Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Viral Marketing

So, two upcoming movies put their viral marketing skills into play today.

First, there's some weird Kryptonian Countdown thing going on  which probably will lead to the new Man of Steel trailer.  I don't know who has the time to figure these things out, but I caught the link on Twitter well after it had been broken.  To me it just looks like changing shapes, but it appears some Superman fans are excited.

The next and, for me, more effective is the build up to the new Star Trek movie.  Just this week, they released a trailer, and a photo.  The movie looks like all the other superhero, Bond, big bad villain movies that have come out lately.  The one where the bad guy wants revenge and gets himself captured and then blows shit up flick.  Now, a) I love that plot so I'm interested to see how they Star Trek it up and b) LENS FLARES.  But, what interests me more is the whole Benedict Cumberbatch angle. 

You see, JJ Abrams is a master of the mindfuck.  Makes you look up references, doesn't answer questions, gets the fans talking.  And here's what he's doing here.  I'm not the world's biggest Star Trek fan--far from it... but I know who Khan is. 

And that's who Abrams wants you to think Cumberbatch is playing.  There are a ton of hints out there. 

Of course there are rumors it could be about 90 million other Star Trek villains.

But, both of these marketing ploys have people talking.  And it makes me wonder how you could do that for a book.

I mean, books are harder, aren't there?  Unless it's a series, there's rarely built up familiarity.  And there isn't the visual punch.  So, how can viral marketing catch a reader's eye?

What kind of mysteries can you play up?

I believe Dan Brown's website did something like this--with codes and stuff--before THE LOST SYMBOL came out. 

Has anyone ever seen any really good viral marketing for a book?

1 comment:

Jody said...

Hmmm Dave Viral Marketing for a book.? No...Ha Ha Ha Great Post Though...Thanks !!!