The movie Paranormal Activity has movie goers everywhere scared out of their mind. It’s also got marketers everywhere, especially in Hollywood, watching very closely. Let’s discuss.
First of all, a brief recap of what Paranormal Activity is about (I haven’t seen it yet, so no spoilers) and the story of how it came to be released. The movie is about a couple living in a house that might be haunted. The husband is more skeptical than his wife, so he sets up a video camera to prove to his wife that nothing unusual is happening. He’s wrong, and much, if not all, of the movie’s footage comes from that camera.
The movie was cheap to make ($11,000) and was a hit at some film festivals in 2006. DreamWorks got a hold of the film and from there it fell into the hands of Steven Spielberg. After considering doing a remake of the film with better known actors and a much bigger budget, DreamWorks and Spielberg decided that Paranormal Activity was fine as it was (though director Oren Peli made it shorter and changed the ending before its major release). DreamWorks was purchased by Paramount, and here we are.
Now for the marketing stuff.
When you hear people talking about Paranormal Activity, you’re likely to hear comparisons to Blair Witch Project. These movies are alike because of the low-budget, shaking-camera aesthetic they both utilize, but also because both films have relied on the viral capabilities of the Internet.
Blair Witch came out in 1999 and was one of the first movies to really use the Web to create a word of mouth campaign. The reason it was so successful is because it took complete advantage of the underground/urban legends loving side of the Internet to imply that Blair Witch was an actual documentary. Paranormal Activity is taking a different route.
Visit the studio website for Paranormal Activity. You will notice in the top right hand corner there is a box that says, “Demand it!” When the movie was still new, clicking on this box would take you to a site where you could vote to have Paranormal Activity released in your city. Once a certain amount of votes were established, midnight viewing of the movie would start appearing where you lived. In other words, the power of movie distribution was put in the hands of the audiences.
After voting, the official page gives you the option to “Tweet Your Scream” on Twitter. This feature allowed voters to post a message on Twitter that drives traffic to the Demand It page. After all, if you wanted the movie to be brought to your town, you were going to need more than just your vote. There’s also a Facebook page that includes some information about the movie and links to the Demand it page.
Note: The “Demand it!” button now brings you to a different page. The first 10 theaters to sell out the midnight showing of the movie on October 23 (12:01 AM) will receive a special party. How cool is it that this movie has been out for about a month and is still selling out midnight viewings?!
The buzz created by the idea of consumers demanding the product is definitely worth noting. As you might have guessed, the larger cities garnered the most votes fastest. Larger cities like New York City and Los Angeles tend to house more early adaptors than smaller cities. An early adopter is that friend who had an iPod months before anyone else had even heard of it. They get into new electronics, fashions, restaurants, movies etc. before anyone else and then serve as an influencer. If they like it, they tell people about it and are rewarded by being credited for “discovering” something before the rest of their friends. They are trend setters. When early adopters sink their teeth into something, as they did with Paranormal Activity, everyone else tends to follow suite at their own pace.
Living in a city like Orlando, a little town that thinks it’s bigger than it really is, I’m usually jealous of limited movie releases in big cities. I can see how a lot of other people might also feel this way and have to believe this jealousy is part of what has brought Paranormal Activity from just a handful of theaters across the country to just about every city in the United States. Even if you didn’t vote for it to come to your town, you might be inclined to see what all the fuss is about. I know I’m interested.
Interesting strategy, right? Consider the fact that the movie only cost $11,000 to make and you realize that Paranormal Activity is raking it in at the box office right now. Kudos, Paramount pictures. Let this serve as further proof that a strong strategy can do wonders for a brand/product/service.
Also I heard the movie is pretty good, too. That usually helps.
Here’s some links to other articles about Paranormal Activity’s marketing success:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/12/paranormal.activity.movie/index.html
http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/2009/09/22/movie-marketing-madness-paranormal-activity/
http://movie-critics.ew.com/2009/10/07/paranormal-activity-marketing-campaign/
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The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
