Facebook Gets It - Do You? »
Posted on December 10th, 2006 by Justin Seibert in Social Media | Leave A Comment

Sorry for being short on posts last week. Lots and lots of work. There was also a little matter of being stuck in 1 regular and 2 giant traffic jams last Thursday. Apparently drivers in Pittsburgh and its surrounds had never seen snow before. “What’s this cold flaky white stuff?” “Who cares, go Stillers!” “I don’t remember there being a guardrail in the middle of this lane.”

As a connoisseur of traffic jams and the frustration they cause the human psyche, this was one of the worst. Why? When I came to the end of two of the traffic jams and started moving again, I could see no cause for the stand stills.

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TAGS: facebook, myspace

Finally a Movie Promotion Idea that Makes Sense »
Posted on November 28th, 2006 by Justin Seibert in Marketing | Leave A Comment

I promise this will be the last post about movie promotions for at least 2006. I wouldn’t have more than one right now if it weren’t for personal connections. The reason I’m writing today is that a nameless buddy of mine directed some promotional shorts for the new Ben Stiller movie, Mannequin, I mean Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I mean Night at the Museum. Yes, that’s it.

Regardless of my feelings about the originality of this movie, I really like the promotion their using to raise awareness, and not just because my friend was involved. In fact, I worked with him on a couple outlines he presented to them, but they didn’t recognize my obvious brilliance, so I should just take my ball and go home instead of complimenting the contest.

But out of some combination of trying to be big enough to handle rejection and needing something to post about, I highlight A Night at the Museum’s MySpace page.

Here’s the concept of the promotion: the movie’s about historical figures coming to life at night in the museum. So people are encouraged to shoot their own reject casting videos of historical figures trying to get a part in the movie.

That means that:
a. the contest is related to the movie
b. they’re not asking people to give testimonials for something they haven’t seen yet
c. they’re reaching a good number of people in the demographics likely to see the movie and in a medium (social networking, e.g. MySpace) where those people communicate with one another
d. I’m old. I know this because I don’t get the humor in the sample shorts that my friend directed. Well Marie Antionette’s wasn’t bad other than the awful “Let them have cake”, which I believe is actually attributable to one of the King Louies. In my defense, though, all of my buddy’s film work is unable to make me, or for that matter children on nitrous oxide, crack a smile.
e. altogether, it’s a good, relevant promotion that can get people excited about the new movie. Well played.

Regardless of my ancienticity, I can still appreciate this contest from a marketing perspective. It’s a good way to use social networking sites like MySpace to reach people before a movie premiers and get them excited about it.

TAGS: movie marketing, myspace

A Great Idea - No a Really Bad One - Aww, I Give Up »
Posted on November 9th, 2006 by Justin Seibert in Online Advertising, Online Marketing, Social Media | Leave A Comment

The movie business has been in trouble for a little while. People aren’t going to the theatres as often as they used to.

Sure one could point to new entertainment options, the crazy high ticket and concession prices, and the gamble that one might likely get just another corporate owned studio’s formulaic sequel-hoping franchise instead of something worth $10-$15 and a couple hours. Instead it’s easier to demonize piracy and dvd’s as the real problems.

Don’t think it’s just me whining. The head of a very prominent film organization in Los Angeles and the director of classic films that you’ve heard of and seen lamented to me personally about how unoriginal many of the films that were being put out were getting due to the film industry being pressured into following rules of the rest of the business world. And that was a couple years before the film industry started getting worried about the turnout slowdown.

So what am I to make of this new promotional idea for films? Someone is going to win a $50k scholarship for the best fan film page on a social networking site (e.g. MySpace, Friendster, etc.) for the upcoming film, We are Marshall.

My first thought was, “Wow, what a great idea!” $50,000 is pretty cheap advertising to get press about the movie to be picked up in all sorts of different media, people talking about the film, and lots of Web pages with promotional material and links to their movie’s main site.

Then, I started worrying about the authenticity of these sites because no one will have seen the movie yet. You see, the contest ends the day the movie premiers. That’s like picking your favorite dancer before the season premier of Dancing with the Stars. Or so my wife tells me. I watch shows that your tv won’t even project if you don’t have enough testosterone and aren’t enjoying steak and beer at the time.

The problem is that movies have such a short shelf life and a lot depends on opening weekend. I just don’t know if this is the right way to go. Like judging or protesting a movie that hasn’t opened and you’ve never seen.

Still, interesting idea.

Barely Tangential Note #1: My wife, who used to be a literary manager in Hollywood, helps aspiring screenwriters get their scripts ready for the film industry. If you or anyone you know would like to break into that scene and can use some help, check her out at Pro Script Notes. Obviously, I’m biased, but if you check her out and compare to other options out there, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And cut me a break: if I’m writing about movies, I have to give her a plug.

BTN #2: Even though Marshall University is in West Virginia and the state is very close-knit generally, don’t make the mistake that every (or most) West Virginian you run into likes Marhsall. My aforementioned wife of no West Virginia higher educational affiliation, was wearing a Marshall t-shirt the other day. My father, a WVU graduate, told her he’d buy her two new shirts if she’d take that one off and burn it. And Marshall grads feel the same about the Mountaineers.

TAGS: contest, film industry, myspace, pro script notes