Those of you following the Box Office numbers in the US will have noticed that District 9 reigned the Box Office last weekend. Solidly.
District 9 is a sci-fi thriller, produced by Peter Jackson after the movie version of the popular game Halo fell through almost exactly three years ago, and directed by young Neill Blomkamp, who was set to direct Halo. It is a relatively low-budget (USD $ 30 Million) feature film, which also meant that the studio wasn’t gonna put that much money into marketing, and they were opting for a Cloverfield kinda viral/online marketing approach. And: it worked!
First, they knew that this film had – let’s say it like it is – geek appeal – so there was lots and lots of talk in the geekier online communities also surrounding Halo. But, since geeks are connected to people with a lower geek factor as well (for example via Facebook), word spread via these more mainstream online platforms as well. In addition to that, the advertising team behind the movie opted for a low-key offline promotion in major cities the film was going to be released in. In LA they put up posters on the streets and on busbenches…
So word got out, and since the advertising campaign surrounding the picture wasn’t as deafening as for other movies of this genre, those people who heard about it or figured out what the posters were about got the feeling they discovered the movie, it made it special, it made them special for being in the know… and they flocked to theatres to finally see it when it came out. Which resulted in an impressive opening weekend of USD $37 Million.
Now you might say, “That is nice, but I have this idea for a sci-fi thriller and about €/$/£ 500.00 to make it. How on earth am I going to get the word out?” I’m gonna let you in on the big secret that really isn’t one anymore (if you’re here regularly, you’ll be in on it already anyway): through online word-of-mouth marketing, crowdsourcing, DIWO (do it with others)… Yes, it costs time and you have to know a few things, but it is so worth while. So (I am on a rant, again, regular readers know this happens from time to time…): get onto it! There is no excuse, you are on a computer and online already, so start building your audience. NOW! And have fun doing it… I have been at it for three years now, and I’m still not over it.
P.S.: If you want to learn more about online marketing for your projects, and you are in England, you can come to our course in Brighton this September, and pick my brains during the course and afterwards… There are still a few spaces left. Here are the details.
