5 lessons Hollywood taught me about social media

Summer blockbuster season has kicked off with Iron Man 2 hauling in bucket loads of cash. Social media has been a big part of movie promotion this year, allowing film studios to get eager movie goers more engaged with their stories and characters than ever. Every campaign site I visited had a Facebook and Twitter account attached, so they aren't anything that will set a campaign apart any more. While most weren't anything to write home about, a few of the campaigns for this year’s big films have been downright brilliant, generating widespread buzz across the internet. As there are some great concepts in these campaigns, I decided to pick a few of them apart to see what the rest of us trying to market through social media could learn. Here are 5 examples of social media campaigns done right and what lessons there are to take away.

1. Toy Story 3 taught me to think laterally 
Beyond promoting Toy Story 3 directly, Pixar “leaked” bizarre retro TV spots for non-existent toys on YouTube. It was a brilliant move because it showed Pixar understood what gives a video viral appeal, making them feel like obscure, hilarious discoveries that you want to share with everyone you know. With millions of views on YouTube, articles written about the campaign on blogs and websites both big and small, and buzz stormed up on social media networks, Pixar showed us that you don’t have to say a word about yourself to get the internet talking about you.  

2. Iron Man 2 taught me to let fans become the hero 

This site easily took the longest to load (and it doesn’t appear to work in Chrome at all), but it was worth it when it did. Using an augmented reality app and your webcam, you can finally see yourself as Iron Man or War Machine. The app tracks where your head is (don’t ask me how) and places the Iron Man helmet over it, moving around as you move. You can also get an inside view of the helmet with all the futuristic interfaces Tony Stark uses in the movies. It’s a big kick for fans of the movie to see themselves as the hero, and there’s nothing that draws more attention than appealing to people’s vanity. If you can find a way to let your target become the star, it’ll earn you a lot of goodwill. 

 I. Am. Iron Man.

3. Shrek Forever After taught me if I let fans build their own content, they will happily share it 

The campaign site for Dreamworks’ 4th Shrek movie is stuffed with the usual content, but its build-an-ogre feature makes it a standout. It invites you to join the ogre resistance by creating your very own ugly green soldier. There’s actually quite a lot of options for customizing your ogre. The franchise lost my interest after the second film, but I still found it great fun to see what combinations of silly faces and fierce weapons I could come up with. It’s even made me a bit curious about what this resistance is and how it plays into the film. But the really brilliant part is that Dreamworks realized people were far more interested in sharing their own creations than someone else’s, so they gave them a way to make something highly customizable of their own that promoted their film at the same time. 

This is my Ogre. I call him Steve.

 

4. Jonah Hex taught me to plant teasers where the target will find them 

In support of the upcoming theatrical release of Jonah Hex, DC Comics and the WB have created a web series of animated motion-comics covering three new story arcs. I had never heard of Jonah Hex, but the motion-comics look kick ass and have gotten me intrigued enough to look into the film and ask my friends about it. The motion comics are available through Amazon, iTunes, Xbox Live and the Playstation Network – most of the places their target go to satisfy their entertainment cravings. By creating exclusive content to hook potential new fans, they’re generating a higher level of anticipation for the film by immersing people in the Jonah Hex universe. If you put the effort into creating great offshoot content, people will happily download and talk about it – even if they have to pay for it.

5. Despicable Me taught me if you’re just gonna do a campaign site, do it exceptionally well 
The best way to get people to share your content through social media is simply by giving them great content. Universal poured a whole lot of effort (and god knows how much money) into their campaign site for Despicable Me to give visitors much more than the usual, forgettable movie site. I usually hate it when a website has music playing in the background, but Despicable Me’s theme song is too much fun to find annoying. And that’s the crux of this whole site: things that are usually throwaways are done well enough to be endearing. Each section is presented nicely and has several options for sharing the content. The games are particularly slick. They’re based on classics but with amusing tweaks, e.g. when you play tic-tac-toe various landmarks pop up along with amusing soundbites. You even have an extra incentive to keep playing as winning games unlocks prizes, like desktop wallpapers. There isn’t a revolutionary idea in the site, but it certainly has me excited to see this film just by how much fun it is.

Those are just a few of the campaigns for this summer's big movies. Did we miss any of your favorites?  

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry.

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How to get the most out of SXSW

 What started as a small music event showcasing unsigned musical artists is now a mega event that encompasses music, technology and film. For ten days in March each year, all eyes turn to the capital of Texas to find out what bands we should be on the lookout for, which films are truly groundbreaking and what’s on the forefront of web technology and video games. Past bombshells have included the breaking out of Twitter and Foursquare, the US debut of The Hurt Locker, and performances from the likes of Vampire Weekend, Yo La Tengo and Dolly Parton. With over 2,000 bands, 250 films and AOL, Chevy, Pepsi, and SoBe presenting the latest in technology in social media, how do you make sense of it all and keep track of what’s happening?

Fortunately, there are many ways to keep up to date on events, news and schedules. 

My.SXSW.com is the festival’s official planning tool. It lets you create a schedule and join groups. It’s a great way to keep track of what you’re doing. It also has an iPhone app that provides additional features like maps, news, and the ability to share information with other attendees.

After the success of last year’s Zeitgeist, PepsiCo re-enters the fray with SXSW Play. It allows you to listen to the MP3s of featured artists, watch trailers, listen to podcasts, navigate through the SXSW lineup, follow the buzz through the “Zeitgeist” button and more. This appears to be the one iPhone app to rule them all while attending SXSW. This is a great way to follow what's going on without being there.

AOL is working hard to become relevant again with their Lifestream app. Lifestream allows you to bring your Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and AIM accounts together to better stay in touch with others attending the festival. While My.SXSW and SXSW Play keep you up to date with what’s happening, this app allows you to get in touch with people on the ground and to follow along if you can't attend.

Eventbrite has 51 events listed and lets you RSVP to events. This is a great way to connect to people before SXSW kicks off and can help you find events that you might miss otherwise.

Mashable has teamed up with Sony and Cliqset to bring you Austin Real Time. This is a database of people attending SXSW with links to their social media accounts. It’s easy to sign up and get connected with people via your Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, Foursqare, Gowala, YouTube, Vimeo and Plancast accounts.

Don’t get lost in the shuffle of SXSW. With a little planning and forethought, you can be sure to not miss a hot event or fail to make important new connections. 

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Why the Oscars will fail at social media

 

A few years ago, there were two televised events that were guaranteed to be huge audience draws. One was the Super Bowl and the other was the Academy Awards. While the Super Bowl posted record numbers this year, the Academy Awards is having an identity crisis. In 2008, they saw an all-time ratings low and in 2009 there was only a 13% increase in viewership. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can feel their social relevancy slipping and the threat of the Oscars becoming the next Tony Awards scares the hell out of them. 

In an effort to stay more relevant, the Academy increased the Best Picture category from 5 nominees to 10 so that fan favorites like “Avatar,” “District 9,” “Up” and “The Blind Side” could get a best picture nod. The theory is that if you play to a wider audience, you’ll attract a younger, hipper crowd instead of the current median age of 49. 

The Academy launched their Facebook FanPage last week and it’s a good start connecting to the fans. They did a livestream of the Oscar Nominations there, as well as on various news sites. This is the first time they’ve ever allowed the nominations to be broadcast online. There are photos from past events, behind-the-scenes videos from this year’s ceremony and interviews with celebrities. Overall, it’s a good start for the Oscars attempt at using social media. 


To see how the Academy really feels about social media, take a look at the YouTube tab in their Facebook page. The tab links videos on YouTube to appear on Facebook, or it would if embedding of the videos was enabled. This is really where we see the chink in the Academy armor when it comes to social media. They want to appear to be social, but at the same time maintain control of everything. They want to keep tight reigns on all of their assets and, for a traditionally conservative organization, having a YouTube channel and a Facebook account must seem like cutting edge participation. 

When the big day hits, social media will be lacking in their plans. You won’t see a Twitter page where tweets about the presentation will stream, giving fans a chance to talk to each other. You won’t see a sponsored chat room where fans can gather to talk about the presentation. You won’t see the presentation live on their Facebook page. You won’t see an instant poll where the audience can vote before the award is announced, or a million other ideas that would tie in perfectly with the event.  

The Academy does more than just an annual broadcast. They have an education & outreach program, events and exhibitions throughout the year, as well as research and preservation programs. All of these are ripe for social media extensions to increase public outreach. 

People love movies – record breaking box office numbers are a testament to that. If the Academy took themselves a little less seriously and embraced the masses they so desperately desire, the Oscars could once again become the mega event it used to be and gain the popular respect it so dearly wants. 

Do you think they’ll be able to evolve and survive, or will they stagnate and sink? 

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Spooktacular Halloween – 2.0 style

What are the scariest online activities for this Halloween?

It’s my favorite time of the year, Halloween! For me, Halloween is Christmas for adults. We get to dress up, make fools of ourselves and have fun. In order to set the mood, we have to get our Twitter avatar properly set up. Trickotweet gives you several really cute and fun monster avatars to choose from. I went with the hockey masked one.

On to Facebook. Pet Zombie allows you to create your own pet zombie that you can feed, play with, cover in toilet paper and make dance. My zombie is named Marvin.

Cute isn’t he.

I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “How would I do in a zombie apocalypse?” Find out by taking this short Facebook quiz. Turns out I might survive.

I love carving jack-o-lanterns. But sometimes I have problems coming up with ideas. Extreme Pumpkins has lots of jack-o-lanterns that people have taken to unusual levels. The 2009 winners provide lots of inspiration to go far beyond the mundane. The site is packed with “how to” tips, patterns and lots of photos of pumpkins.

If you need some practice before you start carving your pumpkin, try carving a virtual pumpkin.

If you don’t want to sit inside this Samhain, join a zombie walk.


What could be more fun than dressing up as the undead and shambling down the street?

If dressing as a zombie isn’t your game, why not play some? Re-kill the undead with Boxhead, a Lego like character game where you’re stranded in a tunnel where you shoot or get eaten. The more you kill, the better your weapons become. If the undead become too much, shoot barrels to thin the herd.

If you need something a little bloodier to slake your zombie thirst, Endless Zombie Rampage is your game. You have to defend your ground against gut-munchers with a handgun. As you gain experience points, you can upgrade your weapons to assault rifles, shotguns and laser cannons. Both games are great fun.

Sometimes you can’t be at your computer (you have to eat, poop and sleep sometimes). Thankfully, 148apps.com has found four iPhone applications to fill the void that’s in your soul when you leave your computer. Alive 4-ever gets their highest rating and from the images, it looks action packed. Personally, I can't wait to play Hysteria Project, check out the screen capture below. There are also iPhone versions of DOOM and Resident Evil for a bit of classic game play.

Finally, this All Hallow’s Eve, I want to leave you with this bit of stop motion zombie mayhem fright, Chainsaw Maid. 

What are you favorite Halloween sites?

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He loves to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.

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Random Sitings

Here at the agency we come across some pretty interesting web content in the course of any given week. We thought we'd share some with you. This week we have helicopter fishing, a guide to world domination, a dancing baby and the secret to retweeting.

Chris Guillebeau has written a brief guide to world domination.  Not bad for a 30 year old whose goal in life is to travel to all 197 countries in the world. So far he’s visited 119 of them. His guide is very thought-provoking and contains a great deal of useful information. Check out his blog The Art of Non-Conformity.

Just when you thought you had seen everything, someone comes up with something unexpected. A man with too much time on his hands uses a R/C helicopter with an E-Flite blade 400 for fishing.  I don't know what that means but the video has had 1.6 million views to date.

 
Dan Zarrella is about to become a household name in social media circles. He spent nine months looking at 5 million tweets and 40 million retweets and may have discovered the secret to getting your post retweeted more frequently. His report “Science of ReTweets” is a 22 page document that breaks down the who, what, when, where and why of retweeting.

Sure Kanye disrupted the MTV Video Awards to tell everyone that Beyonce had the best video ever, but watching a baby dance to her video is even better.  1.7 million people agree with me.

What have you seen this week that others should see?

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