A Look at the Marketing Behind 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price'

The LA Times' Calendar section had an interesting feature on documentarian Robert Greenwald, the filmmaker behind last year's smash indie DVD releases Outfoxed and Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War. So how did Greenwald find an audience for his docs? According to Ralph Tribbey of the DVD Release Report, DVDs have created a market where niche films, especially those covering hot-button topics, can readily find an audience:

"DVDs are where the money is," he said. "If just 3% or 4% of 75 million DVD households are into a social message, selling a couple of hundred thousand units isn't unreasonable. It's always hard for independent filmmakers. But home video, the Internet and [news-hungry] 24/7 cable news channels help.

Another point to take away from the article is just how early you can begin marketing issue-based, participatory films:

The Web, Greenwald found, is a powerful tool for fundraising and information gathering. So far, he's raised $750,000 -- of which $50,000 came from donors. (Anyone giving $30 or more gets a free DVD.) The director also used the Internet to sign up 600 field producers, novices as well as professionals, and elicit footage, photos and tips about Wal-Mart. The title of the movie was the winner of an online popularity contest.

"This is my universal studio," said the 61-year-old filmmaker, pointing to a computer in his Culver City office... "Through our website we've reached hundreds of thousands of people without a multimillion-dollar marketing push."

The combination of issue-fueled publicity and savvy online marketing is the one-two punch in overcoming a lack a traditional advertising-based release push. Fostering a passionate community is also important -- One look at the film's website illustrates just how integral this notion has become in all stages of an indie film's production, distribution and marketing:

1. The main feature on the homepage is a call to action to get involved in the filmmaking process:
2. Individuals have the opportunity to post opinions, stories and photos relating to their personal experiences with Wal-Mart.
3. The site offers a timely blog with an RSS feed.
4. They provide numerous opportunities to join in and participate with partnering activist groups.
5. They have a funny, participatory sub-site featuring the film's mascot, the "Evil Smiley." Incidentally, co-opting and modifying this universally recognized image has provided this film with arguably one of the best logos since Ghostbusters.

Based on an early look at blog trend tracking sites like Blogpulse, Icerocket and Technorati, the chatter in the blogosphere is just starting to pick up. But once the amplifying effect of thousands of linking blogs takes hold, expect this film to generate massive grassroots level buzz as the November 13th release date approaches.

[Via calendarlive.com]

Fox makes a Major Marketing Push for the Christian Audience

According to a recent article on The Deadbolt, 20th Century Fox has pursued a number of initiatives to solidify it's position in the christian marketplace:

According to Director of Marketing Jeff Yordy, Fox wants to expand its dominance of the DVD market by becoming the number one provider of filmed entertainment content that "blends entertainment with positive messages." To this end, they're joining forces with Word Distribution, a Warner/Curb company who "creates, markets, and distributes recorded, print and video products for Christian entertainment and edification," to get their family friendly products into as many stores as possible.

Here's a partial list of some of Fox's major movie marketing initiatives to date on this front:

1. They had a heavy presence at this year's Christian Bookseller's Association conference, promoting the "family-friendly" film Midnight Clear.


2. They've launched a website targeting the Christian market: Foxfaith.com


3. They've relaunched the 'Strawberry Shortcake' line of DVDs to be Christian themed, and have packaged their DVDs with a Bible study packet in some retail outlets.


4. The studio has committed to develop 13 "values-driven" movies, and are developing relationships with born-again actors to star in them.

Given the runaway success of 'Passion of the Christ' last year, these moves seem inevitable. But was that film's performance an anomaly? Mike Dunn, Fox's President of Home Entertainment, seems to think differently:

According to Dunn the "faith based consumer is underserved" and represents a significant part of the 26.6 billion dollar DVD industry. If the opening of Joel Osteen's 16,000 capacity mega-church in Houston is any indication, the faith based market is also expanding exponentially.

While Fox now has an early lead among the big five, the others will undoubtedly be entering the fray soon enough.

[Via The Deadbolt]

Vets Upset over 'Wedding Crashers' Purple Heart Promo

According to Adrants, a tongue-in-cheek viral game for 'The Wedding Crashers' urging the use of the Purple Heart medal to score chicks has angered Veterans' groups:

Part of the promotional website for the Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn movie Wedding Crashers and a scene within the movie makes reference to the Purple Heart, a military medal of honor. The movie, which, remember, is a movie and not real life, pokes fun at the medal by claiming it gets a guy attention if he wears one with the line, "Carrying a Purple Heart in your jacket guarantees you attention, admiration and plenty of free booze."

Update: The Washington Post is now reporting that New Line has pulled the offending section off of the film's web site. Apparently, the notion of impostors using fake medals to score favors is a sore point in D.C. right now:

Wearing, manufacturing, buying, selling or trading a Medal of Honor is a crime. [Congressman] Salazar's Stolen Valor Act, introduced Friday, would expand the law to include more medals and would allow prosecution of anyone who falsely claims to have earned a military medal or a Purple Heart.

His office drew attention to the Web site. On Monday, he claimed victory.

"If any movie-goers take the advice of the 'Wedding Crashers' and try to use fake Purple Hearts to get girls, they may wind up picking up an FBI agent instead."

Kinda harsh. New Line did the right thing by pulling the section though. Given the lack of vets working in private industry these days, its not hard to see how something like this could slip by without a proper vetting. Adrants does make a point that in a time of war, sensitivities are indeed higher, and an extra level of scrutiny needs to be applied to all things military-related.

[Via Adrants]

Sony Pictures teams up with Maven Networks to promote 'Stealth' via Broadband

According to a joint press release issued today, Sony Pictures is teaming up with Maven Networks, a company that specializes in broadband content, to provide high quality streaming elements to promote the upcoming release of 'Stealth':

Sony Pictures Digital's video content will include a series of trailers, games, and exclusive behind-the-scenes video content directly to consumers who opt-in at the film's Web site. With Maven's technology, Sony can reach consumers directly online and build a powerful, ongoing, and measurable relationship with movie fans.

Entertainment companies are now able to offer full-screen, highest-quality video content to promote their films. With more than 58% of U.S. online households(1) now accessing the Internet via broadband connections, former barriers to receiving high-quality, full-screen videos -- such as download time and illegal sharing -- now can be surmounted technologically. Movie studios are among the first to embrace broadband video to showcase their products.

With all the debate surrounding the box office performance this year, there's little doubt in everyone's mind that actual attendance numbers are down. Because of the myriad of home entertainment choices and rising ticket prices, consumers are more apt to explore movie websites in order to choose what films to see -- providing the highest quality of marketing materials is part of this equation.


[Via Marketwire]

Warner Brothers promotes 'Batman Begins' with Yahoo Takeover Ads

Warner Brothers has purchased massive takeover ads on the Yahoo homepage, which includes heavy flash animated bats and sound effects. If anyone else spots a major 'Batman Begins' online ad buy, post where you saw it as a comment.


[Thanks to Adrants]

British Online Renter Video Island to Boost Marketing Spend

After securing £15 million in venture capital, upstart British online DVD rental company Video Island announced a £6 million increase in marketing spending:

Saul Klein, chief executive of Video Island, said that the majority of the £6m marketing push would be spent within the context of its partnerships, which include companies such as Boots, Currys and Times Newspapers.

The company, which also owns ScreenSelect, said it would look at testing other forms of above-the-line advertising, including television. It has already run some radio, outdoor and print advertising, created in house, but Klein said the focus would remain on performance-based advertising and partner marketing.

Video Island is the biggest online rental service in Europe, with a selection of over 33,000 titles. The company recently partnered with ITV and MSN UK to offer co-branded rental services.


[Via Digital Bulletin]

'Revenge of the Sith' Drives Jump in Online Ticket Sales

According to a comScore Media Metrix press release, the release of 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith' was a huge boon for websites selling movie tickets:

Star Wars fanatics turned to the Web in droves to secure quickly selling tickets. Nearly all of the top ticket merchants saw increases compared to last May. Category leader Moviefone, which was partnered with StarWars.com, drew 15.3 million visitors, an increase of 29 percent compared to a year ago. With 12.5 million visitors, Yahoo! Movies jumped 26 percent compared to last year, while Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com were up 65 and 75 percent, respectively.

With more pressure on movie marketers to measure ROI, expect to see a greater emphasis on measurable actions like online ticket sales. We also wouldn't be surprised if a "premium seating" or "assigned seating" trend emerges to further drive pre-sales.


[Via Yahoo! Business]

Fandango and IMAX Launch Co-branded Portal

According to a joint press release, online ticketer Fandango has partnered with the IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq: IMAX) by creating a co-branded portal showcasing IMAX theaters. According to the release:

The IMAX portal on Fandango's web site will be a one-stop destination for IMAX fans to discover movies playing at IMAX theatres in North America and will provide consumers with a seamless way to purchase tickets to select IMAX theatres. The portal is the latest advancement in the strategic Fandango-IMAX marketing partnership, first announced on December 9, 2004.

This is good timing for both parties, with demand for IMAX versions of summer blockbusters heating up. Fandango's user base is a great match for IMAX's premium version of the theater-going experience. This is just one more reason we expect IMAX to have one of their biggest summers on record.


[Via dBusinessNews]

Insight Into the Studio's Online Marketing Processes

Chris Thilk has posted a great interview with Perry Wang over at his Movie Marketing Madness blog. Wang is from Media Revolution, a web design firm that does work for the majors.

If you've ever wondered how a the process works at that level, this is a must-read interview. One revealing segment explained why we see so little innovation in regards to special content like podcasts, blogs, webisodes, etc:

Another bottleneck for content is the budget for the film's site. Good content costs money to produce. The teams that support the web updates also need to be paid. Only the most organized, integrated studios are able to align their decision makers and budgets to create and post new content like webisodes and other featurettes prior to a film's release.

There's plenty of tidbits like that -- check it out...


[Via Movie Marketing Madness]

Europeans see Web as a Means to Beat Hollywood

In a statement released at Cannes today, European culture ministers and film industry execs claimed that the web will be a critical component in freeing Hollywood's grip on their domestic film industries:

"The advent of film online offers immense opportunities for the film industry both with regard to access to new audiences and with regard to wider circulation of European films, including on international markets," they said in a statement.
"Audiences are often currently deprived of access to certain films -- either for geographical reasons or because more artistic or experimental films have difficulty in being screened widely."

Personally, I think this statement reads like its the "world wide web" circa 1996. Online distribution is not a panacea, but rather just another form of "bucket" that content is carried in, just like DVDs, VHS Tapes, and 16mm prints that preceded it. The studios have become adept at using technology, and their adoption of the internet as a marketing channel hasn't been any different. Okay -- I admit, they were initially slow in "getting" it (and a few still haven't), but it would be hard to deny that their online marketing skills are getting better by the day. Realistically, if European countries wish to compete in the digital film distribution arena, they need to be more effective and innovative in finding online audiences than American movie studios. A proprietary content delivery system and quality content are paramount as well...

[Via Yahoo! News]

Universal Bows 'Meet the Fockers' DVD With New Broadband Ad Format

According to Digital Bulletin, Universal is supporting the U.K. launch of the 'Meet the Fockers' DVD with a new broadband ad format:

It is a new format that capitalises on broadband connection by delivering full-screen, high-quality video streaming, run from any fixed-position ad.
Film distributor Universal is using the format to stream the television ad through the Lycos homepage and within an ad placement on the FHM homepage. It could also be used to stream movie trailers or other content.
Overlays will also stream the TV spot on sites including The Sun Online, Virgin.net and NTL World.

As broadband penetration continues to gain a greater foothold both here and abroad, video ads will become the norm rather than the exception on high-profile releases. However, I think that these ads will also be an important tool for smaller films where audiences would be much less likely to be exposed to a trailer.

Disney to Bow Massive Roadblock for the 'Chronicles of Narnia' Trailer

According to a Disney press release, the company is buying a massive "roadblock" on broadcast, cable, online and other media to launch the 'Chronicles of Narnia' trailer. Touted as the "largest audience ever for a theatrical trailer debut," the ads will reach an estimated 200 million+ viewers in 32 countries, 13 languages, across five continents and spanning over 12 time zones.

Here's more from the release:

The worldwide "roadblock" will be anchored by the U.S. broadcast debut of the "Chronicles of Narnia" trailer on Saturday, May 7th during ABC's network premiere of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (available in over 106 million households) along with online visitors to America Online Web sites (including AOL Welcome Screen, AIM, Moviefone, etc.), and Verizon Wireless V CAST customers. The trailer will also air simultaneously on Disney Channel, and on four channels across the Starz Entertainment Group network. Verizon Wireless customers will also be able to access the trailer through the company's V CAST wireless multimedia service.

Within a 48-hour period surrounding this domestic launch, the international "roadblock" (dubbed in over 11 languages) will similarly introduce the trailer around the world, with simulcasts on popular programs in such countries as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Korea, and Latin America. In addition to the broadcast launches, each territory will partner with print and online outlets to maximize exposure.

More to come...

[Via Yahoo! News]

Reaction Negative to Paris Hilton's 'House of Wax' Promo Podcast

If the comments surrounding Paris Hilton's promotional podcasts for 'House of Wax' are any indicator, Warner Brothers' experiment with the format has been poorly received by members of the podcasting community.

According to the message boards on Podcast Alley, a leading source for podcasting shows and info, people are finding the rambling musings of Paris as she wanders around as "boring celeb-spam." Here's an example from one post written yesterday:

I started listening to podcasts in January, and I gotta say that, after hearing the first Paris Hilton "podcast", I am really impressed with how fast the whole thing appears to be going right down the tubes...The Paris Hilton "podcast" is exactly the kind of drivel that drove people to take broadcast content into their own hands in the first place. *This* is what the podcasting community should boycott, and if it is on Podcast Alley only because of the cash involved, P.A. is in real trouble..."

Backlash from insiders is one thing, but are these podcasts going to get anyone interested in the film? After having listened to the show, my verdict is a resounding no. The production values are embarrassing, Paris' unfettered ennui is tiresome, and the grating theme had me reaching for the mute button on my keyboard.

So what have we learned from this experiment?

1. Poor production values -- If you're going to do a commercial podcast, do it right. Hire professionals to record, edit and mix the audio.

2. Boring content -- They should have structured the content to complement the film and build interest in it. We're not talking hiring a crack team of writers or anything -- but even a little bit of structure would have been nice.

3. Wrong audience for the film's demographics -- podcasting is still in it's infancy, and is largely a tech-savvy audience catering to hip, literate men and women in their mid to late twenties. Paris Hilton, awash in disinterest and perpetually disengaged, is about the worst person you could pick to reach out to these people.

So what kind of film would have benefited from a podcast? I can think of two:

Seems like big-budget sci-fi fans are the perfect demo to consume podcasts -- for example, imagine how popular one for the upcoming 'War of the Worlds' film could be, especially if it was a 2005 version of the famed Orson Welles broadcast...

Or maybe a studio could use a podcast to cheaply add web value to a preexisting franchise -- think "Shrek" or "Napoleon Dynamite". Perhaps you could have Napoleon run a fictional Idaho radio station, playing his "flippin' sweet" tunes...

These are just off-the-cuff examples, but I can see something in line with these ideas having a greater impact and the potential for a "viral effect."

You can catch the first two 'House of Wax' podcasts here.

[Via Always On]

Amityville Horror remake backed with online ad push

In their latest issue, Brand Republic covers the online movie marketing push for the Amityville Horror remake. Sam Ball of London-based Lean Mean Fighting Machine, the agency behind the ad, described their approach:

It was important that the flies looked and behaved realistically to create an impression of a plague of disgusting flies infesting your computer. By giving each fly its own simple artificial intelligence the illusion was made possible despite the tight file size restrictions.

Horror marketing campaigns are becoming quite the playground! We would really like to see this ad -- if anyone has a link, please forward it to us.

Amityville Horror remake backed with fly-ridden online ad push - Brand Republic

The "Seed of Chucky" Sperm Bank: Gross or Brilliant?

I was on Yahoo! Movies today when I stumbled across a tower ad that took me to the "Sperm Bank," which just happens to be the "Official Seed of Chucky Fan Community."

With lots of tongue in cheek humor, the Sperm Bank enlists Chucky fans to engage in various viral and promotional marketing activities that earn them "sperm," which they can later cash in for Chucky swag. Some of the activities include:

Paint the town Chucky! Chucky is getting ready to paint the town red this weekend. Click here and help him get started by printing out stickers from the "Killer Stuff" section and hanging them all over your town! Take a picture of your handiwork and upload it to the Delivery Room for 200 sperm. (Limit one).

Opening Weekend Photo Challenge When you rush to see Seed of Chucky this weekend, don't forget your friends or your camera! Take a photo of you and a group of your friends in front of a Chucky poster, upload it to the Delivery Room and you'll get 200 sperm! (Limit one).

Interesting idea, but it the user interface is crappy, and you would have to do a hell of a lot of free promo work to get a free Chucky doll. I might try to get the Chucky condoms though -- they're only 200 points.

Click here to become a member of Chucky's Sperm Bank!

Sci Fi Channel U.K. Promotes The Grudge With a Microsite

From across the pond, Brand Republic noted that the U.K. Sci Fi Channel promoted the launch of the supernatural thriller 'The Grudge' with a custom microsite, on-air promos and horror-themed weekend programming:

The microsite contains editorial and promotional information about the film, which stars 'Buffy' actress Sarah Michelle Gellar and is a remake of a popular Japanese thriller.

There is also a viral email competition that shows mysterious footage of the Sci Fi office. Promotional trailers and behind-the-scenes footage support the movie.

The "Do you have a grudge?" themed weekend was developed by Sci Fi Brand Solutions and ZenithOptimedia and includes some of the best Japanse and Thai supernatural cinema, including the first back-to-back screening of 'The Ring' trilogy.

Does anyone know if this is a carbon-copy of the U.S. Sci Fi Channel's promo (or if they did one at all?)

At any rate, the "weekend saturation" approach appears to have taken ground in Europe as well.

Brand Republic

Online Short Film Renaissance: Lessons Learned

With the torrid success of short political films on the web this year, many online film venues have emerged from their dot-com era time capsules and have begun to see a renaissance of sorts. According to Technology Review, audinece figures are finally matching the dot-com era hype:

How big a deal was the election for online films? Before the July launch of This Land, Atom Films was getting about three million unique visitors per month. As November 2 drew near, that figure reached 9–10 million. The political-themed “Mock the Vote” section of Atom Films “tripled our traffic and sustained it,” says O’Neill. iFilm’s Harrison says that the political fare increased traffic to his site as well. iFilm now streams between 40 million and 45 million movies per month, up from 15–20 million a year ago.

With the likelihood of political burnout from the most saturated election in our country's history, can the likes of iFilm and Atom/Shockwave hold their audiences? Here's their marketing strategies in a nutshell:

Harrison says iFilm will soon launch an action sports channel, hoping to capture the grassroots enthusiasm surrounding activities such as skateboarding and motocross. Atom Film’s O’Neill says her company has learned a valuable lesson from its recent success: go topical. “We’re looking at the calendar for big events to figure out what we can produce around them,” she says.

Cat a niche get any more niche? This is precision segmentation at its best, folks!

Technology Review: Golden Age for Online Films

AOL, Moviefone Partner to Premiere 'Star Wars III' Trailer Online

According to a Time Warner press release, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith will air its teaser trailer on AOL Movies/Moviefone one day before it reaches the theaters, and will then share exclusive use of the clip with Lucasfilm:

AOL(R) Movies and Moviefone.com(R), one of the largest online movie destinations, today announced that they will offer an online premiere of the highly anticipated teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith on November 4, one day before it appears in theaters. The trailer will be released in theaters on November 5, and will be available online only on AOL and StarWars.com Hyperspace, the subscription-only Official Star Wars Fan Club.

Apparently, they plan on adding other special content as well, including extended clips:

AOL Movies and Moviefone will continue to offer movie fans more online access to Star Wars video clips and images than ever before. AOL and Moviefone recently featured exclusive video content from the Star Wars Trilogy DVD, which was released on September 21, 2004 and has become the top-selling DVD box set of all time.

The hardcore fan subculture behind this film is a proven traffic generator, both online and offline. When the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace trailer was released in 1998, it drove fans to buy tickets to see the much maligned 'Meet Joe Black.' Time Warner is betting on an online equivelant of that phenomenon -- hopefully, with better results than poor Joe Black had - (people streamed out of the theater following the trailers...)

AOL Movies and Moviefone.com to Offer Online Premiere of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith Teaser Trailer

Fox Searchlight Launches Top-Notch Fake Site for 'I Heart Huckabees'

Fox Searchlight has taken the fake website marketing tactic to new heights with the 'I Heart Huckabees' effort. Featuring several great fake commercials, coupons, and even a fake magazine cover, they've really outdone themselves. The Open Spaces Coalition site is great too.

Fox understands the real reason for doing a fake site - to provide backstory that develops further interest in the film. unlike the Godsend Institute site from earlier this year, the Huckabee's site isn't just a quickie effort to gain publicity, and won't be mistaken for a "real site." Instead, it further develops the story and characters. Note that Jude Law and Jason Schwartzman are not hidden - they're prominently featured. There's also a little disclaimer link at the bottom that takes you straight to the film's page at Fox.

The Huckabees Corporation - Welcome

Blockbuster Officially Launches Online DVD Rental Service

It's official -- Blockbuster's online rental service is now live, and the press release just hit the net a few minutes ago. Although I am currently a Netflix member, I'll test out the Blockbuster service to compare the offerings, user interface, etc. to keep all you movie marketers up to speed.

As a cult/foreign/obscure movie fan, I am strongly considering Greencine, a niche competitor (and proud authors of the best damn film blog on the net) though the speediness of Netflix may have me spoiled.

The only one I have no interest in is the Wal Mart service. I'd rather stick with a "movie company," although Wal-Mart is arguably the single biggest DVD retailer in the U.S.

Ah, the old dilemma -- good, fast or cheap -- you can only have two of the three.

Blockbuster Launches New Online DVD Rental Service

Twentieth Century Fox and eBay Enter Marketing Partnership

Just got this press release a few minutes ago. Looks like Twentieth Century Fox is increasing their online marketing footprint (the ubiquity of 'Aliens vs. Predator' banners on the top web properties lately should give this one away). By partnering with eBay, they're getting a broad-based online demographic similar to what they used to get with network buys. Here's a little excerpt from the release:

Fox is the first movie studio to have rich media ads on the eBay homepage linking to integrated promotional pages on an eBay micro-site; and the first film company to have movie trailers and integrated showtimes accessible on a micro-site linked from eBay.

"We are thrilled to be working with eBay, a worldwide community of more than 105 million registered users. The relationship will give us the ability to interact with eBay users, as well as gain access to frequent moviegoers," said Jeffrey Godsick, executive vice president of marketing at Fox. "We are always seeking exciting, non-traditional marketing opportunities, and this one with eBay fits perfectly with our goals to find new ways to reach new audiences."

You can see the first Fox-Ebay microsite here.

Fox Reaches eBay Community With Trailers, Showtimes, Props and Related Listings; Twentieth Century Fox and eBay Enter Into Marketing Agreement

'Manchurian Candidate' Advertising on Political Blogs

I'm a frequent reader of political blogs like Daily Kos and the Juan Cole blog, and I noticed this weekend that Paramount's been advertising 'The Manchurian Candidate' on them. Given that the film portrays a corporate attempt to control the government, I'm guessing the ads are limited to lefty blogs (post a comment if you've spotted them elsewhere).

If you've been following the political blog arena, you know how politicians have been successfully using blogads.com to solicit donations. This is the first movie advertisement I've seen on their ad network, but it doesn't really surprise me -- look at these traffic rankings of the top political weblogs, and you can see why Hollywood is licking their chops. With a weekly ad on Daily Kos running at $325 bucks, and traffic at 136,000 users per day, you end up with a CPM well under a buck (you can plug the numbers into this calculator if you wanna get specific). Try to find a cheaper way to reach that many targeted eyeballs in print or broadcast!

With the kind of segmentation available with blogs, the movie marketers behind 'The Manchurian Candidate' are definitely on to something...

Related Links:
Manchurian Candidate Official Site
Daily Kos :: Political Analysis and other daily rants on the state of the nation.

Report: Internet Drives Interest in Summer Blockbusters

Very interesting press release from Claria, an online behavioral marketing company (You might know them from their "Gator" ewallet product). The company analyzed their 43 millon-strong user base to see what impact online marketing had on three big-budget summer releases...

Here's the meat of the release:

More Moviegoers Skip Theater Lines with Online Ticket Purchases

-- Of the respondents who go to the movies, 24% said that they have
bought movie tickets online.
-- Of the respondents who bought movie tickets online, 71% made a
purchase 1-3 times in the past 6 months.
-- Fandango was the most popular site for movie tickets with 44%
of people saying they have used it to purchase tickets.
Movietickets.com and Moviefone.com followed with 36% and 21%,
respectively.

Online Advertising Increases Movie Buzz

-- 43% of survey respondents had seen a Spiderman 2 ad online,
followed by Harry Potter at 41% and Shrek 2 at 27%.

Film-Related Sites Also Find Success Online

-- Yahoo! Movies was the most popular general movie site among users for
information relating the three summer blockbuster movies. The Shrek 2
Yahoo! movie site captured 30% of total traffic to the top
general movie sites related to the three movie sequels, followed by the

Yahoo! Harry Potter movie site with 29% and finally the
Spiderman 2 Yahoo! movie site capturing 12% of total traffic.
-- 39% of total traffic to the three official movie sites came on
Fridays and Saturdays.
-- Survey respondents cited "watching trailers" as the most popular reason

for visiting official movie sites with 66% of respondents going
online to see the trailer for Harry Potter, 53% for Shrek 2, and
48% for Spiderman 2.

Movie Enthusiasts Are Likely to Purchase Video/DVD

-- Harry Potter movie enthusiasts are most likely to purchase the movie
when it comes out with 48% of respondents saying they will
definitely or probably buy the DVD or video. This number is followed by

41% who cited that they will definitely or probably purchase
Spiderman 2 when it's released and 39% for Shrek 2.
-- Of those who had seen the first or earlier releases of these summer
blockbuster sequels, more than half purchased the movies when they were

released on video or DVD:

* 58% of the respondents who saw Shrek 1 in the theater also
bought it.
* 63% of those who saw one or more earlier Harry Potter
movies, also bought one or more Harry Potter films.
* 56% of those who saw Spiderman 1 in the theater also bought
it.

Other Results Indicate:

-- 39% of total survey respondents go to the movies once or more
every 3-4 weeks.
-- Most respondents plan on seeing the movies within 1-3 weeks of the
movie's release:

* Shrek 2 -- 88% will go within the first three weeks of the
movie's release.
* Spiderman 2 -- 74% will go within the first week and 92%
will go within the first three weeks.
* Harry Potter -- 60% will go within the first few days, 91%
within the first three weeks.

A Brief History of the "Fake Movie Website" Marketing Tactic

With all of the press attention fake movie websites are getting these days, I thought it would be interesting to build a timeline of all of those that I could find. This timeline includes both "hoax" style sites (sites mimicking the look and feel of a real company/institution) and fake fan sites.

1998 -- The Blair Witch Project. The one that started the sub-genre and ignited the interest in internet marketing for films. Released by Artisan Entertainment, the film went on to gross $140,539,099 domestically.

1999 -- The Fanatic's Guide to the Blair Witch -- A fan site rumored to have been started by friends of the film’s producers to manufacture buzz. Salon did an article on this.

January 2000 -- Finemann Films -- A fake film company website appeared in tandem with a major national print buy promoting the 30th anniversary of the company. The site was actually a promotional vehicle for the Jerry Stiller film 'The Independent.' Released by Arrow Films, the film grossed $238,000 domestically.

March 2000 -- Firstpiece.com -- A fan site rumored to be fake. Creation was concurrent with the publicity ramp-up of 'American Pie.' The film was released by Universal Pictures, and went on to gross $101,800,900 domestically.

June 2000 -- Watch Us Dorm -- A fake "webcam voyeur site" used to promote an indie horror film. The film never secured theatrical distribution.

April 2001 -- Bangalore World University -- One of many fake sites that sprang up to build buzz and backstory for the film 'A.I. - Artificial Intelligence.' Released by Warner Brothers, the film grossed $78,616,689 domestically.

May 2001 -- "National Blonde Day" -- A fake association site used to promote the film 'Legally Blonde.' It was updated last year to promote the sequel as well. Released by MGM, the film went on to gross $96,520,674 domestically.

October 2003 -- Lacuna, Inc. -- A fake medical facility that purports to erase unpleasant memories. Created to promote the film 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.' Released by Focus Features, the film has grossed $33,560,352 domestically so far.

January 2004 -- Kingdom Hospital of Maine -- A fake hospital website to promote the TV miniseries "Kingdom Hospital." -- The ABC show has recently fared poorly in the ratings, and will be cancelled after the remaining four episodes air this July.

February 2004 -- The Godsend Institute -- another fake medical facility, this time purporting to be able to "clone lost loved ones." Used to promote the film 'Godsend.' Released by Lions Gate Films, the movie has grossed $14,262,583 domestically so far.

February 2004 -- Katz, Cohen & Phelps -- a fake law firm site used to promote the film 'Laws of Attraction.' Released by New Line, the film has grossed $17,755,992 to date.

April 2004 -- I Robot Now, Inc. -- a fake technology company purporting to sell robots. Created to promote the upcoming release of 'I, Robot.' The film will be released by 20th Century Fox, and will be in theaters July 16th, 2004.

May 2004 -- "Eric Bruderman Webpage." Purports to be a "secret" site where war footage is leaked. Probably created to promote the release of the film 'September Tapes,' which is scheduled for release by First Look Pictures this fall.

Some of these may take a while to load since I pulled the links from archive.org.

This list is by no means complete -- especially in the timeframe between late 2001 - late 2002. if you have a site you know of or have a link to, let me know so I can add it...

Indie Film 'September Tapes' upstages Recent Hollywood Efforts at Viral Marketing

Hollywood's efforts to recreate the viral marketing success of "The Blair Witch Project" have been lackluster at best. So it doesn't surprise me that an indie film company may have beat them to the punch. First Look Media, the company behind "The Prophecy" and "Waking Ned Devine," may have a word-of-mouth and internet-driven hit with their upcoming film "September Tapes."

The film, apparently a blend of fact and fiction, chronicles the efforts and subsequent capture of a documentary director in Afghanistan. Fake or not, their recent viral email campaign released a clip that looks more real than network news footage. Think "Blair Witch meets Saving Private Ryan."

First Look has combined this footage with a cryptic, shadowy website (obviously done for peanuts) that really lends to the intrigue. It seems like a viral email regarding the site and a "leaked" film clip is spreading like wildfire, too. Even with a bit of research, I still can't figure out what's real, what's fake and if the director was ever actually kidnapped while filming in Afghanistan. First Look ain't making it any easier, either. According to this article, First Look's keeping mum about the whole campaign. Here's their "official line" regarding the film:

"September Tapes" provides a rare and controversial look behind the scenes of war-torn Afghanistan, where documentary filmmaker Don Larson traveled to the troubled country six months after 9/11 and followed a bounty hunter on the trail of Osama bin Laden. Much of the film’s footage was held by the U.S. Department of Defense after Larson went missing in Afghanistan. It is the first non-Afghani film shot in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, and it is also the first feature shot in an active war zone."

If the rest of the film looks as good as the trailer, we might have a sleeper hit on our hands in August.

nbc13.com - Entertainment - Mysterious War Footage May Be Part Of Movie Campaign

Metallica Doc 'Some Kind of Monster' to air Weekly "Webisodes"

Metallica has come a long way with their tireless self-promotion over the years. Long before their "concert film," I remember sitting behind a guy in high school who wore the same Master of Puppets t-shirt for a whole semester.

If you're looking for that kind of relentless exposure, you might want to check out the upcoming weekly webisodes from their documentary 'Some Kind of Monster.'

As previously reported, the much-anticipated (ed. note -- Is this true? I missed it at Sundance. Heard it was a real-life 'Spinal Tap' for the cynical set...) $4-million documentary will initially expected to be released in small theaters in such cities as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with plans to show the movie in other U.S. markets by the fall. No word as to how long the webisodes are, but based on the article on blabbermouth.net, it looks like very little was left on the cutting room floor -- it's all going to end up in a megadeath-sized boxed set.

If we're looking at one minute long snippets, then we're talking a 15 minute teaser spread out over two months -- another variation on the big-budget, studio-sponsored teasers popping up on the networks. From my angle, it looks like a smart way to quickly build traffic for the website.

By the way, if anyone knows the general terms/percentages regarding the IFC service deal, let me know...

By the way -- if anyone on their press team happens to read this -- offer multiple formats for your press kit -- not just PDFs!

METALLICA: 'Monster' Weekly Webisodes To Launch This Week - May 11, 2004

Movies.com Launches the First Annual Movie Site Awards

Movies.com recently announced their First Annual Movie Site Awards. Submissions are being accepted through June 25th. Here are the qualifications according to their site:

In order to qualify for award nomination, the candidate site must involve a movie, actor, actress, director, or screenwriter associated with a theatrical release in the last six months of 2003 or any time in 2004. Sites are considered "Official sites" if they are directly operated by a movie studio, distribution company, actor, actress, director, or writer, or their authorized and designated agency. Nominees will be selected by Movies.com from all candidacy announcements received by Movies.com no later than 7/7/04 via the defined submission process. Candidates with demonstrated early grass-roots support on the Movie Site Awards message board will be more likely to be considered as final nominees.

Looks like Movies.com is trying to build some traction at their message boards. At any rate, it's free and linking from your pre-existing site can't hurt -- especially for indies. Surprising though -- no separate indie category....

Movies.com: First Annual Movie Site Awards

Lions Gate Uses Fake Website to Promote 'Godsend'

Lions Gate Films has created a fake website to promote their upcoming Robert Deniro vehicle "Godsend." While not the first this year to do it ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' had their Lacunainc.com site) this new approach is decidedly more deceptive.

With a professionally polished look, bogus testimonials, an 800 number, and absolutely no references to the film, the "Godsend Institute" poses as a medical facility that can clone lost loved ones. To an unsuspecting visitor, the site looks tantalizingly real.

Wired quoted some of the false testimonials and commented on them:

The site features testimonials from satisfied customers. For example: "Our son's name was Michael, and when he died he was 5 years old. I was heartbroken, of course, but my wife was absolutely devastated. She had been told that she was unable to have children, and when Michael was born, she had taken it as a sign from God. When he died, my wife's faith died with him. Then we heard about Dr. Wells and Godsend. It's been three years since he gave Michael back to us, and all I can say is that if there is a God, his name is Dr. Richard Wells. -- Joe R."

The site also exclaims: "Death doesn't have to be an ending. At the Godsend Institute, we have the ability to make it a fresh start -- A New Beginning!"

"That part of it is kind of eerie for anyone who has gone through the loss of a loved one, particularly a child," said George Belch, chairman of the department of marketing at San Diego State University. "But we see so many bizarre things on the Internet."

With such a sensitive topic as cloning, it's easy to see the thinking behind this marketing approach -- It wouldn't surprise me one bit if this erupts into a controversy overflowing with press coverage. But if Lions Gate is subscribing to the "all press is good press" mantra that Hollywood has made famous, it might just backfire. Just one deceived parent who lost a child and falsely got their hopes up could cause some serious outrage. Movie marketing, as fast and loose as its been in the past, is not above ethical marketing standards. But in an environment where the ethics sections in marketing texts are an afterthought, marketers will continue to skirt the limits of acceptability.

Related Links:
Wired News: Attack of the Movie Clones
Former FTC Commissioner's remarks on enforcing truth in Advertising

Universal and Warner Brothers hope to whet appetites with extended previews

Following Fox Searchlight's success with their extended preview for 28 Days Later last year, both Universal and Warner Brothers will be premiering lengthy previews of their own next week.

Universal will screen an uncut 10 minutes from the upcoming Dawn of the Dead as a special event on the USA Network (which is a division of Vivendi-Universal, mind you), which will air "sometime between 10 and 10:30 pm" on March 15th.

In me-too fashion, Warner Brothers will release the first 9 minutes of Taking Lives, although it will only be available online. The preview will premiere on the Taking Lives website on March 19th.

If these test cases work out well, we'll probably see additional budgeting for the creation of "prefaces" to films to be used as "special events," much like we see additional funds budgeted for DVD extras. So far, it looks like this marketing effort works best with horror and thriller titles, which by nature have provocative, spine-tingling sequences perfect for a few minutes of attention-getting advertising. Plus, horror titles are more resistant to bad reviews.

Related Link:

WB to Preview First 9 Minutes of Taking Lives Online

Pushing Releases -- The Fox Searchlight Blog

It's no secret that Fox Searchlight out-marketed all of the other Indie shingles last year (with Newmarket being the only real point of contention). From Bend it Like Beckham to 28 Days Later, they've proven that they can "open a picture and give it legs."

My intuition tells me that they have a highly methodical structure to keeping and maintaining press buzz, and my recent discovery of their Corporate Blog adds some credence to that.

Think about it -- how many times have you gone to a studio, film or other film site looking for press releases, only to find out that the last update was months ago? If you're media, are you really going to make an effort to make frequent visits?

With their blog, Fox Searchlight has turned the drudgery of mining for releases into a press-friendly pastime. And they update it SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.

I have one small recommendation though -- they should really add an RSS feed so journalists can easily configure their feed readers.

[The Fox Searchlight Blog]