as a platform to showcase their work. Moviefone.com's Short Film Festival is just one example. As more film-related content arrives online, brand marketers have an opportunity to become more innovative in associating campaigns.
Case study: American Express, the Tribeca Film Festival and Moviefone
A great example of a non-endemic brand aligning itself with an entertainment property both online and off is American Express. As a founding sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival since its inception five years ago, American Express has been dedicated to growing the Festival by attracting audiences and building community spirit in compelling ways.
This year, the company launched "My Life. My Card," a competition inviting consumers to submit their story online via a 15-second clip for a chance to win a cash prize and be honored during the Festival. At the same time, American Express partnered with Moviefone.com to promote the competition and align itself with a special series of "Unscripted" interviews shot onsite at the Festival. Additional offline marketing and advertising tactics enhanced the overall American Express campaign, though the online component was the core of the program.
American Express successfully created their own entertainment initiative by tapping into the power of the web and the online community to help generate content. They harnessed the power of social networks by allowing individuals to create and share their own clips, and they understood the importance of joining forces with respected brands, the Tribeca Film Festival and Moviefone.com, to successfully reach their target audience.
Overall, the American Express/Tribeca Film Festival initiative was a huge success and a great example to all marketers looking to capitalize on the web's ability to reach a wide moviegoing audience.
Whether studios tap into the full reach of the web or brand marketers align with web sites in producing original online content, the emergence of Web 2.0 will forever change the media landscape, which is good news for consumers, advertisers and content developers.
As vice president of programming, Erik Flannigan oversees four distinct but interrelated entertainment sites on AOL and AOL.com including Moviefone.com, AOL Music, AOL Radio and AOL Television. Flannigan is responsible for the overall development of innovative and original programming within each of these categories.
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15:40
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