Viral Marketing: Infection of the Film Industry

On Thursday March 6th I will be discussing a relatively new marketing principle, known as viral marketing, and the effects it has on the audiences of the film industry. We have all been affected by the traditional marketing roles that media take through mediums such as advertisements, trailers, and so on, but in a society that seemingly cannot go fifteen minutes without checking their emails, it seems that two way communication is the driving force of today's economy. A variety of business genres use the principle of viral marketing and even though the film industry jumped on board circa late 90's, they are still relatively behind on the playing field. J.J. Abrams a well known producer and writer in Hollywood has become an avid believer in the viral marketing ideals. His most recent viral marketing campaign included the monster/horror genre film Cloverfield (2008). This economically feasible film was completed with a very low bottom line cost, but returned an approximate profit of $21M to Paramount Pictures, with talk of a sequel. But why would a movie with a below average ticket buyer rating provide such a broad profit along with subsequent preparations of a sequel? The answer along with the economic success of the movie has been attributed to the Cloverfield viral marketing campaign denotes Paramount Pictures. The audiences were riveted by the continual internet clues and elevated suspense left by untitled trailers. I will be discussing the background on viral marketing, how it contributed to Cloverfield's success, and the future it has in the audiences of the film industry.