The advertising budget for this was around $45 million and the campaign was considered to be one of the most successful in recent movie history.
How did they do it?
…they didn’t just use their money to have social media pages, widgets, and activities, they used their money to drive the social nature of their campaign in order to connect with fans. They actively pursued conversation and interactions with their fans and that is why their budget went so much further than many others before it.
They saw the opportunity to amplify their voice but did so to not get fans and page views, but to build evangelists and even louder champions. And to round it out and reward their following…
They empowered their fans
This was the final piece to the puzzle. Not only did The Hunger Games team find a way to amplify their voice and create an unrivaled social presence, they empowered their fans and their voices to spread the word and their fanaticism to not only their friends and family, but to the entire Hunger Games community.
On their Facebook page, they currently feature (front and center) fan photos from the premiers, mayors of each district, and allow their fans to get district badges. On top of all of that, they have a Fan of the Week page on Facebook! I love how they continue to recognize that their fans are their best marketing team and continuously reward them.
Not only will The Hunger Games be a box office force for years to come, but also a leading case study for anyone in communications for quite some time because while the How might change, the Why of their success will remain the same.
Harrison Kratz is the Community Manager for MBA@UNC
CBS News) “The Hunger Games” opened Friday on more than 10,000 screens nationwide. For speculators, it’s not a question of if it’ll be a hit on opening weekend, but whether or not the dystopian teen drama will break box office records.
Buzz surrounding “The Hunger Games” was helped in part by social media. Marketers created numerous ways to engage with audiences, including 13 Facebook pages to represent each of the districts in the film. Fans could become virtual “citizens” of each district. The districts can be found at the film’s main Facebook page.
A Twitter account was created for The Capitol, referencing the central city in the story. According to Forbes, the account @TheCapitolPN acted as a “welcoming site to Panem, the Capitol, and its 12 Districts.” Often tweeting stories, warnings and encouragement in character.
“Hunger Games” have been mentioned about 1 million times just in the last month on Twitter, according to real-time tracking site Topsy.
The Tumblr site Capitol Couture was created to blog the style of characters in the film, as well as inspirational designs. There’s even a guide for what to wear to a fictional Hunger Games.
The film and television check-in app GetGlue offered stickers for the 13 districts, characters and opening weekend. Stickers are unlocked by checking-on opening weekend.
Of course, there’s no accurate way to measure how much, if at all, the social media buzz translates to box office dollars. But, the effort does create a rich experience for fans. CBSnews.com
Watch the video about marketing here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57403323-501465/the-hunger-games-marketing-team-turns-to-social-media/
Moving to IMAX for the sequel.
