Social Media & Movies: Marketing Campaigns and Buzz

At a time when Hollywood is well and truly under the microscope, the relationship between social media & film is giving people the opportunity to fight back as a collective force against those once considered too powerful to touch. Mark Zuckerberg’s initial mission to make ‘the world more open and connected’ draws parallels with how social media is not only giving a voice to those affected by the Harvey Weinstein scandal but is also acting as a channel for people’s supportive messages. ( Want more about scandal ? Look at Polanski's Article) The film industry has always relied on connections: connections to people, to places, to stories, to ways of life. It is as much a form of escapism into whole new worlds as it is a gateway into the one in which we exist. This also applies to social media, which too relies on relationships and is a reflection of society. But what sells modern cinema to the masses? The quality of the film, or the quality of the marketing? Below, we explore how, while a marvellous tool to break down both personal and collective barriers, the relationship between social media & film may have led the industry to stray away from an art form and more into the depths of commerce. For example, the planned marketing stunt involving Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson to determine whether there was enough interest in a sequel to Zoolander. The pair “gatecrashed” Paris Fashion Week, with the former “stealing” Vine superstar Jerome Jarre’s phone to perform the iconic ‘blue steel’ pose that became so synonymous with the first film. Marketers now have to test their creative limits, entering new and unexplored avenues in order to create unique, viral campaigns. A one-way narrative is no longer an option, instead, the aim is to start conversations with their audiences, challenging them to experience and fully immerse themselves in a film and to talk about it.