Tag: Virtual Reality

4 innovative and interesting Content Marketing strategies implemented by horror movies in Hollywood

4 innovative and interesting Content Marketing strategies implemented by horror movies in Hollywood

4 innovative and interesting Content Marketing strategies implemented by movies in Hollywood
4 innovative and interesting Content Marketing strategies implemented by horror movies in Hollywood

From time immemorial, horror movies, for the factor of ‘ghost’ alone that has been involved in them, have been garnering the attention of significant number of movie-goers. But, in order to take such movies further closer to the audience, the distributors of the same have been deploying innovative and interesting Content Marketing strategies. Let us have a look at 4 of such eye-catching strategies implemented by horror movies in Hollywood.

1. ‘Hoax Death Threat Call’ for ‘The Ring Two’:

The Ring Two (2005)
The Ring Two (2005)

Prior to the DVD release of The Ring Two, the London based Marketing Consultancy, New Media Maze came up with the idea of a marketing campaign, for the DVD release, by taking cue from the scary ‘tape scene’ of The Ring.

The Ring - Prank call
Hoax Death Threat Call’ for ‘The Ring Two

Initially, the website – www.7daysleft.com – was set (Now, the domain is up for sale) and it offered a provision to people, who wish to play a prank by sending a ‘Hoax Death Threat’ call to their friends. People, who wished to do so, provided the e-mail address and cell-phone number of their friends. The website then sent a mail, with a link possessing the trailer of The Ring Two, to the friends. After opening the trailer from the mail and while watching it online, the friends received a call and a voice in their receivers whispered “Seven Days”. After the friends got to experience this scary moment, they were conveyed that the attempt is just a prank and that they could try to attempt this to five of their friends. This campaign which was launched in U.K. had emerged as one among the scariest viral marketing campaigns ever.

Click here to watch the ‘The Tape’ scene from The Ring.


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2. ‘Demand it’ campaign for ‘Paranormal Activity’:

Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity (2007)

Initially, in September 2009, the screening of the movie, Paranormal Activity was held in Hollywood, California. As a follow-up to this screening, an intriguing trailer was made by combining the audience’s reactions, which were captured during the screening of this show, and specific clips from the movie. The trailer was then uploaded to the official website of the movie (www.paranormalmovie.com) and telecast in television channels.

Towards the end of the trailer, a list of cities where the movie is about to be screened was put up. Also, the availability of the ‘Demand it’ option in the website, for the people who felt fascinated by the trailer and wished to get Paranormal Activity to be screened in their city, was let known. The motive, by the movie’s makers, behind this ‘Demand it’ provision was to opt first with the city, with the most demands, for the future screenings.

Paranormal Activity - Demand it campaign
Demand it’ campaign for ‘Paranormal Activity

The movie was initially released in 7 cities of U.S. on September 25th, 2009. From thereon, in less than a month, the movie was released nationwide.

Click here to take a look at the trailer of Paranormal Activity.

3. ‘TV Store Prank’ for ‘Rings (2017)’:

Rings (2017)
Rings (2017)

Almost a fortnight prior to the release of Rings (Third film in the Ring franchise following the movies, ‘The Ring’ and ‘The Ring Two), Paramount Pictures shared a video titled,  ‘Rings (2017) – TV Store Prank’ in their official YouTube channel.

Rings (2017) - TV Store Prank
TV Store Prank’ for ‘Rings (2017)

In this video, firstly a TV store in New York is shown. Then, we get to see people setting a fake wall inside the store and mounting a specific number of televisions over the wall. These arrangements resemble the interior of a typical TV store. Behind a particular television, a girl with the makeover of Samara (Antagonist of the Ring franchise) is made to sit.

Subsequently, customers, one by one started visiting the store, greeted by a staff, guided towards the fake wall mounted with televisions and are being attended by the staff to let them know about the televisions that the store possesses. Initially, some random videos are being played in the televisions. Then, the videos are being replaced with the trailer of the movie, Rings. At one point of time, the Staff switches the display of the televisions to a new technology, which is available in the televisions and asks customers about their experience of the technology. This is when the television, behind which the girl is made to sit, scrolls up. The girl pops out of the television in the similar way in which the ‘Samara’ character crawls out of the televisions in the movies of the Ring franchise. She even goes on to sneak up on few of the customers. What other reaction would the customers render other than ‘shock’ when they encounter such a prank? Some screamed and few others even ran out of the room due to fear.

Hidden cameras placed inside the store captured the reactions of the customers. The video, ‘Rings (2017) – TV Store Prank’ was made out of the footage that has been obtained from such hidden cameras. Till now, the video has got more than 8 million views and is still counting.

Click here to watch the TV Store Prank.

 4. ‘Zero Gravity VR Experience’ for ‘The Mummy’:

The Mummy
The Mummy (2017)

Every time when we get to see Tom Cruise performing daring stunts in his movies, we feel astonished. But, how would we feel when we are provided with an offer, to experience the making of one such adventurous sequence, in a virtual manner? Wouldn’t we feel very enthusiastic and eager to undergo such an adventure? Such is an offer which Universal Pictures has come up with, as part of their marketing strategies, for the Tom Cruise starrer The Mummy.

The Mummy - Zero Gravity Experience VR
Zero Gravity VR Experience’ for ‘The Mummy

Who would have forgotten the terrific zero gravity sequence taking place prior to the plane crash, predominantly featuring Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis, which were shown in the teasers and trailers of The Mummy? The making of this sequence is which the Universal Pictures has offered a ride to by leveraging the Virtual Reality technology. This pop-up experience was first made open to the public in SXSW (South by Southwest). As part of this event, individuals, who were about to virtually experience the sequence, were provided with a headset and made to sit in a gyroscopic chair assisted by a haptic feedback. In the VR experience, which has been narrated by Tom Cruise, people were made to experience the behind-the-scenes look of the action sequence. This interesting event then appeared in Rockefeller Center, New York and in Los Angeles.

Click here to have a glimpse of ‘The Mummy’ Zero Gravity Stunt VR Experience.

So, that’s it with my briefing about the 4 innovative and interesting Content Marketing strategies that have been implemented by horror movies in Hollywood. Now, in the comments section of this write-up, feel free to share your views about the article and let me know of any such interesting and innovative Content Marketing strategies, which have been deployed for various flicks!

5 striking Digital Marketing strategies implemented by the makers of Baahubali 2

5 striking Digital Marketing strategies implemented by the makers of Baahubali 2

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5 Striking Digital Marketing strategies implemented by the makers of Baahubali 2

Similar to the amount of effort that has been put into the making of the two technically rich movies in the Baahubali franchise (Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion), an equal amount of effort has been invested from the marketing arena as well to take the movies closer to the audience and sustain the ‘Baahubali’ sensation among them for all these years. In this digital era, when it comes to marketing, Digital Marketing becomes imperative and essential. So, here I have come up with 5 striking Digital Marketing strategies deployed by the makers of the Baahubali franchise, ‘Arka Media Works’ around the theatrical release of ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’.

1. Launch of #ChatQuizChallenge on Facebook:

ChatBot 3
Launch of #ChatQuizChallenge on Facebook

After the release of the trailer of ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’, the producer of the film launched on Facebook, an interactive quiz named ‘#ChatQuizChallenge’ driven by a Chatbot, that was accessible by messaging in the movie’s official Facebook page, Baahubali, or on messenger. The interactive quiz created by the Social and Digital Agency, ‘KRDS India’ had 5 trivial questions that were based on the trailer of Baahubali 2. People were provided with an option to take the quiz on the language of their preference with available languages being Tamil, English, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. As part of this strategy, people were also offered with an option, by the Chatbot, to subscribe to it to get to know the latest news or updates, pertaining to the movie, from the production crew.

2. Release of the Graphic novel, ‘Baahubali – The Battle of the Bold’ on Google Play Store:

WEB.jpg2_
Release of the Graphic novel, ‘Baahubali – The Battle of the Bold’ on Google Play Store

Targetting the fans of Baahubali and comic book lovers, two months ahead of the theatrical release of ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’, Arka Media Works had launched the Graphic novel, ‘Baahubali – The Battle of the Bold’ on ‘Graphic POP Asia’ app, which is available in Google Play Store. Post the installation of the app, the graphic novel can be downloaded from it. According to the novel’s author, ‘Graphic India’, ‘Baahubali – The Battle of the Bold’ depicts some untold events that had laid around the participation of Baahubali and Bhallaladeva in a tournament, which had happened well before the happenings that have been showcased in the film. Paperback version of the novel is also available for purchase in amazon.


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3. Launch of the animation series, ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’ on Amazon Prime Video India:

baahubali-animated-759
Launch of the animation series, ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’ on Amazon Prime Video India

Around mid-April, inspired by the Baahubali film franchise, Arka Media Works and the director of the Baahubali film series, S.S.Rajamouli in collaboration with Graphic India and Amazon had launched the first episode of the animation series, ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’ in Amazon Prime Video’s India service. The second episode of the animated series was released on 19th May 2017, with the other episodes to be made live in the upcoming weeks. ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’ seems to exhibit some fresh stories about the characters, which have already become popular among the audience, such as Baahubali, Bhallaladeva, Kattappa and Sivagami and portray few more new characters and their respective stories.

4. Optimization of the hashtag, #WKKB in social media posts and on film posters:

baahubali2-logo
Optimization of the hashtag, #WKKB in social media posts and on film posters

In India, when Twitter first brought in the plan of creating hashtags in regional languages, Rajamouli launched the first Telugu Hashtag, #బాహుబలివస్తున్నాడు (Baahubali Vasthunnadu’ meaning ‘Baahubali coming soon’) from his twitter handle for the promotion of ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’. Likewise, for ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ too, the hashtag, #WKKB (WKKB is the abbreviation of ‘Why Kattappa Killed Baahubali’) was creating quite a revolution in the social media space. It was utilized in film posters too.

5. Leveraging Virtual Reality and 360 degree videos:

Baahubali-2-Movie-Shoots-With-BB360cc-VR-Camera
Leveraging Virtual Reality and 360 degree videos

In October 2016, ‘Radeon Technologies Group’, a part of US-based chip maker AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) released the Virtual Reality (VR) video titled, ‘On The Sets of Baahubali’. It guided the viewers through a virtual tour on the sets of Baahubali.  As a follow-up to this activity of leveraging the technological advancements, for marketing purposes, Arka Media Works by teaming with Radeon live streamed in 360° the Baahubali Pre-Release Event (which was held on March 26th 2017 in Hyderabad) on the movie’s official YouTube channel. VR boxes were suggested to viewers to have a Virtual Reality experience of the event.

To top it all, the collaboration of Arka Media Works, Rajamouli and AMD Radeon Technologies Group came up with the teaser of the 10-min VR film, ‘The Sword Of Baahubali’, that is based on the characters from Baahubali. The teaser was shown to people in various malls, theatres and multiplexes across the states of Andhra and Telangana.

So, here ends my documentation on the 5 striking Digital Marketing strategies implemented by Arka Media Works for the Baahubali franchise but not the only strategies that have been implemented. There may be even more striking ones.

Feel free to let me know your comments on the article!