12 Days of Viral – DAY EIGHT

Scott Caldwell, December 20, 2009December 20, 2009

On the eighth day of viral, my movie gave to me…..

Contests and winnings

Not too many virals are going this route, but when they do, the response is overwhelming. 2012 in fact had a couple of contests rolled into one campaign. First they had the ambassadors program. A simple contest where the winner (our own Nick was one of them) really had to do nothing, but in the end, got a title, and a shirt.

But then they decided to break out the big guns. Forget silly ambassadors, they wanted a new leader. The leader of the Post-2012 world. Filled with strategic games, voting, and good old competition, this game quickly spread through forums and social networking alike. Hell, even I joined. Thought I was doing well too. I was wrong. But, the winner of the competition did decide to join our community and there was a friendly rivalry between him, and another member. Not just a t-shirt this time. Cancun and electronics were the winners prize.

The next contest, is not so much a contest, as it was a way to get more people involved in a film who’s viral was strictly word of mouth. Paranormal Activity had so much extra money to burn after it’s success at the box office, that it gave it’s viewers both the chance to have their name on the DVD, and win a release party for one person and a bunch of friends to view the film.