New Study: Film Marketing and the ‘Net

Some interesting research has been released that speaks to the budding importance of viral marketing. According to Variety’s Marc Graser, film marketers are increasingly looking to the internet to promote upcoming movies. He cites a study by Stradella Road, which surveyed 1,547 moviegoers regarding their film consumption habits and where they get their information. The study breaks down how different age groups experience advertisements for films, as well as how they decide upon which films to see in theaters. If you want to see the specific stats, or to read how your age group is described, I suggest heading to the site. 


What strikes me as most important, at least for us here at MovieViral, are the findings that younger film fans are actively looking for “customizing entertainment.” In addition, the study explains that young people are more apt to share such information with others through online social network portals or mobile devices. The fact that this study showed up as the top story on Variety’s website tells me that studios are becoming well aware of this phenomenon. Even if they are not entirely abandoning traditional forms of marketing like television commercials, advertising through new media channels is becoming more and more important for generating hype and box office receipts. If this isn’t the strongest testimonial yet for viral marketing, then I don’t know is.


Having done substantial academic research on the subject, it is not much of a surprise that viral marketing is gaining more attention in an advertiser’s playbook. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see a mainstream study emerge that reaffirms the belief that the staff and users of this site have held for some time now: viral marketing is a pretty big deal, and it will continue to be in the future. For being at the forefront on this, give yourself a pat on the back.  Now go back to figuring out what that Avatar viral site is all about.


What are your thoughts on this study? Do you think the findings fell in line with your personal opinions, or were you surprised by the results? Let us know!