Film scares up valuable marketing lessons
If you haven’t heard about viral marketing movie sensation “Paranormal Activity,” take note: the horror movie, which was made for approximately $15,000, “scared up” more than $7.9 million in ticket sales as of last weekend, according to figures from Variety. The unusual roll-out of this movie is one model that studios are intently studying as distribution options for smaller to midsize movies continue to disappear.
The plot of the movie centers on a young day trader and his college student fiancée, who believes she is being haunted by a demon in their San Diego house. “Paranormal Activity” is not a traditional movie, and Paramount chose not to use traditional marketing to get the word out. Instead, Paramount sought to ignite a word-of-mouth campaign on the Web.
According to Advertising Age, the low budget horror hit teaches four valuable marketing lessons:
- Let consumers be your guide. Paramont promised that once “Paranormal Activity” reached one million Demands on its Eventful page, it would release the movie within a reasonable radius of all the fans who demanded the movie by providing their age and zip code. “It totally transforms the brand into a benefactor,” said Eventful CEO Jordan Glazier. “You now have a self-identified list of participants who are passionate about entertainment, and the event brand has even more value to them.”
- Talk directly to your fans. Paramont didn’t waste its marketing money on large-scale TV campaigns. It smartly used social media as the marketing vehicle and market research vehicle for the film.
- Don’t believe the hype. More than a decade ago, “The Blair Witch Project” was viewed as the most successful viral movie marketing strategy to date because it attempted to pass itself off as a documentary rather than a fictional horror film. “Paranormal Activity” didn’t fall into the same trap, as the trailer and TV spots are focused more on marketing the audience’s horrified reactions to the movie.
- Less money, fewer problems, more fun. “Paranormal Activity’s” costs were historically low to produce, with little spent thus far on traditional media. This is a boon for Paramount, as it stands to recoup any overhead costs many times over if the film catches on with a national audience. Despite the film’s phonomenal success, “If it all ended today we’d be very happy,” said Paul Greenstein, the Paramount’s co-president of marketing.
