The Power of the Hashtag

This post will cover the power of the hashtag in social media. Although, as shown in the infographic above, Twitter saw the birth of the use of the hashtag, the method is now well used across most social media sites and recently even Facebook has jumped on the bandwagon. The hashtag is used as a prefix to a word or phrase which can be mass-used. Hashtags can be used to search for tweets, tumblr posts, instagram images etc that are connected to a specific topic. This gives the opportunity of the tweet/post reaching a much larger audience.

'People are going to use more and more of the hashtags' says April Woodcock of Touching Clients as she very nicely summaries the marketing potential of the hashtag in this short video:

A hashtag could the title of a film or television show or a phrase associated with either of these. For example during the pilot episode of the American FX show Fargo #awjeez was trending. 'Aw jeez' being a phrase used numerous times by a character in the show.  For the large portion of internet users who recognise the significant of a hashtag they can recognsie it out of context, that is if a hashtag is used in a magazine article or poster they will pick up on it and perhaps go on to search for it on a social media website. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes used this theory to promote the release of a new trailer. As seen in the image below #DawnOfApes was used in a promotional graphic to alert people of the airing of the new trailer after an episode of The Walking Dead. This clever method of advertising is discussed here.

Sources and Further Reading

http://www.bitrebels.com/social/twitter-hashtag-power-infographic/ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-SBPMGO2Aw

Twitter and The Graham Norton Show

This post will look at how Twitter and tweeting is used to advertise and create a buzz for the BBC1 TV chat show, The Graham Norton Show which has been airing since February of 2007. 

Advertising for The Graham Norton Show uses traditional nonchoice-based impressions such as a TV trailer or magazine advert. This is the type of advertising has the potential to reach a large and varied audience regardless of that audience not having sought it out. Tried, tested and most definitely efficient The Graham Norton Show has kept up with modern times and the rise of social media by embracing choice-based impressions too. Choice-based impressions is the type of advertising made possible by the internet and social media, such as specifically choosing to click on an online ad, to watch  a video or to search for a Twitter hashtag. (that has perhaps been seen in a nonchoice-based advertisement like a magazine poster)

'We are leaning forward when we engage with this kind of advertising and, therefore, our receptivity to a brand's message is at its peak. This makes the value of choice-based impressions worth a substantial amount to advertisers who can accomplish similar goals by using nonchoice-based impressions, but with a much lower volume and, arguably, higher impact.'  

Taken from the eBook Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences this clearly illustrates the benefit of choice-based impressions. For example who has chosen to go to Twitter and search #TheGrahamNortonShow is far more likely to go on to then watch the show than someone who has seen a TV advert for it in between whatever they have chosen to watch on TV at that time. 

The marketing team for the show has made good use of the official Twitter page since joining Twitter in December of 2010. #TheGrahamNortonShow is used for live-tweeting whilst the show is airing on BBC1. The following is taken from here. 

'Because of Twitter’s real-time platform, TV shows or live televised events are some of the most talked-about topics on Twitter. Simply put, people enjoy the shared experience of tweeting while they watch TV. It lets them connect with other viewers, as well as the stars or producers of the show who are also on Twitter.'

The Graham Norton Show team themselves live-tweet during the show. They tweet a variety of different things, such as images being used on the episode, screenshot images of the episode, quotes from the guests on the episode, or just general observational comments. This achieves two things. First it captures the attention of those who follow the Twitter page, or have a seen a retweet, but are not presently watching the show to perhaps tune in Live, or prompt them to later watch the episode on the BBC iPlayer. Secondly, this allows those who are already watching the episode to live-tweet too either by retweeting or replying to the Official Twitter pages tweets, or to post their own tweets featuring the same hashtag. 

In the week running up to a new episode airing the Official Twitter page will provide several different tweets a day. Some of those tweets may feature clips from the last episode with reminders that the episode can still be watched on the iPlayer. Other tweets might be of what is to come in the next episode, such as information on what guests will be on the couch. 

The host Graham Norton also uses his personal Twitter page to self-promote the show. He does this by featuring @TheGNShow in his personal tweets about the show, thus directing those who see his tweet to go and have a look at the Official page too. 

Sources and Additional Reading
Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences, 2012 John Wiley & Sons, eBook available from here 
https://media.twitter.com/best-practice/using-hashtags-for-tv

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Now to look more specifically at online advertising through social media. I'll start with an apology because if you are not a fan of the Planet of the Apes films then this post may be of little interest to you but I urge you to read on nonetheless.  As a fan of the films myself I have been impressed by the online advertising techniques used in preparation of the release of Dawn of the Planets of the Apes, which is set to be one of the summer blockbuster films of 2014. It is this impressive use of internet and social media that this blog post will discuss but first, if you have chosen to read on without having an existing interest or knowledge of the The Planet of the Apes then please allow my inner-geek to give you a quick run-through.

La Planete des singes is a science fiction French novel by Pierre Boulle.  The novel follows human explorers from Earth as they embark on a mission to a foreign planet. It is discovered that, unlike Earth, on this planet humans are animal-like, mostly unintelligent and entirely uncivilised while apes are the dominant species living in civilised societies. This novel was the inspiration behind the Planet of the Apes films which have tended to follow plot lines very similar to that of the novels. 

The original Planet of the Apes film was released in 1968 and won five film awards alongside two Oscar nominations. Bearing in mind that in 1968 the number of film awards on the go were significantly less than in the present, The Planet of the Apes did pretty well for itself. (please note - the effect of internet and social media on award shows will be discussed in a future blog post) Starring Charlton Heston and directed by Franklin J.Schaffner,  the popularity of the film resulted in the production of four sequels, the last of which was released in 1973. Perhaps even those of you who are unfamiliar with the film will have come across this famous line; 'Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!' 

The year 2001 saw the release of yet another Planet of the Apes film, sporting its own version of the story with an entirely fresh plot line, rather than simply being a step-for-step remake of the original. Directed by Tim Burton and starring Mark Wahlberg this film also did well for itself, being nominated for a total of 22 film awards and winning 9 of them. 

Then 2011 saw the release of a prequel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt and like it's predecessors did well with 24 film nominations and 12 wins, including an Oscar win. Much of the hype surrounding this film was due to its use of Motion Capture, seen in the image of Andy Serkis and the ape Ceaser whom he portrayed in the film. Motion Capture uses high-tech equipment to transform the real live performance of an actor and relay it into a digital performance. Ben Child of The Guardian, on the use of Motion Capture in the film;

'While the original Planet of the Apes movie is a bona fide sci-fi classic, this is one (rare) saga that has benefitied from being rebooted in the CGI era'

This takes us to the imminent release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the impressive online presence created to promote it. 

The website which has most impressed me is the Simian Flu information website. Simian Flu is the entirely fictional disease introduced at the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and is set to have a more key role in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, set a decade after the end of the last film during which the majority of humanity has been wiped out this Simian Flu. The website itself is, in my opinion, simply fantastic. It is entirely believable as a medical information website. It features well designed graphics and even a realistic video.

The website is so believable in fact, that I recently had a friend convinced they were experiencing symptoms. After complaining of feeling unwell due to a cold I expressed my concern to her that it sounded a lot like this Simian Flu I had heard about and I went on to share the link to the website with her. Most amusingly to me it took quite some time before she realised that this flu is fictional and the website was in fact a promotional stunt. The website proved to be so convincing that my friends realisation only occurred when I prompted her to click on the tab which triggers the film trailer to play. She even failed to notice that the timeline on the website which tracks the spread of the virus dates up to 2020, the year in which the film is set. The website also states that is 'brought to you by the Anti-Ape association' which provides further clues into the plot-line of the film. The full website can be found here and I urge you take a look. 
The impressiveness of this website has, I'm sure, prompted many more people than I to share it with friends and thus proving itself to be an innovative way to publicise the film. 

The other website used to publicise the film can be found here and, admittedly slightly less impressive than the Simian Flu website and its brilliance, it does go beyond the boundaries of a regular film promotional website. This is hardly surprising however seeing as everything about the film, such as its strong use of innovative CGI and Motion Capture, has a very modern feel to and so of course some of this innovative thinking would spill over into its advertisement. This website is highly interactive with an 'explore' tab where you can, as the title would suggest, explore the habitat of both humans and ape. This website also contains promotional posters, with the option to download them as wallpapers and so on. It features a short graphic novel which provides some more back-story of what has been going on in the fictional world between films. It has a basic 'About' section with names of those involved in the making of the film and a tab for the film trailer.

At the far right of the toolbar taken from the website is a row of six logos, all representing social media platforms and providing links to the films presence on each of them. These platforms are; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ and Youtube. By spreading itself across this variety of social media platforms and by using such creative means of promotion Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has given itself the opportunity to create a buzz well in advance of its release. 

 Sources and further reading:
Ben Child http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/20/dawn-planet-apes-movie-trailer
Motion Capture http://www.organicmotion.com/motion-capture/

Twitter and Advertising

This post will take at look at how Twitter and advertising has integrated and how Films and TV shows can 'twittertise' to the 300+ million Twitter users worldwide.  Blue Lite Marketing summarises the integration of Twitter and advertising;

'Through Twitter, companies can make real connections and receive insights into their brand image. Twitter is a micro blogging site that enables people to post up-to-the-second thoughts on just about everything. There are countless ways to utilize this technology, especially if you are a business owner who is beginning to establish their digital image. The direct conversations that occur on Twitter are essential because they are capable of directly influencing consumer purchasing decisions. '

This graphic, taken from this blog post, summaries the main ways in which Twitter can be utilised for advertising purposes. Although it has less users than Facebook, Twitter is still one of the more popular and well used social media websites and well worth the  investments of time, money and effort for advertisers.

Similarly to Facebook, films and television shows can have their own official Twitter page for users to follow. Tweets made by the page can be favourited by other Twitter users, which can be used as a good way to gauge to the popularity and interest in the subject of the tweet. They can also be re-tweeted by other Twitter users, for example if Andrew were to re-tweet something tweeted by the official Twitter page of an his favourite television show, then all of Andrew's followers will be able to see the tweet and can in turn then find the show's official Twitter page and chose to follow it themselves. 

Live-tweeting is also becoming more common place. This is when social media users will be on Twitter whilst watching, for example, the latest episode of their favourite TV show. As this New York Times article discusses, social media has allowed for social integration over a common interest, such as a television show. Fans living around the globe have the opportunity to see one another's tweets and opinions. 

' “In a sense, you are in the living room, watching together,” said Jeff Probst, the host of “Survivor,” who used Twitter to talk with fans during the show’s season premiere last Wednesday while flying from New York to Los Angeles. Mr. Probst plans to make such viewing a weekly habit this season.'

What differentiates the type of advertising publicity that Twitter has to offer from Facebook is the personal touch. Twitter is a popular social media platform for celebrities, many of whom personally post their tweets while some are managed by their PR representatives. Either way, this enables a celebrity to self-promote their latest film, tv show or tv show appearance. This form of advertisement comes free to the film distributor as it in the interest of the celebrity themselves to promote their venture to their own Twitter followers. The amount of followers, aka the size of audience, that a celebrities tweet can reach depends of course upon their popularity. For example a well known and currently popular celebrity such as Robert Downey Jr, whoonly recently joined Twitter, has collected an impressive 1.54 million followers within a month. Already he has been tweeting tidbits for next Avengers  film such as behind the scenes photos of the early days of shooting. 

There is however controversy surrounding the question of whether or not celebrities should make themselves available on Twitter, and personally I see the logic of both sides of the argument. Big-time star George Clooney has often spoken out against it, seen here in an interview with Esquire Magazine;

“If you’re famous, I don’t — for the life of me — I don’t understand why any famous person would ever be on Twitter,” Clooney told the magazine. “Because first of all, the worst thing you can do is make yourself more available, right? Because you’re going to be available to everybody.”

Maintaining the right to a private life is unarguably a fair point to make, as is the point that tweeting something inappropriate could be damaging to career. For those celebrities who have the good sense not to go slagging off one another or making inappropriate statements their presence on social media can only be a positive when it comes to self-promotion and further publicity for a film or television show. 

Sources and Further Reading
http://www.bluelitemarketing.com/twitter_advertising.html
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/04/30/twitters-advertising-revenue-increases-125
http://www.businessinsider.com/george-clooney-doesnt-understand-why-celebrities-use-twitter-2013-11
http://adage.com/article/madisonvine-news/social-media-twitter-makes-breaks-movie-marketing/139444/

http://www.ted.com/talks/evan_williams_on_listening_to_twitter_users

Facebook and Advertising

This post will take at look at how Facebook and advertising has integrated, and in particular how Facebook has come to be used for Film and Television advertising. 

As discussed in an earlier post, social media reaches an extremely large audience and Facebook is one of the more commonly used social media websites. In his book, The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising, Perry Marshall says;

'For 10 years, whenever people asked us about where to start marketing on the internet, we had a simple proven answer: Google...Then Facebook advertising broke the rules. Facebook provides a different and powerful new channel to reach customers'

It can be seen from the figures on this graphic that an advertisement on Facebook has the chance to be seen by a large quantity and range of people. 

While traditional advertising on Facebook will be of benefit to advertise films and TV shows,  it is more involved methods that prove more beneficial. Another extract from Perry Marshall's book illustrates the innovative advertising opportunities made available through Facebook;

'Welcome to socially developed advertising software. As Facebook designers support these features, we advertisers are hungry to suggest more- Instead of just letting me send an ad to users on their birthdays, how about you let me advertise to their friends and families 30 days before the birthday? The opportunities are endless.'

When it comes to the advertisement of a film, most films will have their own Facebook page created well in advance of its release. Methods will be taken for these pages to gather as many 'likes' as possible. Word-of-mouse can be utilised by encouraging those fans who have already 'liked' the page to invite friends to do so too. These Facebook pages can be used to share any photographs, whether they be of glimpses behind the scenes or of official posters and advertisement graphics. These images can generate a high number of 'likes' which will result in them reaching an even larger audience which in turn will result in the Facebook page gaining more fans and popularity. For example, if Andrew 'likes' and image posted onto the Facebook page of a film they are looking forward to seeing, then that image may appear on the timeline of friends of Andrew, and the image may capture their interest and prompt them to go and explore the films Facebook page. The same can be said of status updates with information about the film or release date, and of videos such as trailers or exclusive clips from the film. 

Sources and Further Reading
   Marshall Perry, Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising, 2011 Entrepreneur Press

  http://www.business2community.com/facebook/track-specific-advertising-goals-in-facebooks-ads-      manager-0454119#!GM0K0

  Infographic http://vyrec.com/5-tips-berniaga-melalui-fanpage-facebook/

Social Media Usage Overview

Before delving into the different ways that social media has begun to be used within film and television for promotional purposes I thought that first a brief overview of social media platforms usage would be beneficial. In order to better understand the new promotional possibilities and the scope of audience size that social media opens the door to you need to have a basic understanding of social media usage across the globe. 

Simon Kemp, of 'we are social' carried out a survey of social media usage in the early months of 2014. This information provides an up-to-date image of the number of people from different regions using social media. This is turn shows us the prospective audience size of film and television online advertising. 

This first infographic represents the global use of social media platforms. The regions that are most important to the future discussions of this blog are North America, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Oceania, and finally East Asia. These are the regions where American and British television and film are most commonly watched and thus more likely to be discussed on social media platforms. 

This second infographic represents social media usage in \Western Europe in numerical form. The total 293 million active social media users across Western Europe accounts for around 40% of the population of the region. When it comes to trying to promote a film or television project having an online presence with the possibility of reaching an audience accumulating to 40% of an entire regions population undoubtedly is deserving of the time and effort to do so. 

 These figures represent the usage of all social media platforms but more in-depth figures and information can be found in the full 'we are social' article and presentation, which can be found here. 

Advertisers must keep in track with this modern and well connected world by allowing their companies and brands to be more social too. When once a company would instill good experiences to their customers thus leading them to tell all their friends and boost the companies image through word-of-mouth, there is now the possibility to do so through word-of-mouse. 

Word-of-mouse is well represented in this infographic; It illustrates the many platforms that information, such as an advertisement, can be shared through on the wide spectrum of social media and the internet. 


Sources and Further Reading
http://wearesocial.net/blog/2014/02/social-digital-mobile-europe-2014/
http://rozczochraany.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/social-media-z-czym-to-sie-je.html

Welcome!

Welcome to my first ever attempt at writing a blog! 

I'm a first year student at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen studying Media and I have created this blog for my Digital Media and Platforms module. This blog will aim to look at how the internet and social media platforms have come to be used in regards to television and film advertising. This will involve a heavy focus on how social media is used for promotion purposes by official accounts and also actors and fan accounts.

I hope that you will find this blog to be both informative and enjoyable to read!