Making a successful blockbuster film depends to a large extent on the team, from the actors to the film marketing strategies. The best film marketing campaigns have used marketing techniques focused on marketability so that the audience can feel identified and involved in the project.
The Blair Witch Project
For this film promotion technique, the creators had a clear intention to involve the audience. With the mockumentary format, it was even easier to sell the illusion of reality publicly; strategies such as creating a website where you can enter and explore the movie’s universe, bringing fictional elements to the real world as the fake “wanted” posters of the cast… Two decades ago, this marketing campaign generated such an impact that, made this horror movie world-famous. Keeping the secret, no one knew those things, were only promotions for a movie. The audience believed it was a real documentary until its release, and today, it is a reference to movie marketing campaigns. Make the illusion as real as possible.
The Social Network
From the hand of the acclaimed David Fincher, the social network was a box office success using a well-known strategy in the film industry, the use of a tagline. Movie advertising campaigns like this, start with the promotional poster. For this occasion, we can see the main character (Jesse Eisenberg); above him, the phrase that hooked the interest, “you don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies ‘. This type of movie marketing campaign has proven effective in other scenarios, such as Alien. The same campaigns can be done through digital marketing services nowadays. It shows that using a phrase that reveals (but not spoils) the dark secret behind the story, can keep the audience’s attention.
Psycho
Often, the appeal of an audiovisual project lies in the breaking of the fourth wall. The Master of suspense was aware of it, and that was his promotion technique. Hitchcock introduced the world to his masterpiece “Psycho” by giving a guided tour of the film’s sets, in the first promotional trailer, we walk through the horror with the director. Leaving the events unknown, showing everything and yet nothing, Hitchcock speaks of possible horrors only to leave the audience wondering if they will happen. Arguably, it marked the beginning of today’s known hype, arousing the audience’s curiosity and keep them wanting for more.
Cloverfield
Unlike the horror movie marketing example above, where the viewer wonders what will happen, the advertising campaign used for this film was to leave them wondering “what am I seeing?”, the first trailer for this project did not even include the title of the film or any clues to the plot. The massive hype created by this piece of science fiction film, billed profits of over 170 million, thanks to viral marketing.
Between Two Ferns
This is, undoubtedly, a perfect example of social media film marketing. Meant to make the audience a little uncomfortable, the promotional poster for this movie is sloppily made on purpose to attract the people’s attention. This program, later made into a movie by Netflix, is full of the formula “wrong on purpose”, from the set to the information of the interviewees, even the acting is wrong on purpose to generate an impact on the audience. Across the show, there are usually funny puns or misspellings that, once they’re out, become part of viral marketing on the internet.
Chronicle
Chronicles is another movie that stands out in viral movie marketing campaigns, because, to promote the arrival of this film were launched radio controlled airplanes with a human appearance. The video that was published on the Internet reached more than 5 million views and the attention of many newspapers in NY. An ingenious campaign because the box office was above 120 thousand dollars. The strategy was to give a glimpse of the superpowers to be presented on screen, and so, bringing to life fictional moments to the real world.
Paranormal Activity
This horror movie, nowadays almost cult, was a box office hit because the public wanted it to be. Paramount’s strategy was to create a website where users would log on to request that the film be screened in their area, provoking juicy traffic in conjunction with trailers that showed supposed viewers being rapt with the film. This project, which if it weren’t for its ingenious advertising campaign would have been forgotten, grossed more than 193 million dollars at the box office.
The Simpsons Movie
One of the best film marketing campaigns so far is to promote the film along with the toys. The marketing team for The Simpsons movie teamed up with the franchise Burger King, with the purchase of a kid’s meal you could get a toy. This type of strategy originated with the debut of Star Wars, which also offered toys from the saga in stores before the movie was released. The Simpsons movie grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide.
Every Movie with Ryan Reynolds
The latest movie marketing strategy is to have this actor in the lead role. Audiences love the actor’s personality and charisma, in addition to his talent, and every movie he is in becomes a resounding success at the box office. Thanks to the humor and uniqueness, that he develops for all his characters and the consistency and remarkability they present, is a fresh twist to watch on the big screen; a perfect example of a humorous/charismatic demeanor is Deadpool.
