It was a great year to be in Hollywood. Thanks in part to social media, the buzz around movies have never been higher. This year, everyone was talking about movies, and not just those of the wizard and vampire variety.
Here’s a look at three of the top movies that caused a buzz online.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games may be one of the best social media campaigns of all time. It was cleverly executed over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest…let’s face it, if the social media site was available, The Hunger Games was on it. The movie was a juggernaut of success. Their social media manager is brilliant.
The Hunger Games has over 8 million fans on Facebook. That doesn’t sound like a huge number until you realize that it is roughly the same size as the nation of Israel.
Here’s how they make it work:
- Photo Albums: The photo albums are used well, with hundreds of official photos and even more fan photos filling them up. Most recently, photos were chosen from fan’s twitter and instagram feeds when they used #HGHalloween. Within an hour of the official trick-or-treating time, the album was already filled with over 100 photos of fans dressed up like their favorite character.
- Images: The Hunger Games frequently updates their fans with sharable images. They recently created a cover photo celebrating their 8 millionth fan and encouraged their fans to use it as their own cover photo. They also often post images with easy CTAs.
- Games: There’s an official Hunger Games game on Facebook, which also feeds the fan frenzy. Previously, Facebook users could trade their profile picture in for an “official” Panem citizen ID card.
Looper
Hollywood made sure that Looper’s social media presence was full of twists and turns. Rian Johnson, the director, wasn’t afraid to jump on the internet, using Reddit to fuel Q+A sessions with fans. His cousin, Zach Johnson, hand painted over 700 stills from the film, which created a built-in family cottage industry.
Twitter was also used well with the official @loopermovie handle keeping conversation up with fans while artfully promoting the film.
Additionally, the main star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, regularly tweeted about filming.
One of the other standouts was the video interviews. When the director was interviewed by the New York Times, he started sharing some of his vision for the future – including a society without a middle class. That got the attention of the masses and they started sharing his videos all over the internet.
James Bond: Skyfall
It’s been a good year for James Bond. He kicked off the summer with a video montage of him whisking away the Queen of England, only to skydive into the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. His stunt pulled gasps from the global audience and soon became one of the most talked about moments of the games.
Just a little over a week ago, the James Bond experience was unveiled. Through a partnership with Coca-Cola, the Bond brand was able to give an experience like no other with “Unlock the 007 in you.” Within a few hours, the video went viral.
Everyone was talking about how they wanted their shot at being James Bond. Then Adele released the Skyfall theme song in a simple and stunning video that gives a nod to the Bond franchise. It already has over 46 million views.
Well done, Agent 007. The movie hasn’t even hit the theaters yet.
Special mention goes to Peter Jackson with The Hobbit. Jackson has done a masterful job with the Facebook page, introducing exclusive photos and videos that Tolkien fans are rabid to see. They even partnered with Air NewZealand in a safety video that has the world talking.