Hey, remember how we keep talking about how interactivity is the next big thing in marketing, communications, and media? The repeated attention we’ve devoted to this topic is justified. You can never speak too much about the next big thing. But it may be time to change the formulation, just slightly. We might need to cut out the “next” part in the equation, because interactivity is already here, in a big way.
Let’s think about movies for a second. Great past-time, a medium often conducive to true art, and not a bad way to spend a Saturday night. There is a century-long tradition of film-watching in this country, but despite the best efforts of Avatar (which is coming back to theaters, and soon) and its record-setting haul at the box-office, ticket sales are down 3% from last year, according to Brooks Barnes of The New York Times. So what’s the movie industry to do with a product that–immersive and fun as movies are–is basically passively watching a screen? Add a dash of interactivity, of course. And that’s just what one studio is doing. Take it away, Barnes:
They came dressed as Pink Ladies and Beauty School Dropouts. They cheered Danny Zuko at Thunder Road. The rama-lama ding-donging? Deafening.
No, this wasn’t a karaoke club. It was the premiere here for “Grease: Sing-A-Long,” a rerelease of the 1978 musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. By adding lyric subtitles, Paramount Pictures hopes to inspire audiences in places like Texas and Michigan — clad in costume, preferably — to trek to multiplexes and sing about summer lovin’.
“The goal is to create a true event,” said Adam Goodman, president of the Paramount Film Group. “How do you get groups of young people going to the movies and having a great time?”
The key term is “young.” Older moviegoers may still prefer to sit in silence, but younger audiences — the ones studios work hardest to motivate off the sofa — are increasingly programmed to interact and multitask. Sitting quietly in a theater starts to feel like a bore when you can watch the DVD at home while texting a friend, playing a video game and posting witty comments on Facebook.
Grease is maybe the ideal movie to make interactive. It’s an old favorite, with well-known songs. But, as Barnes notes, this type of attraction has been going on for decades with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. What’s new here is that it’s not fans who are organizing group sing-a-longs, but the movie studios themselves. This is something of a brilliant effort to add something unique, interesting, and–most important–interactive to your run of the mill movie-going experience.
If movies are becoming interactive, you can be sure other media will soon follow suit. How are you focusing on interactivity in your marketing?
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- Burger King’s Personalized Hulu Ad
