Slashdot Mirror
Firefly Movie Using Viral Marketing?
CABridges writes "According to the official movie site, some interesting "security excerpts" have begun popping up online, first at iFilm. The videos (two, so far) appear to depict River Tam during various stages of her incarceration and mental capacity.
More to come?" Also, in vaguely related and somewhat humorous news XJHardware writes "For those of you who really need an obsessive/compulsive hobby here's a good example. Seems this fellow Chris Doyle built a model of Serenity from the upcoming movie and too-quickly canceled series Firefly."
They are exploiting sites (such as Slashdot) to raise awareness of the film, through word of mouth and such like. We are the ones doing the "viral marketing", simply by having this discussion...
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Fox was going for a different target market than what the show was bringing in. Cosidering it did get decent viewership in spite of the fact they aired the series completely out of order should a one indicator of the suckiness. Another is the fat that it is still one of the top box sets at Amazon two years on with very little marketing.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Nonetheless, I have to say that despite the tendancy for geeks to latch on to a crappy cancelled show, Firefly was a great series. Rent/Buy/Steal the DVD and check it out for yourself.
You know, I watched some episodes on the air when it first came out, and really didn't enjoy it much. Space western? I was expecting something more along the lines of Cowboy Bebop, and that it wasn't. So I didn't mourn its passing.
But recently, on a whim, I decided to nab the DVD set. It's interesting because now after watching all the episodes out, in the proper order they were meant to be, I actually really enjoy the show immensely. The characters are all well done, the acting's great, the writing is subtle and excellent, it's just generally a very well thought out series on the same level as shows like Battlestar Galactica.
So for those who might be wondering what all the hype's about, go check out the DVD set. It's not that expensive, but might be a bit tricky to find. You won't be disappointed, and it will get you set for Serenity, which looks amazing.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
No need for an encyclopedia to explain the concept.
The term "viral" immediately gives the impression that it's bad. However, I think in this context it's good - the "marketting" is well targetted, so doesn't annoy people who aren't interested, and is interesting to those targetted (if it wasn't, it wouldn't work).
http://blog.nexusuk.org
Well I'm NOT a fan of Joss Whedon's previous work. At all. I can't stand Buffy or Angel. But I LOVE Firefly. I think there's a potential market for both Whedon fanboys and new fans.
Seriously people, for those who hate Buffy or Angel, don't be fooled into thinking it's more of the same. Firefly is completely different to his previous stuff and definitely worth the hype, DVDs and movies. I yearn for more episodes to be made. Please, give Firefly a shot!
So the "word of mouth" when people say, "what the hell is this?" and the mystery/obscurity of the information drives the spread, not the virtues of the product. Viral marketing works on something like reverse psychology. The point is, whatever they're selling is so cool and underground, you shouldn't really know about it, so everyone wants to know about it.
If there's a truer thing said on Slashdot, it would not be so important as this though it has been said before in different ways.
If Linus wanted to sell paper cups with the Linux name on them, there'd be a stampede to get the news posted. If a new geek cult game releases, there's a post. Slashdot readers submit posts knowing the editors cannot resist publishing them because everyone knows the other readers will comment on them by the hundreds. Much of the news is stuff that DOESN'T matter. WE ARE the viral marketing and we do it DESPITE our own cynicsm. Oy.
Maybe we should get it over with and charge people to talk about their product and get it exposed to the tech brigades instead of giving them free advertising here. I won't even say the name of this movie franchise I'm so sick of hearing about it never mind sick of the incessant ways it gets squirreled into being mentioned.
Next big Slashdot running gag: inserting catch words and product names that are already known to be over-hyped.
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
personally, if the "marketing" is done correctly, the customer is actually interested in the product and is not annoyed at recieving notices. Viral or otherwise. But, if overdone, THEN it can get annoying. The web is good this way in that like-minded people can gather virtually and discuss like-minded concepts. Unlike say AM/FM radio where there's such a mixed audience that we are stuck listening to ads for whatever Clearchannel can get paid to put on the air.
As far as the "viral" part goes, that will only work if, as you mentioned, "carefully chosen forums/blogs"( ie the products customer base ) are found. And IMO, that is not a bad thing. They won't get much "spread" or traction if they seed the Firefly info to...a genital herpes forum for instance. And it would be a waste of time to even think that those forum/blog members would be remotely interested.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
I don't understand GP. The level of hype surrounding Serenity is no where near the level of...well, anything mainstream hollywood.
I think he hates it simply because people like it.
Some people are like that, they define their tastes by rejecting what others like. "If they like it," they say, "I must NOT like it! That will set me appart!". It's... well it's pretty fucking stupid, if you ask me, but they tend to see this as some kind of unique and clever position, and not as the sad and all to common reactionary stance it is.
Pounds to pennies he's never seen an episode.
I'm pretty sure he never has.
His sounds like a clear case of prejudice.
You can't take the sky from me...