1. Digital Marketing of Avatar
So how did 20th Century Fox pull off what could
be its highest-grossing movie of all time without
the aid of a franchise, an A-list star or a
historical event, created by a filmmaker who
hasn't had a blockbuster ("Titanic") in 12 years?

2. Avatar Day: Aug 21st 2009
• 100 IMAX 3D theatres worldwide showed 16 mins of footage
from a new James Cameron film.
• Ubisoft debuted a trailer for a videogame based on the film.
• Mattel unveiled action figures inspired by the film’s
characters.
• A day earlier, the teaser trailer for the film broke a record on
Apple.com after being streamed more than four million times
on its first day.
“August 21 was celebrated as "Avatar Day." Today, it should be
remembered as the dawn of the most comprehensive digital
marketing campaign ever developed to support a film.”
How Digital Marketing Helped ‘Avatar’ Break the Box Office - PBS

3. Social Networking
• Facebook: used to build connections and conversations with close
to 1.3m fans (On December 3, MTV.com put together a Facebook-
hosted and LG-sponsored webcast called "Avatar Live". James
Cameron, producer Jon Landau, and stars Sam Worthington and
Zoe Saldana were interviewed by MTV News’ Josh Horowitz, but
the questions were submitted by Internet fans in the days leading
up to the event. This 30-minute interview was one of the most
effective Hollywood webcast to date.)
• Myspace: close to 800k friends (also broadcast the red carpet
moments which occurred before the premiere).
• Twitter: over 25k followers (according to Sysomos, a social media
analytics firm, Avatar was the most talked about film on twitter in
Jan 2010) (some were ‘tweet to listen’ so fans had to forward the
tweet in order to hear the movie soundtrack – sneaky!)
• YouTube: close to 11m views
• Flickr: over 1m photo views
• TypePad (blogging): close to 4k members

4. Official Website
Visitors have access to more than just trailers, images
& background material
The website offers:
• 14 side-scrolling square boxes that showcase many of the digital initiatives that
make this movie stand out.
• the story
• character bios
• the music
• wallpaper downloads
• create your own Avatar
• opportunities to contribute content and showcase interest in the film (including
Pandorapedia, a wiki for all things "Avatar," and a blogging community (which
includes photo caption contests and timeless topics such as "Why Are Avatar
Aliens Blue?").)
And just as humans destroyed the Hometree in pursuit of self-interest and wealth, the
film's homepage had its own destructive moment in mid-August when fans crashed
the site while trying to secure free tickets for "Avatar Day.“

5. “Earlier this year [2009], Mark Pickavance
penned a piece on this site where he argued
that the secrecy surrounding Avatar was getting
a little tiresome. I saw his point, but for once
was quite enjoying the fact that every facet of a
major motion picture wasn't been rammed
down our throats, to the point where it felt that
I'd seen 20 minutes of it before I walked into the
cinema (I'm looking at you, Harry Potter).”
Avatar: The Marketing Plan that’s Backfiring? – Den of Geek

6. • Websites who linked to the Apple.com hosting
site for the official trailer were sternly asked to
remove the content with an official letter from
Fox. Odd isn’t it, considering the mass army
who fled to Apple.com to view the trailer
made the site crash under so much demand.
How would they spread the word?

7. Interactive Trailer
• Showcases the Stimulcam & Fusion 3D cameras
• Integrated social media feeds
• 11 points of interaction that provide one-click access to each
character
• Includes 3 options to purchase tickets
• Designed using Adobe AIR platform –it’s more fluid and
constantly refreshed.

8. Augmented Reality
• Mattel created Avatar toys that buyers could
activate and bring to life through webcams
and special product tags, while Coke Zero
produced custom cans that opened up the
world of Pandora at AVTR.com
Previewed at Comic-Con International

9. How Augmented Reality technology
works…
“Each action figure, vehicle and creature in the product
line will come with a 3-D web tag, called an i-TAG, which
consumers can “scan” using a home computer’s webcam.
Scanning the i-TAG will reveal special content onscreen
unique to the corresponding product. Exact content
varies for each item, but could include biographical
information, additional images and animated models of
the figures. When the i-TAG for deluxe figures, vehicles or
creatures are placed under a webcam, animated 3-D
models will “come alive” through engaging, evading or
defending moves. Place two i-TAGs from the “Battle Pack”
together and the 3-D images will interact with each
other.” From Mattel Inc.

10. Blu-Ray & DVD
• Another interactive trailer which links to
Amazon so you can purchase it for home
consumption.

11. “It stands to reason that box office blockbusters like this one
are deserving of a superlative digital marketing campaign,
equal in creativity to the product itself. Rich media has fast
become the default selection when what's called for is
maximum impact. What's interesting about the strategy for
"Avatar" since its initial campaign is how - whether its high
profile creative and targeted media buys, or user-driven social
media - interactivity is front and centre. Digital media isn't
the movies; we can't expect our audience to tolerate a
passive ad (let alone enjoy it), and we certainly can't expect
this timid approach to generate any online word of mouth.
Webcasts, Twitter contests, interactive trailers…this is the kind
of digital media consumers respond to now, and "Avatar" has
nailed it with its cross-platform campaigns. Not every ad
must be interactive to the extreme, but some products
warrant nothing less - especially when their meaning of
success means something just a little bit more.”
Avatar Nails Digital Marketing, Again - ClickZ

12. Past Paper Questions
For each one you are provided with resource material and have the choice to answer one of two
questions. Choose your question and work on an essay plan to create your answer.
• How important are film franchises for producers and audiences? (Jan12)
• What can be done to attract bigger audiences to UK films? (Jan 12)
• ‘The current revolution in technology is changing the way both producers and audiences
think of film and the film experience.’ How far do you agree with this statement? (May 11)
• ‘Neither producers nor audiences need stars any more.’ How far do you agree with this
statement? (May 11)
• How important is film marketing in attracting an audience? (Jan 11)
• What are some of the issues for UK producers and audiences in Hollywood’s domination of
the UK film industry? (Jan 11)
• How do independent films sometimes achieve success? (May 10)
• How far are new technologies changing the way audiences watch films? (May 10)
• What are some of the key factors which influence the kinds of film that get made today? (Jan
10)
• What are some of the ways in which films from the past are made attractive to contemporary
audiences? (Jan 10)