Youtube the Real Facebook Killer?

I had a post ready to drop next week and then I read this post ‘Youtube Challenges Facebook’. I’ve thought for some time that Youtube is the jewel in Googles crown, in social network terms. I even said those exact words before (just under the Youtube Turns 5 video). But for fear of thunder being stolen, I’m going to do something I never do, and do it for the second time today – post on a Friday.

The original post that was fermenting in the lower reaches of my brain for the last few weeks began with Google Buzz and what a huge mistake that was, or a planned huge mistake.

Guerrilla, Ambient and Viral Movie Marketing (4): Cloverfield ‘V’ The Dark Knight

In previous parts I’ve looked at the use of new and unconventional marketing methods such as Guerrilla, Ambient and Viral techniques since 1999’s The Blair Witch Project. Part 4 focuses on two of the biggest films of 2008 Cloverfield and The Dark Knight.

Guerrilla, Ambient & Viral Movie Marketing Part 3: The Films of 2007

Part 3 in the series looking at new and unusual marketing techniques in the world of film. This post features a trio of films from 2007 using some form of Guerrilla, Ambient or Viral techniques. Up until now the films featured have mainly been aimed at adult males. 2007 was the year when kids films and cartoons got in on the action. Kicking off with Aqua Teen Hunger Force – or ‘how not to run a guerrilla marketing, with Jerry Seinfeld dressed as a bee and The Simpsons go Guerrilla.

Guerrilla, Ambient & Viral Movie Marketing Pt 2: 2001 – 2006

In Part 1 I looked at the marketing campaign behind The Blair Witch Project that helped in making the film one of the most profitable ever made. Part 2 covers films released between 2001 and 2006, it’s by no means definitive so if you have any suggestions on entries I have missed please feel free to leave them below. The ratings are based solely on my opinion of the viral, guerrilla, ambient techniques used by films and are totally subjective. This post looks at Artificial Intelligence, 28 Days Later, Godsend, Superman Returns and Snakes on a Plane

Guerrilla, Ambient & Viral Movie Marketing Pt 1: Blair Witch Project

I was intrigued to read recently that District 9 and Paranormal Activity were amongst the most profitable films of 2009. However, while last year broke box office records, mainly due to increased ticket prices it was also a bumper year for flops with ‘toxic buzz’, when word of mouth spreads bad reviews, being blamed for poor returns on high profile films such as The Box, State Of Play, Duplicity and even Bruno. 2009 was also a year that even the mighty Steven Spielberg and his Dreamworks studio had difficulty in securing financing. But amongst all this bad news a few films performed particularly well and, according to some the success of District 9 and Paranormal Activity was due to their clever use of marketing especially their use of viral, guerrilla and ambient techniques. However such techniques to connect with audiences in unusual ways have been around since the 1990’s. The first, and argueable most successful to do so was The Blair Witch Project, a small inide flick from 1999 that went on to earn revenues 10,000 times greater than what the initial shoot cost. In this first post I will look at the success of the Blair Witch Project and in subsequent posts show how it has influenced film marketing since.