Cinema. It’s the realm of imagination. It’s the empire of fantasies. Indeed, Humphrey Bogart could have been describing film-making in his immortal line, “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.” Or, if we are discussing The Blair Witch Project, nightmares.
The Blair Witch Project‘s marketing campaign, a sensation in its use of the Internet twelve years ago, remains influential today. Creators Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick perfected “the Art of the Hype” when the public initially believed the footage was real.
One of the reasons behind the campaign’s success is its ingenious use of the marketing channel. Online marketing was perfect for its target market of 18 to 24 year-olds, particularly the niche audience of comic, sci-fi and fantasy enthusiasts. They drove the campaign by creating a veritable fervor in online forums even before the release. The resulting “buzz” caught the attention of mainstream media.
Further, it proved expensive visuals and designs aren’t necessary. The minds of teens were saturated by fantastical blockbuster productions and this campaign broke through with its semblance of reality.
And it paid off in a big way. Blair Witch went on to become one of the top grossing independent films of all time, earning more than US$248 million worldwide.
Now, the question is if Blair Witch‘s success can be replicated. When every major production has a online presence, an exact duplication of the campaign is near impossible. Even when campaigns become viral, it doesn’t always translate into big box office numbers. For every success like Cloverfield, there are failures like Snakes on a Plan.
According to Fast Company, the guys behind Blair Witch have formed a marketing company called Campfire. This raises an intriguing question: Could story-based viral marketing be used for different products and services?