VIRAL MARKETING YOUR FILM

Motion picture "old media" required film and processing and this gave us newsreels from the major film companies that accompanied feature films playing in theaters. Most of us already knew the news by the time we saw the newsreel, but we hadn't seen the moving pictures of the event. Television gave us the 9:00, 12:00, 6:00 and the 11:00 news and that news was reported by professional journalists who soon relied on videotapes.

New media (digital) allows everyone to connect instantly through the Internet. Today, anyone can freely post breaking "news" on the Internet (on places like youTube) and millions can see it instantly.

We had our first lesson in viral marketing when in early 2007 LYLOFILM completed its animated second season for Henry Rollins and IFC. I did not think that this was a good film at the time but that apparently, did not matter. The five minute long "George W. Bush's TEXAS BARBEQUE with Saddam Hussein" premiered on IFC-TV in early 2007 and it was viewed over eleven million times within a week after dozens of fans posted it on many sites (including YouTube) and linked it to thousands more.

I thought this was incredible until last month when the video of Susan Boyle saying she wanted to be as famous as Elaine Paige hit the Internet. The audience sneered and laughed, judging this book by its cover. As soon as she opened her mouth to sing, the reaction was immediate and Susan Boyle was off to becoming the most famous woman in the world as her video attracted over 150 million viewers (this is a world record - Britains Got Talent 2009 Susan Boyle First Performance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I31v0YE4n5c).

So, the lesson to be learned is that you do not necessarily need a good film, you just need something "sensational" that will create the type of buzz that will make every viewer send ten more potential viewers to watch. And you need good timing. Posted today, "George W. Bush's TEXAS BARBEQUE with Saddam Hussein" would probably draw a very small audience.

The World Wide Web has come of age.

©2009, Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.