Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid…About Brendan Fraser

I was sitting in my favorite chair the other night (7 days after seeing The Dark Night) and an ad for one of the local news stations came on the air.  The 10pm anchor was doing a promo for the upcoming news cast, and, as you know, they like to tease your interest in order to keep you tuned in.  The promo said, “A new summer blockbuster set to release may slow down Batman or at least give him a serious run for his money”.   Having seen and loved the new Batman, I was intrigued by the tease.  I finished up some WM work and settled in to watch the news to find out what movie I would have to see next. Ladies and Gents, I was severely disappointed when, after watching 36 minutes of news, they finally revealed the aforementioned slayer of the Bat. 

It was Brendan Fraser.

Give me a break! The third (and hopefully final) installment of The Mummy movie series, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, was launched on August 1st. According to Yahoo Movies, the first two movies in the series grossed $155 million and $202 million, respectively, for a combined $357 million. That is $37 million less than The Dark Knight grossed in its first 3 weeks.  Yolanda and Gabe from Fox 28 were successful in teasing me with their viral hook, which had me on the internet the next morning to research their claim. 

So let me demonstrate the “viral effect” that took place here.  After hearing the tease from the newscast, I decided to research the claim, utilizing the endless resources of the internet.  I first hit Yahoo Movies homepage to see if any of the critics had posted their reviews of the movie.  I regrettably watched a trailer or two on Y! Movies, and then moved on to the websites of some reputable movie critics.  At this point, I hadn’t seen or read anything spectacular about this movie, so I went to YouTube and found the ReelzChannel video channel.  Reelz does exit interviews with movie goers who attend the opening night of a movie premier.  The people on the street had some not-so-nice things to say about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

“The last time I saw a movie of that quality was Revenge of the Nerds 5.”

“It was horrible, just horrible.”

“I was expecting it to be a lot worse, but was pleasantly surprised.”

“The welfare version of Indiana Jones”

“Brendan Fraser, stop with the movies.”

With all of these “glowing” reviews, the “viral effect” has resulted in negative press for this movie; it has definitely registered with the box office.  The movie has only grossed $40 million during the opening weekend, and the critics, both professional and amateur, have not been kind to this movie with their reviews. 

So what does this say about how the “viral effect” can move your business?  Using this case study, it can absolutely kill your momentum.  Your future customers will research your product, talk to friends and family, read about your company, search for product reviews, etc.  The “viral effect” can either work in your favor or decidedly against you.  You have to make sure that you’re ahead of the viral curve to keep your business on track and keep people talking about you in a positive light.

-Rob Ament

Tags: buzz, movies, the mummy, viral

Serenity Now!

Have you ever heard of the TV series “Firefly”?  I would venture to say that if you are a sci-fi fan, you are familiar with the show.  The show was created by writer Joss Whedon who is also known for his shows “Angel” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.  Firefly was picked up by Fox in 2002, but Fox cancelled the show before the full season could be aired.  Firefly then went to DVD, where the series picked up a huge following.

I was introduced to the series by my friend Doug.  He told me watch all 14 episodes and then pick up the movie from the video store.  A movie?  From a cancelled Sci-FI, TV show?
  As you can see, I was slightly skeptical; it’s not every day you see a TV series that was pulled from the air in mid season make it to the big screen.  Respecting Doug’s opinion, I watched the series and movie. I have to say I was hooked. 

After Fox’s arguably premature cancellation of the show, the “fandwagon” exploded.  People wrote letters, emails, blog posts, and form posts to rail against the trigger happy response by the Fox executives.  Fans calling themselves Browncoats (it’s from the show) pooled together and purchased a full page ad in Variety magazine, protesting the early exit from the Fox lineup.  When Fox ignored their pleas, fans wrote to rival network UPN asking them to pick up the series for a second season.   To appease the fan base, the series was then released to DVD, but this only fueled the viral fire.  People launched fan sites, Firefly communities, and even a documentary detailing their love for the series.   After seeing the craze over the Firefly series, movie executives realized there was a market for a movie, which was written and produced by creator Joss Whedon.  Serenity was released in 2005, and the cult following responded.

 Ok, so I know what you’re thinking.  Sci-Fi fans are not your average breed.  From the early days of the Trekky conventions to the mega fans showing up in full Star Wars gear, this genre of movie fans are a cut above the rest.  However, the “viral effect” cannot be ignored.  Three years after the DVD set was released, Firefly was still among the top 10 grossing series on Amazon.com.  Today, the series is still the top ranking Sci-Fi TV series sold on Amazon.  And the movie, that technically should not have been made, grossed over $25 million, with fans hosting special screenings to raise $65,000 for Whedon’s charity.

Firefly is a great example of people taking a passion to the next level and moving the viral bar in their favor.  Providing a product or service that people can get excited about is the first step to creating a viral effect.  It doesn’t matter if you are selling pencils or backpack rockets, if people dig your product they will generate the buzz for you.  And in the midst of the information age, they can spread the virus faster than ever!

- Robt Ament

Tags: firefly, movie, sci-fi, viral, whedon

Go Viral or Go Home

I have been known to enjoy a good movie or two, and the recent releases of several summer blockbusters have demonstrated the effect of viral marketing as a major bullet in the gun of the big picture studios.  Over the next several days, I am going to present a few case studies for your consideration, demonstrating the key part that viral marketing plays in the advertising of a product.

Prior to the release of The Dark Knight on July 18th, the movie industry was buzzing over this powerful summer blockbuster.  But the one facet of viral verbosity that caught my ear was the role of The Joker, played by Heath Ledger.  The word from the screen was that his performance was “convincing”, “Oscar worthy”, leaving his co-stars in awe.  This hit the press about a week before the movie premiered and was reinforced by comments from the cast of the movie. 

As you know, Heath Ledger died of a drug overdose on January 22nd, 2008, nearly six months before the movie was released.  Around the time of his death, Google Trends tracked nearly 100 million searches on his name, with searches originating from all over the world.  As you can imagine, a posthumous Oscar Nomination is an attractive “feel good story” for not only the academy, but for the people who paid the $158+ million dollars on opening weekend to become the top premier grossing movie of all time.

Don’t get me wrong, the performance was spectacular, and what little I know about Oscar nominations, he definitely deserves a nomination.  But as a marketeer, you have to wonder what influence the “viral effect” had on the success of this movie.  Was it the quality of this film that made this the $300+ million monster it has become? How about the advertising effort (from TV spots to alternative advertising in New York City)? Or was it the viral effect of Ledger’s untimely death, coupled with the viral accolades from trusted movie critics, supported by the viral nature of the Oscar nomination, grounded by the lingering buzz left by the first movie in the series (Batman Begins)?

I would argue all of the above.  The 4 P’s of marketing were in full force for this movie launch, but the 5th P, the voice of People, may have been the loudest pillar of this great marketing story.  Stay tuned for a few more examples of the “viral effect” in the entertainment industry.

-Rob Ament

Tags: batman, buzz, google trends, heath ledger, the dark knight, viral