The Impact of Digital Marketing on Film
An Essay by Noah Simmons
In 2007, the marketing team of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming action-blockbuster sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight decided to take a unique approach to advertising their film. On top of trailers and TV spots, they also created an ARG- an alternate reality game- in which people from all over the world could interact with the world of Gotham City through the internet. People could find clues and codes in the real world that, when deciphered, would spell out phone numbers that they would call and even links to websites they could visit. This game would take place over the course of a year and fill in the gaps between the events of the previous film and the next. From the beginning of the game until it ended a week before the release of the film, audiences were engaging with the universe of the film and unraveling a story right before their eyes. This is the impact that digital marketing can have on my field of study, film, as it can be so much more than simple advertising on Instagram and corporate Twitter accounts.
When it comes to marketing movies, there have always been three simple methods of making sure the public knows about it: trailers, posters, and press tours. Trailers play before other movies, posters are plastered on billboards and in bus stalls, and press tours take the cast and crew around the globe to promote on talk shows and other events. Today, those three tactics are still used, but in the digital age there is something more personal about them. These movie trailers can be watched anywhere now, and for the big blockbuster movies there are YouTube gurus fully dedicated to analyzing them for an even larger audience. Posters can now be modified to become digital wallpapers, screensavers, and even animated posters. Press tours are very much the same, but now the stars of these films can fully engage with their audience directly by having live-streams on Twitch, YouTube and even Facebook. On top of that, some even do Reddit AMAs, or Ask Me Anythings, to answer the questions of the fans directly.
While these various methods of marketing have adapted to the times relatively well, there is still so much potential when it comes to advertising. When The Dark Knight had its own alternate reality game in which players could work together to unravel a story, it built real interest in an incredibly successful film both critically and financially. Even back in 2007 when marketing digitally was still new in the grand scheme of things, this tactic was a success. Now, more than a decade later, there is still more that can be done to truly get audiences invested in a film. The usage of ARGs can be seen as an evolution of simple viral marketing, where the marketing itself is masked by stories, characters, and audience participation. As anybody who has run a test screening for a film with product placement could tell you, audiences hate when they can tell they are being advertised to.
On the other side of the coin, digital marketing has made it a lot easier for smaller budget films to get their names out there. Huge studios buy up a lot of ad-space on websites and in the real world, but a small indie studio can get their film out there by simple word-of-mouth. This kind of thing happened before the age of digital media, but these films were nowhere near as successful. An indie studio can upload an intriguing movie trailer to YouTube and it has the potential to reach billions, without spending millions. Making these trailers, posters, and even press tours more accessible to the average internet user has made it easier than ever for filmmakers to get their stories out.
In the age of the internet, marketing has never been easier, especially for film. Feeding an audience bits and pieces of a story, stringing them along a path leading up to the main story, you build hype. You build interest in your product, your film, in the hopes that they want to see this story continued or otherwise concluded. On top of that, you also find a very cost effective way of advertising without blowing millions of dollars on billboards or other types of ad-space. Sometimes all it takes to advertise a movie now is a stray Facebook comment, an intriguing movie trailer, or a vague poster on a lamppost with a QR code taped to it. I am incredibly thankful to be studying film in the digital age, as now I know exactly what I’m going to do to advertise my movies to audiences. Build interest, build hype, and tell a story while you’re at it.
In 2007, the marketing team of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming action-blockbuster sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight decided to take a unique approach to advertising their film. On top of trailers and TV spots, they also created an ARG- an alternate reality game- in which people from all over the world could interact with the world of Gotham City through the internet. People could find clues and codes in the real world that, when deciphered, would spell out phone numbers that they would call and even links to websites they could visit. This game would take place over the course of a year and fill in the gaps between the events of the previous film and the next. From the beginning of the game until it ended a week before the release of the film, audiences were engaging with the universe of the film and unraveling a story right before their eyes. This is the impact that digital marketing can have on my field of study, film, as it can be so much more than simple advertising on Instagram and corporate Twitter accounts.
When it comes to marketing movies, there have always been three simple methods of making sure the public knows about it: trailers, posters, and press tours. Trailers play before other movies, posters are plastered on billboards and in bus stalls, and press tours take the cast and crew around the globe to promote on talk shows and other events. Today, those three tactics are still used, but in the digital age there is something more personal about them. These movie trailers can be watched anywhere now, and for the big blockbuster movies there are YouTube gurus fully dedicated to analyzing them for an even larger audience. Posters can now be modified to become digital wallpapers, screensavers, and even animated posters. Press tours are very much the same, but now the stars of these films can fully engage with their audience directly by having live-streams on Twitch, YouTube and even Facebook. On top of that, some even do Reddit AMAs, or Ask Me Anythings, to answer the questions of the fans directly.
While these various methods of marketing have adapted to the times relatively well, there is still so much potential when it comes to advertising. When The Dark Knight had its own alternate reality game in which players could work together to unravel a story, it built real interest in an incredibly successful film both critically and financially. Even back in 2007 when marketing digitally was still new in the grand scheme of things, this tactic was a success. Now, more than a decade later, there is still more that can be done to truly get audiences invested in a film. The usage of ARGs can be seen as an evolution of simple viral marketing, where the marketing itself is masked by stories, characters, and audience participation. As anybody who has run a test screening for a film with product placement could tell you, audiences hate when they can tell they are being advertised to.
On the other side of the coin, digital marketing has made it a lot easier for smaller budget films to get their names out there. Huge studios buy up a lot of ad-space on websites and in the real world, but a small indie studio can get their film out there by simple word-of-mouth. This kind of thing happened before the age of digital media, but these films were nowhere near as successful. An indie studio can upload an intriguing movie trailer to YouTube and it has the potential to reach billions, without spending millions. Making these trailers, posters, and even press tours more accessible to the average internet user has made it easier than ever for filmmakers to get their stories out.
In the age of the internet, marketing has never been easier, especially for film. Feeding an audience bits and pieces of a story, stringing them along a path leading up to the main story, you build hype. You build interest in your product, your film, in the hopes that they want to see this story continued or otherwise concluded. On top of that, you also find a very cost effective way of advertising without blowing millions of dollars on billboards or other types of ad-space. Sometimes all it takes to advertise a movie now is a stray Facebook comment, an intriguing movie trailer, or a vague poster on a lamppost with a QR code taped to it. I am incredibly thankful to be studying film in the digital age, as now I know exactly what I’m going to do to advertise my movies to audiences. Build interest, build hype, and tell a story while you’re at it.
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