Whether through advertising, public relations or journalism, digital communications play a crucial role in movie marketing. Movies, popcorn and fireworks are all hallmarks of the quintessential, carefree summer vacation. Even in the working world, people turn out in droves to see movies during the summer. Why? The answer is scheduling. It’s when many major movies premiere, and there’s even a term for it: summer blockbusters. And there are some big movies premiering this summer, from last month’s Jurassic World to this month’s Minions.
But what sets these movies apart? How are studios distinguishing themselves when communicating with audiences? Here, we take a look at six key marketing strategies being employed by this summer’s biggest blockbusters:
1. Jurassic World’s Interactive Websites
June’s Jurassic World saw the biggest opening weekend in movie history. Even before the box office made it big, however, the movie’s marketing stood out from the crowd. One major effort their PR team took on was to launch an interactive website that brought the fictional theme park to life, with wait times, weather, park capacity, maps and more—all touted as the real-life status of the Jurassic World park.
Takeaway: Convince your audience you’re taking your movie seriously, no matter how far-fetched; they’ll buy into the validity of the story and repay you in box office success.
2. Minions’ Third-Party Marketing Deals
These iconic animated characters are back with their own movie (Minions) and Universal is making sure everyone knows it. How? In addition to running omnipresent trailers, the marketing team behind Minions struck a deal with Amazon, branding their delivery boxes with characters and the movie’s release date. This marks the first time the shopping giant has allowed a third party to completely dress their boxes, though sources says it’s not likely to be the last. The campaign was a social media success, too, with happy customers taking pictures of the boxes and promoting the movie for free.
Takeaway: Don’t start from scratch. Bring your franchise to where your audience already exists to create a marketing frenzy.
http://www.adweek.com/prnewser/6-unique-trends-in-summer-movie-marketing/117239
