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 25th, 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.
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