Institutions and Audiences - Question

Q. To what extent has the internet played a significant role in the marketing and exchange of media products in the area you have studied?

The advent of internet, its continued progression and the rise of Tech Giants now going toe to toe with Media Giants, has played a significant role in the marketing and exchange of media products. When looking at film in particular, the case study done for Marvel's Captain America: Civil War released May 6th, 2016, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, produced by one of the big six, Walt Disney Pictures and the highest grossing movie of 2016, contains examples of internet being the forerunner in its marketing campaign and distribution.

Until a few years ago, the marketing of a movie stopped short at a poster and a trailer revealed a few months prior to the film's release. With the rising popularity of social media, the audiences have become fragmented and traditional methods are no longer enough to keep audiences interested. Institutions, in order to maintain audiences, provide 360 branding through various social media sites that people are bound to come across. When looking at marketing of Captain America Civil War, a poster and trailer were released on 24th November, 2015 on YouTube, six months before the release of the movie. Another final trailer was released three months later. The audiences therefore were able to repeat, watch, leave comments, and share the trailer on many other tech platforms which raised the popularity of the movie and made audiences interested enough to go see the movie.

Websites created solely dedicated to provide consolidated information regarding the movie are essential for the marketing of a movie. Civil War had a section dedicated to itself on the official Marvel website offering key art, a photo gallery, option to buy tickets and a trailer thus making information regarding the movie more accessible, encouraging audience engagement, allowing them to follow developments regarding the film and providing a highly attractive feature. The top of the website had a navigation menu for Marvel.com where audiences could dig into “Characters,” “Comics” and more that take you into the entirety of the Marvel Universe, not just the specifics of this movie. So, the studio/publisher was counting on their audience already being largely familiar with the characters they want them to watch and want them to either find out more about their comics origins or explore other multimedia extensions. This could lead to the audience becoming more involved with the franchise.

Above the line marketing, however, is not enough to keep audiences' interest. To tap teenagers/young adults who might not come across the website, below the line marketing was employed through cross media convergence. Disney converged with Vivo phones and Samsung who included clips from the movie into their adverts online and on broadcast television encouraging users of those tech companies to become interested in watching the movie.

Arguably the most notable partnership was the slick Audi commercial that featured footage of the chase scene between Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Captain America, directed by the Russo brothers themselves. The TV ad campaign kicked off with a Super Bowl commercial that features almost no dialogue but just has a bunch of scenes showing the conflict between Team Cap and Team Iron Man over chants of “Divided we fall’’. These techniques helped raise the excitement, attracting additional audiences.

As the release date of a movie draws closer, institutions need to keep reminding audiences of this fact and flood social media with content regarding the movie to hypodermically compel them to see the movie. An array of TV spots rolled out over the course of the campaign of Civil War, with many of them introducing small little tidbits of new information about the movie and the character. The controlled amount of information given out creates a sense of enigma and continues to maintain audience's interest.

Word of mouth and online activity of established fanbases and the institution's interaction with them is more important than brand partnerships. One of the most interesting pieces of this interactive campaign of Civil War was the Twitter roll-out. Not only did the campaign on Twitter directly engage fans to choose which side they were on with the hashtag #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan, it went one step further and had the Civil War cast respond to fans with personalized video messages depending on their choice. Tumblr Q&As, numerous interviews posted on YouTube were also posted.

The Star System was heavily tapped through this as fans want to be acknowledged by their favorite actors and are eager to watch their upcoming movies. Audience's interaction with the stars creates a sense of community and belonging and these strategies strongly effects their social needs.

Social Media has become one of the predominant platforms for marketing, with the buzz

generated on sites such as Twitter, Facebook having the power to make or break a movie. One of comic adaptation's recent successes Deadpool (2016) rode a tidal wave of social media buzz to become a surprise hit. Similarly, positive reviews by blogs and reviewing websites such as Rotten Tomatoes for Civil War attracted more audiences and led to the movie becoming a huge success. In contrast, DC Comics' Batman V Superman (2016) saw its ticket sales slump after negative word of mouth online.

Internet also plays an important role in the distribution of the movie. A few months after the release of the movie, it becomes available for digital download. Captain America: Civil War was released on digital download by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on September 2, 2016, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD and iTunes on September 13, 2016. This provides easy access to audience's favorite movies and they can watch them repeatedly on their mobile phones. A new trend of online streaming of movies on websites such as Netflix, Hulu, LoveFilm to gain cinematic experience at home with only a monthly cost to pay. The movie hit Netflix on December 25^th, 2016. Maximizing the viewership and popularity of the movie.

Internet allows institutions to interact with audiences and get their feedback in a way they hadn't been able to do so before. And because of that, Captain America: Civil War is poised to be the next Marvel film that wins audiences over across the world.