The Dark Knight "Ad Age" Article about TDK Marketing

[GPM]

http://adage.com/article?article_id=126981&search_phrase=joker

Check it out. It's an article in Advertising Age, the marketing/advertising industry's lead trade publication, about marketing The Dark Knight. I work in marketing, so I see stuff like this for comic-book movies all the time.

 

[GPM]

Also, I found it interesting that Nokia is a promotional partner and no one noticed thus far.

 

[Andrizzle]

Also, I found it interesting that Nokia is a promotional partner and no one noticed thus far.

*Ahem*



Plus, we definitely realized all the Joker Phones were Nokias...

 

[GPM]

I stand corrected. There are way too many threads for me to keep track!

Even so, I still found the article interesting.

 

[Andrizzle]

I stand corrected. There are way too many threads for me to keep track!

Even so, I still found the article interesting.

I agree, I was actually reading it as you posted the topic.

It's kind of funny, I know some of us had all been calculating the coast of this viral campaign in our heads, what with close to 100 cell phones, each with $50 of airtime, $15 every two months to keep them active... It never really occurred to me that they could have been provided by Nokia/Verizon for free as part of the marketing deal...

 

[MadStan]

It's kind of funny, I know some of us had all been calculating the coast of this viral campaign in our heads, what with close to 100 cell phones, each with $50 of airtime, $15 every two months to keep them active... It never really occurred to me that they could have been provided by Nokia/Verizon for free as part of the marketing deal...

Also, consider this. Buying an ad in a newspaper or TV spot costs a hell of a lot of money. With virals, the amount of money spent is, I'm willing to guess, chump change, since it's pretty much all spread by word of mouth. Add a number of events in high-traffic areas like cities, and you've got even more people interested. It's really much more bang for the buck.

Which doesn't mean that they're going to stop using traditional advertising means, of course.

Kind of makes me feel like a tool, but eh, I'm having fun.

 

[Andrizzle]

Even before I thought the phones might be comped, I still figured the campaign would more than pay for itself with increased box office. All you have to do is look at the thread criticizing the yahoo article for detailed explanations of why it works.

Even though this is all just marketing, I like to think that 42 sees it as more than that.

 

[MadStan]

Even though this is all just marketing, I like to think that 42 sees it as more than that.

That's true. If you look at things with a jaundiced eye, the only effort in making a film like The Dark Knight is to make money. But there's still something in creating even an ad campaign like this that's got the spark of artistry and I think the people at 42 can look back at themselves and thing "hey, I made people happy with this game", and be satisfied with a job well done and not simply the paycheck they receive.

 

[Mr.Deadman]

its good to see the viral get noticed. their doin such a good job

 

[Redd]

its good to see the viral get noticed. their doin such a good job

They are doing an amazing job. It's great to get in touch with my "inner bat" through these viral games.

 

[MiniBond]

While the term took on a macabre tone given Mr. Ledger's passing, the film's vital signs were more than healthy -- they were stellar.

-looking at all the threads-

D'YA THINK ??????t:t:

 

[crAziemutant]

my toys 'r' us was sold out of joker toys. =( haha. there was a joker/batman combo. but seeing the joker toy in person made me realize i don't really like mattel toys. haha. i didn't even see a harvey toy. maybe i'll find detailed figurines online.

 

[escobar2248]

It's kind of funny, I know some of us had all been calculating the coast of this viral campaign in our heads, what with close to 100 cell phones, each with $50 of airtime, $15 every two months to keep them active... It never really occurred to me that they could have been provided by Nokia/Verizon for free as part of the marketing deal...

Alot of us "theorized" on the free phones earlier on in the viral once we found out that Nokia was involved. It just makes sense and doesn't cost Nokia anything but the cost of the phone/packaging, etc.

Also, consider this. Buying an ad in a newspaper or TV spot costs a hell of a lot of money. With virals, the amount of money spent is, I'm willing to guess, chump change, since it's pretty much all spread by word of mouth. Add a number of events in high-traffic areas like cities, and you've got even more people interested. It's really much more bang for the buck.

I don't know if it's more "bang for the buck". This campaign isn't cheap at all. Working at a newspaper I do know how expensive it is to advertise and I agree, you can target more of your core audience with a promotion like this.

But I do believe that this does get us even more emotionally tied into the story line and movie. That will make us more inclined to spread the word of mouth of what we are doing and share our experience with people we know. I can honestly say that there is probably ten more people at work now that is going to see the movie after seeing all of my stuff that I have received from Rory's/Dent Campaign.

 

[cinematheque]

I'm so angry. Did you know I searched every single entertainment/advertising trade industry magazine I could find a month ago for stuff like this? And all of it's turning up now. Way to turn up...AFTER I WROTE MY PAPER ABOUT IT. Story of my life. I thought about using that one article by Chris Lee that was published in 700 different newspapers under different names several times...but even I couldn't sink that low.

Anyway, I truly believe that the point of this campaign is not in the short-term desire to make more money but in the long-term desire to...well, to make more money. I think studios are finding that if they have a movie that can generate fair revenue based on its brand alone (like Batman), it's more beneficial to make one that's actually good. I think enhancing the universe of the film--especially in Nolan's version of the franchise--can only accentuate its elements of realism and lead to greater brand loyalty and, you know, happier customers. The point is that I'm pretty sure we're all going to enjoy the movie more than our counterparts who did not play the game because we feel like we not only watched it get to the point at which it begins but we also contributed to it. I mean our grassroots campaign got up all the Harvey Dent buzz and now the mob is really angry because we messed things up for them in big ways...I dunno, we're halfway there. It's kind of awesome.

We're the people who buy multiple versions of the DVD, and we're the people who're shelling out extra cash for Blu-Ray versions of movies we've already got, once or twice over, and Gotham Knight. We're the ones buying action figures and running around plastering Harvey Dent stickers all over the place. You could say this campaign practically pays for itself because it does, but I think building greater loyalty is a task far greater than your traditional trailer at the movies and all that and will last longer. I like this whole Quality > Quantity business they've figured out with comic book movies all of a sudden.

 

[ultimatefan]

My favorite part of the article is when it says the whole line of TDK toys is flying off the shelves, it´s not just morbid curiosity, it´s interest in the movies that sells the toys, and it shows how Nolan renewed interest in the franchise, I remember complaints back in 2005 that BB toys didn´t sell that well.

 

[framo]

I really enjoyed this article, especially the statement:

Hundreds are play, but millions are watching.

YESYESYES! Plus, I think viral marketing is the future (along with other "regular" forms of advertising). Good article.

 

[Broken_Real]

@cinematheque: I couldn't agree with you more, I also just finished writing my major paper on the viral campaign.

Also, does anyone know if McFarlane will be coming out with any Batman/Joker/Dent figure? I also am not a fan of Mattel, but I would love it if McFarlane came out with a series.

 

[Pennyworth]

They are doing an amazing job. It's great to get in touch with my "inner bat" through these viral games.

QFT. The last year has brought my Bat-obsession back to full force. This marketing has been amazing.

 

[cinematheque]

I really enjoyed this article, especially the statement:

Hundreds are play, but millions are watching.

YESYESYES! Plus, I think viral marketing is the future (along with other "regular" forms of advertising). Good article.

I totally agree with this. I think viral marketing is definitely where movie marketing is headed. It's like marketing with an interactive and artistic bent. I'm sure most people in marketing have been dying to do something like that for ages so I think they're hopping on board pretty willingly, especially now that they're really discovering viral marketing's potential to work. Even Cloverfield, which had a somewhat-incomplete viral marketing campaign, managed to call in the biggest January opening EVER despite that the next week was also one of the biggest second-week drops ever. Still, Cloverfield made back more than its money that first weekend based on the premise alone that something had ruined this party and we really didn't know what it was but we wanted to know!

I think that viral marketing is going to become more commonplace in the next couple of years, but I can't say that I think the same is true of the ARG. Logically, the alternate reality game can only function in a sci-fi/fantasy/comic book setting. Nevertheless, it's fair to think that there's been TDK promotion in the ARG format for more than a year before its release--and there's always at least one nerdy sci-fi/fantasy/comic book movie coming out within the next year. I wonder if they'll latch onto it, though, the way they do with a much more user-friendly viral marketing campaign.

@cinematheque: I couldn't agree with you more, I also just finished writing my major paper on the viral campaign.

You know how the article said hundreds are playing but millions are watching? Some of the people watching were cruel and nefarious trade magazine writers who watched us say, "Oh yeah, I've got a major paper due on this but I'm having a hard time finding sources," and then they laughed evilly as they waited until we'd turned them in to submit their work.

 

[Andrizzle]

I You know how the article said hundreds are playing but millions are watching?

I didn't get that, why did they lowball the number of participants? There HAVE to be more than hundreds of people playing, there were hundreds of people in 12 cities across the globe!

 

[mongoose-mania]

This article made me very happy. I can't wait to see all the different merchandise that will be coming out. And those Reese's Pieces sound great! t:

 

[GPM]

I really enjoyed this article, especially the statement:

Hundreds are play, but millions are watching.

YESYESYES! Plus, I think viral marketing is the future (along with other "regular" forms of advertising). Good article.

There are a few reasons viral marketing will never replace other forms of advertising: response is hard to measure and if every movie had a viral-marketing campaign, there would just be a lot of clutter.

 

[cinematheque]

There are a few reasons viral marketing will never replace other forms of advertising: response is hard to measure and if every movie had a viral-marketing campaign, there would just be a lot of clutter.

That's seriously debatable. For one, there's already a lot of clutter without viral marketing but I think the universe is starting to work out that plenty of people are not, in fact, total idiots, and most know about Google. But viral marketing is the future of advertising because it pays for itself. It provides context that enthuses consumers, it's dirt cheap, and it complements boring advertisements. The fact is that trailers before the movies don't matter if no one sees the movies anymore, and the 30-second TV spot doesn't matter if no one watches the commercials anymore. Viral marketing has of late actually begun to become commonplace and I don't doubt that in a couple years it will be a staple. You can't ignore the fact that old marketing techniques aren't working and that there is an ENTIRE platform that has been ignored for far too long in 2008. The internet has changed user demands. People want to be able to to interact with things, in the same sense that you'd test drive a car, before they buy your product.

Advertising as we knew it is dead. Viral marketing has upped the ante. It is necessary to use the internet to market a thing today.

 

[sowasred2012]

That's seriously debatable. For one, there's already a lot of clutter without viral marketing but I think the universe is starting to work out that plenty of people are not, in fact, total idiots, and most know about Google. But viral marketing is the future of advertising because it pays for itself. It provides context that enthuses consumers, it's dirt cheap, and it complements boring advertisements. The fact is that trailers before the movies don't matter if no one sees the movies anymore, and the 30-second TV spot doesn't matter if no one watches the commercials anymore. Viral marketing has of late actually begun to become commonplace and I don't doubt that in a couple years it will be a staple. You can't ignore the fact that old marketing techniques aren't working and that there is an ENTIRE platform that has been ignored for far too long in 2008. The internet has changed user demands. People want to be able to to interact with things, in the same sense that you'd test drive a car, before they buy your product.

Advertising as we knew it is dead. Viral marketing has upped the ante. It is necessary to use the internet to market a thing today.

Aww! That's what I was saying over at Empire when people were unnecessarily laying into the viral campaign, but this is much more eloquent!

Anyway, I mostly came over to plug the Hellboy viral since TDK has taken itself off the boil a little. This one is barrelling along quite nicely but not too many people are following it for some reason - hetfet.org (or my blog) will get you started.

 

[cinematheque]

See? I didn't even know there was one. I gotta check it out.