Hollywood goes mobile big time

Last year, I wrote a post about Hollywood’s reluctance to use the most powerful marketing medium available today – the mobile phone. I distinctly remember comparing Hollywood with the Indian film industry and discussing how the latter managed to use the mobile phone successfully to promote movies and all that. However, it’s been a year now and a lot of things have changed in Hollywood.

It all started with Iron Man. Paramount Pictures signed a deal with LG and promoted the movie big time through mobile marketing campaigns. Lots of content was offered via mobile phones and users were thrilled to have a glimpse of the movie right on their mobile phone way before its release. LG even went on to release a special Iron Man phone which is the costliest phone to date, valued at around $2000.

The success of Iron Man’s mobile marketing campaigns prompted other major studios to go down the same route as well. So, Warner Bros. went down the mobile lane for three of its films – Speed Racer, Get Smart, and The Dark Knight. Especially, the mobile marketing campaigns created for The Dark Knight were phenomenally successful, just like the movie.

The mobile marketing campaign for Dark Knight included an interactive treasure hunt which directed the users to 25 bakeries in different parts of the country. Once they reached the bakery mentioned in the treasure hunt, they were delivered a cake parcel which had a Nokia phone. The users were asked to use the phone for more clues and stuff like that. The campaign was a huge success and it ended up preparing the audience for a blockbuster of a movie.

Apart from this, movies like The Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones, Wall – E, and Kung Fu Panda were also aggressively promoted through mobile marketing campaigns this year. All of them were very successful. So, finally, one would assume that Hollywood has come of age and has realized the potential of the mobile phone as a marketing medium after all.

With a lot of high end phones hitting the market and new technologies being introduced, mobile marketing campaigns will become even more innovative and offer a rich experience to users in the future. Ultimately, the purpose of such mobile marketing campaigns is to generate a lot of hype and interest for the movie and bring people to theaters. So far, it’s been bang on target. Don’t you think?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones.

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Get hollywood gossips in your mobile phone

Just think of the number of things we can access right from our mobile phone – Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and the likes, weather updates, sports news, maps, breaking news, and YouTube videos. Now, you can add one more thing to that list. Hollywood gossip.

The famous Hollywood gossip site TMZ has gone mobile. An ad-supported mobile site, to be precise. The site is built by Quattro Wireless and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the first sponsor while AT&T is the first wireless carrier partner.

Britney collapses again, Lindsay back to the rehab, or another pathetic performance by Paris Hilton in a movie – you can get it all right in your mobile. The site is packed with pictures, news, and videos.

Considering the fact that TMZ focuses on its core 18-34 demo, this mobile version could find a lot of takers.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising, All things mobile phones, Mobile Web.

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LG to promote the movie Iron Man

I hope you guys must have heard about the movie Iron Man which releases on the 2nd of May this year. It is a Marvel Studios film which will be distributed by Paramount Pictures. Considering the success of the films from Marvel Studios in the past, there is no doubt that there would be huge expectations for this movie worldwide. What does it have to do with mobile advertising? Good question. Here goes. In order to promote this movie, Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures have joined hands with LG Mobile Phones.

The lead character in the movie, Tony Stark, played by the brilliant Robert Downey Jr., is that of a man who is a billionaire industrialist who has all the latest technology at his side. Everything he uses is cutting edge, including his mobile phones. In fact, the entire story is based on a lot of technological issues and this is the reason why Marvel and Paramount have joined hands with LG, the brand that the lead character uses in the movie, to promote the movie effectively.

Prior to the release date, we can expect a lot of adverts from LG for Iron Man. A few weeks back, I had written about Hollywood’s reluctance to make use of the phenomenon of mobile advertising. Seems my voice has reached the ears of the powers-that-be after all. Wow; am I that authoritative?

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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Will Hollywood go mobile?

While the world is going gaga over cellphone advertising and marketing and the experts are predicting a helluva competition for the tiny little space of the cell phone, a certain industry which can exploit the world of cell phone advertising and marketing better than anyone else is yet to wake up.

No points for guessing it - the answer is Hollywood. It really surprises me how Hollywood has still not stepped into the world of cellphone marketing. Hollywood is, without a doubt, the most sophisticated film industry in the world and we all know how well they market their movies not just in the U.S.A., but all over the world. In fact, the reason behind the unbelievable craze for Hollywood movies all over the world is primarily good marketing, content comes only next. With marketing playing such a big role in Hollywood and a lot of corporate players entering the market, it’s only normal to assume that they would have tried out the hottest trend of ‘em all – cellphone advertising and marketing. But surprisingly, that’s not the answer. Barring 20th Century Fox, no other major film company has tried out cellphone marketing on a large scale yet.

It’s not that the idea has never been tested. 20th Century Fox tried its hands on cellphone marketing with Borat and The Simpsons Movie and released short video clips, wallpapers, and ringtones and had a good response. In fact, you’ll be surprised to know that Hollywood is quite late to catch up with international players when it comes to cellphone advertising. Or, make that very late.

India, as many of you might know, is the fastest growing mobile phone market today and it is also one of the biggest markets in terms of volume. What you don’t know is that it is also one of the hottest markets for cellphone advertising and marketing. Bollywood, as Indian film industry is popularly referred to, is certainly the pioneer in cellphone advertising and marketing. Over the past couple years, Indian film makers have promoted their movies through the cellphone and have succeeded big time. In fact, the film makers of Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, two of the biggest films in India this year, had tie ups with Nokia and Sony Ericsson respectively and promoted their movies unbelievably well. In fact, mobile marketing companies in India have also gone one step further and have introduced games based on Indian film stars, which has also got tremendous response from cellphone users.

If Bollywood, with a limited global presence can be so successful with cellphone advertising and marketing, what makes Hollywood think twice to take the plunge? Wake up guys – the people are ready. It’s you guys who need to kick yourselves for not waking up in time.

Categories: Cell Phone Advertising.

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