SUPER Twitter!

Paramount thinks TWITTER is Super!

Super 8 Trailer

Super 8’s brilliant twitter marketing scheme garnered a $37 million opening weekend.  Paramount Pictures took to twitter to promote a sneak preview of the new film “Super 8” directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. How it worked is Twitter users needed to tweet with the designated #Super8Secret hashtag in order to get locations of the secret day early premier screenings. In order for Paramount to accomplish this they teamed up with Twitter and “paid to make #Super8Secret a "Promoted Trend," putting the hashtag under the top 10 trends listed on users' Twitter homepages” (Yin). They ran the campaign 11 hours before the screenings and used 325 domestic locations, including all 239 Imax theaters. Paramount found success utilizing social media to gain a buzz for the movie as it is reported that more than 100,000 people saw the secret screenings on Thursday June 9^th.  

On Facebook, "Super 8's" most active page tacked on an impressive 66,101 new Likes for a total of 123,280 by the end of Sunday. On Twitter, the film racked up 35,912 tweets. That level of online activity bodes well for the film's chances at the box office in the weeks to come (Contrino).

Paramount also debuted the Super 8 trailer on Twitter, which is another way the company is showing their successful use of social media and marketing to the under 25 year old crowd using their own turf.

For my film review:

‘Super 8’ was amazing and beautiful. What made it so good was that the monster doesn’t even have to be involved in the picture; he actually takes a back seat to the intimate moments between the characters. I haven’t believed this big of a child cast since ‘The Goonies.’ The only problem I had with it was the J.J. Abrams signature lens flare that would sometimes take over the whole screen. It didn’t fit with the tone of the film and would take me out of the moment every time they happened. It worked perfectly with ‘Star Trek’ but I think J.J. needs to pick his moments before it becomes an especially tired effect.

'The Goonies' 

 'Super 8' 

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/super-8/trailer

Contrino, P. (2011, June 13). Super 8 Dominates Film Chatter Online. CBS News. Retrieved on June 15, 2011 from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20070802-10391715.html

Yin, S. (2011, June 11). Twitter’s ‘Super 8’ Promo Grosses $1 Million on Thursday. PC Mag. Retrieved on June 15, 2011 from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386773,00.asp

Stewart, A. (2011, June 8). Par preps sneak peeks for ‘Super 8’. Daily Variety. Retrieved on June 15, 2011 from http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118038226?refcatid=3762&printerfriendly=true

SURVEY TIME!

Streaming Services vs. Rental Stores and Questioning Our Future As A Society

With Blockbuster going bankrupt and the number of subscribers to Netflix constantly rising, it is no question that the population wants their entertainment at their fingertips, on demand, without the hassle of leaving the house and fighting the elements to get it. It is no wonder that many start up companies are jumping on the bandwagon and launching their streaming sites albeit without all the A-list titles that Netflix has. It is an interesting turn of events for the world. The younger generation has a pin drop of a memory of VHS and soon they may have nostalgic feelings towards DVDs. “The future of VOD is a series of channels of content,” Cakarel says. “DVDs will continue their rapid decline as the choice of format for home entertainment. I think we all need to wake up and smell the coffee. My young sister in Istanbul will never buy a DVD in her life. That’s a fact. Period.” (Appelo, 2011).

Hollywood Reporter states, "That there are so many options is a testament to the popularity of streaming, which has become a preferred way to consume movies, according to a March study from PricewaterhouseCoopers. PwC reported that the Netflix model of mailing DVDs is No. 1 with consumers, with 43 percent of Americans doing it, while the subscription streaming service where Netflix also is dominant is No. 2 at 32 percent. Third is a la carte streaming, fourth is renting a DVD from a kiosk, and fifth is renting from a video store."

On a personal note, are we as a society disconnecting ourselves from each other? We all crave a more personal experience but will that in turn shield us from wishing to communicate with others? If we never have to leave the house because entertainment, work, marketing, etc can all come to us, will we? Are all these personalized experiences spoiling us by allowing us to exaggerate our own lives to others that we have forgotten how to listen?  By this question I mean the younger generation that is so quick to have everything at a push of a button has not the time to learn the meaning of patience and because they are always talking (on the phone, texting, facebooking, twitter, netflix streaming online parties, etc) are they not learning the valuable lesson of listening. Has this digital age triggered the beginning of society's breakdown?

Appelo, T. & Bond, P. (2011, March 17). How the Assault on Netflix Will Shake Out. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on June 2, 2011 from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-assault-netflix-will-shake-168562

• Interesting side note: did not realize companies for actually hiring for a purely "digital marketing" designated job. I believed that digital marketing was just in the general marketing mix. Should stop taking things for granted since all these new job creations are jobs my generation can fill. 
• Fox taps Ira Rubenstein to oversee DM