On my last post, we talked about using
virtual experiences with social media to attract customers and augment offerings
in travel campaigns. But virtual media can be used for more than just tourism advertising. Consider entertainment and film-based marketing. Younger
audiences often develop fandoms for their favourite movie or
TV characters, particularly if they are superheroes or fantasy characters -
just think of all the Comicon conventions or midnight blockbuster film screenings where individuals dress up as
Star Wars, Harry Potter or X-men characters.
Entertainment firms can take advantage of this
and create shareable virtual experiences that allows audiences to become
the characters they love. By doing this, firms create additional value for
their audiences; they augment the entertainment they provide, turning it from a
passive viewing activity to an interactive one. Audiences are not just waiting to
be entertained...they can join in the fun themselves. The more fun
they have, they more likely they are to share experience with others on social media. This
co-creates value, leading to greater promotion for the product and company. Let's look at a creative film campaign that used virtual experience and social media to attract its audience.
Case study: The Wolverine Augmented Powers Campaign
20th Century Fox studios wanted to attract audiences to the new The Wolverine film. As the sixth installment in the X-men series, the film was not expected to receive the same hype as it predecessors. Because of this, the studio needed to make the film stand out to their target audience. To achieve their goal, the studio decided to create campaign that would augment the film for customers by providing them with a virtual experience where they could becoming the lead character of the Wolverine.
This experience was not offered through an online game, but through actual kiosks placed in shopping centres and cinemas in 17 different countries according to Mashable. Individuals could play on the kiosks for free. When they approached, a Microsoft Kinect sensor would transport the user to a scene from the movie where Wolverine fights a Yakuza soldier on top of a speeding bullet train. Individuals would become 'Wolverine' in the battle, their swift hand movements turning into claw swipes on screen.
To link this to social media, the kiosks would take pictures of individuals engaged with the virtual experience and post it on their Facebook walls as well as on the official fan page.
This campaign was strong because it reflected a great understanding of the target audience; it appealed to them effectively by giving them the chance to live out their fantasies. According to the studio, the activity augmented the film; 'By slicing through obstacles and defending themselves from ninja attacks, fans would experience a virtual thrill ride, based on an exhilarating scene from the up-coming movie.' By providing a virtual experience through game kiosks, the company changed the film (the product) from a viewing experience to a fun, participatory experience.
This not only got fans involved with the movie, it also enticed them to share the experience....so it was a smart idea to provide players with a photo memento to be shared on social media. The photos allowed players to arouse the curiosity of their Facebook friends and helped them to recommend the activity, and the film, to others. I think the shareable element was a great idea and might have been better if the kiosks had recorded short videos of players. Videos would have demonstrated the actual activity. It could have also helped to generate a higher level of online discussion about the campaign if players had used funny or 'cool' moves.
Nonetheless, the campaign was highly creative and played a part in promoting the film in countries such as Mexico, New Zeland and The Phillipines. In the end, The Wolverine generated ticket sales of over $370.5 million USD internationally, which was about three times more than the films' production budget of $120 million.
More information about the campaign can be found on Mashable and the inspiration room
After reading this case study, do you think it was a strong campaign? What other industries might benefit from creating campaigns with shareable virtual experiences? Leave a comment and let me know!
Key points to take away:
- Virtual experiences can help to create a strong social media campaign in experience-based industries. This can include tourism (as discussed in our last post), but also entertainment, where audience members often seek to be like their favourite movie characters or Hollywood celebrities.
- Virtual experiences help to transform passive experiences (advertisements, films etc) into interactive experiences.
- To be linked effectively to social media, the virtual experience should include a shareable element, a photo, a video or some digital token that can be embedded on peoples' Facebook profiles/blogs/ Twitter feeds/ Pinterest accounts and shared with friends or followers. This helps to arouse awareness and interest in the campaign (friends may go try out the virtual experience too) and in the product (as a result of this advertising, they are likely to become aware and interested in the product as well.)
No comments:
Post a Comment