So this weekend, Nate, a fellow Premise Observer, and myself had a chance to attend the 2008 Comic-Con International, the biggest, craziest pop culture event of the year.
According to some sales figures, I was amongst 125,000+ die hard fans of video games, TV shows, movies and comic-books from around the world who attended. People of all walks of life appeared dressed as their favorite characters, from Star Wars Stormtroopers to a parallel-universe version of a Soviet-raised Superman.
Even if you weren't there for the celebrity-filled panels about upcoming seasons of TV shows, or sneak peaks of yet-to-be-released movies and comic-books, there was always the exhibition floor. The main floor was a veritable marketing blitz on the senses. If you left Comic-Con without at least two posters, a t-shirt or at the very least some free pens, you might have been comatose during the event.
Studios knew people were there to get free stuff, so they were happy to oblige with means of carrying it all. Studios gave out extra-large canvas-like bags to all of the purchases and giveaways at the event. They were emblazoned with the logo for the upcoming film The Watchmen. Fox knew that big bags weren't enough to hold the posters people carried, so they offered free poster tubes, covered in new information and advertisements of their fall line-up.
One notable marketing campaign was the booth for the DVD release of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Perched above the the booth was actor Neil Patrick Harris, who played an outlandish version of himself in the movie. Fans had an opportunity to take a picture with "NPH," only if they wore an orange jumpsuit like those worn by the actors in the film. Except on the back of the jumpsuit there was a large advertisement for the the DVD release of the film. Throughout the day, it wasn't hard to see people -who otherwise wouldn't dress up- as walking advertisements for a movie.
Other ways studios, game companies, and comic-book publishers ingeniously got fans to go to their booths was to create value for their swag. Booths would scan tickets and tell fans to come back later to see if their name was drawn from the list. If a name was drawn then the winner was treated to more swag than they could imagine. It's interesting to see how the companies were able to commodify their marketing. They are able to create a huge fan base just around their giveaways.
Lastly, Comic-Con could not be without its viral marketing as well. Signs around the convention center for a viral micro site which I recently discovered is for a movie produced by Peter Jackson. Near bathrooms signs said bathrooms were for "humans only, non-humans banned!" A graphic showed an alien with a "x" through its body on the sign. Fake ministry logos and an ad for a website, www.d-9.com, were found on the bottom of each sign. They could also be seen in entryways into certain areas of the center. At one point during the weekend, a group of "protesters" were seen with signs walking around that said "D-9 equality" and "F U MNU."
After some digging online, I discovered D-9.com is one of four micro sites for a film coming out next year called District 9, based on a short film I actually saw a few years ago called Alive in Joburg. The short was about the socio-political strife of extraterrestrial refugees not unlike 1988's Alien Nation, but set in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The MNU, which stands for Multi National United, which has a micro site here , appears to be a fake corporation tied with an apartheid-like hold over the alien people. But there is also MNU Spreads Lies, a fake blog for a "group" that protests the MNU and Maths From Outer Space, which appears to be for a fake tutoring service that ceased in 1994. A counter on the MNU site has already begun, waiting for August 14, 2009 to roll around. The end-time on the counter will start "a new turning point in the progression of the human race." It also happens to be the release date of the film.
Already, a viral marketing campaign for a movie not coming out for another year has grabbed my attention, much like Cloverfield's Slusho and The Dark Knight's "Why So Serious?" micro sites. It will be interesting to see how it develops.
In the end, Comic-Con is the pinnacle of popular culture that is full of celebrities, media and feverish fans. Should be exciting next year too...
-John, Editor, Premise Observer
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Comic-Con Craziness
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Mom and The Marketer
It's a fine line to walk: being a mom and being a marketer. I have to balance my instinctive nature to protect my own children from the thousands of impressions that bombard them daily while working on campaigns to engage youth in our client’s product or services that basically are intended to do the same thing. I find myself in a bit of a conundrum at times.
I’ve been asked by other moms how I feel about marketing to the influential youth population. Do I feel I'm contributing to the negative implications affecting today’s youth as a result of video games and the Internet? Today's youth seems to be less active alongside a higher rate of childhood obesity but what am I doing to change that?
I think about this often and have agonized over it at times, but at the end of the day I remind myself that our lifestyles have evolved greatly from when I was a teen. I think of how I asked my dad everyday for my own phone line, while here I am watching my 2-year-old master the functionality of my iPhone and he can hardly speak!
That tells me something as a parent.
I would sit patiently dialing each number on my rotary phone and because I was in such a hurry to tell my best friend something I would dial a wrong digit and have to start all over again. I can now type as little as 10 characters on my phone and have a night out with the girls planned in seconds flat!
So, my point is that today’s youth move at a fast pace even if they are sitting still. Their minds are going and their fingers are typing and that’s not going to change. What has to change is how parents interact with, motivate and guide their kids. When a new potential client comes knocking, as the CEO I ask myself: will this help our business grow? If the answer is yes, as a mom I ask myself: can I get behind this and feel comfortable without compromising my values as a parent?
It's tricky when you own a company whose focus is youth marketing. Not only do we have to be on the cutting edge at all times, but we also have to bear the responsibility for the campaigns we launch and how they will inevitably affect those that are engaged by them. We "target from the inside out" to engage the audience in ways they understand and genuinely find ways for them to subscribe to a product, service or lifestyle they genuinely enjoy. I can feel good about that!
So, I'm left in the same place I started: balancing what I want for my children as a parent and striving to reach the influential youth market and "children" of other parents. In the end, I am able to do this by believing in the clients we represent and partnering with clients that hold the same values I hold.
- Kristine, CEO
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Mashup Round-up
The Premise team attended the National YPulse Mashup last week in San Francisco. As usual, we gained some useful insight about youth-culture and managed to have a little fun at the same time.
We ate fancy dinners (they had cloth napkins!) and put on our boogie shoes for the local youth DJ, but only after observing the presentations and networking with other youth-focused professionals.
Here is a slideshow of all the fun times we had at the conference.
But, we couldn't just take in all the information without sharing some thoughts of our own! Premise's creative director (and all around great guy), Gregg Witt, delivered his thoughts on effective viral marketing in a "catchy" presentation (Yeah, I went for the play on words. Sue me!). Everyone knows that two heads are better than one and that's why Gregg brought in entrepreneur Andrew Chen, who shares his perspectives on viral marketing over at Futuristic Play.
Together, this dynamic duo shared thoughts on highly successful viral campaigns from Facebook applications to a Six Flags Theme Park summer sports program. They only had 20 minutes and they pushed the time limits to the max with an abundance of information, not allowing much room for Q & A.
If you have any questions or comments for these two, please leave a comment and we'll make sure one of them gets back to you!
- Lindsay, Campaign Manager
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Virus We Hope You Catch!
Check out this cool video one of our Premise Observers created for us!
Viral Marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach the youth demographic. How do we know this? Because we talk to them ALL THE TIME! Just a few weeks ago we talked to approximately 300 teens and young adults (ages 15-24). Here are some graphical representations of what they told us about viral marketing: (click on images for larger view)
What type of viral marketing campaigns have you participated in?
What do you want to get out of a viral marketing campaign?
Do viral marketing campaigns effect your purchase decisions?
Share your thoughts on viral marketing in the comments section!
- Lindsay, Campaign Manager
The Jack Factor!
Premise Immersive Marketing would like to welcome Jack to the team! Jack joins Premise as Managing Director. It only took him two days to get comfortable and start wearing his jeans and standard-issue San Diego flip-flops to work.
We'll start worrying when he shows up in his robe...
***It has become apparent that Jack does not eat, but works during his lunch hour (making the rest of us look like slackers)
-Lindsay, Campaign Manager
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