Top Digital Movie Marketing Trends to Watch For in 2015

Twenty-fifteen will soon be upon us. Have you planned ahead?

2014 has been a consequential year for digital marketing. While many industry pundits like to talk about the performance of movies at the Box-Office, gauging the effectiveness of movie- marketing campaigns post the release is equally important and is often disregarded.

It's that time of the year again.  A time for yearly review, time to make resolutions and an opportunity to set goals for the forthcoming year.

Here’s to a new sense of purpose that will redefine your campaign outlook. All the things you’re going to do to make 2014 “your year” - what worked, what needs work and what’s next.

Netizens grew at an accelerated pace, content marketing and visual media took the center stage and the thrilling potential of new technology and platforms continued to make its mark.

If you’re a movie marketer, paying attention to what looms ahead is the wisest move you can make.

Presenting movie marketing trends we’re likely to see in 2015. Be forewarned, you can afford to miss these, at your own risk.

Marketing in real-time – ‘reactvertising’

Don’t we love and appreciate a speedy social reaction from a brand to a real-time event? How you react to a situation, event or a trending hashtag defines our marketing efforts in more ways than one. It’s not about being smart or creative, it’s about being fast. It’s about capitalizing on a ‘trend’ before it’s gone. This is gold.

If movie marketers can steer in this direction, imagine the reach for their respective campaigns. While some brand campaigns have managed to pull this off well, we are yet to see remarkable movements as far as movie campaigns are concerned.

Breaking and sensational news reign all round the year. Using it to one’s advantage is a matter of art. If you can get this one right, consider half your marketing efforts accomplished.

Interactive Trailers and Videos

As the web adapts to new technologies and new realities, it continues to drive innovations that help in enriching the consumer experience.

One area ripe for innovation is interactive trailers and interactive movie assets. While a bunch of movie marketers have tested and deployed this technique in the recent past, technology has made it possible for newer creative horizons to be touched upon.

People like watching videos. The moment you add a layer of interaction and involve the consumer, videos become experiential.

Content Collaborations

A lot of clout on the platform, a loyal growing subscriber base and a guaranteed reach is what some of the upcoming YouTube creators promise. If you’re committed to more eyeballs across varied horizons, place your bets on this.

When it comes to reach, video is peerless. Every touchpoint creates consumer experiences.

Many movies of late have taken to tying up with rising YouTube collaborators to promote their movies and have done successfully so. Although the number is handful, this is expected to become a ‘must-do’ in digital movie marketing space.

The need for more relevant, less promotion-heavy content has given to rise to content co-creation within social communities. Expect this to go mainstream.

Instant Messaging As A Distribution Channel

Power users and early adopters of Instant Messaging apps are under 25. Coincidentally, also happens to be the movie going target audience. Thanks to the content saturation on the primary social media platforms, instant messaging platforms are gaining momentum like never before.

Snapchat, Whatsapp, WeChat, Line, Viber and other instant messaging native apps are currently being explored and stand a huge potential for creative content plug and distribution. Content publication is the first small step, value comes from distribution.

If you’re still using text messaging, you’re officially old school.

Visual Marketing

It not just about filtered photography or selfies.

Think Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Instagram. Standards have been set - less text, more graphics. We’d rather see it than read it. This essentially means that every movie marketer will have to design visually attractive campaigns, your average consumer’s visual expectations are higher than ever before.

Visual marketing as we know it has evolved. There’s a change in the air and this time you’ll need to ‘see’ it.

Original Video Content

This is a proverbial no-brainer on the list, a must-do for every movie. Stories help connect. Marketers will need to identify the pulse of their movies and use them as a base for meaningful positioning, differentiation, and authentic storytelling.

Webisodes, short films or just concept led videos, bring a whole new generation of storytelling to life.

Hire the most seasoned writers and editors you can find, you’re going to need this. They’ll be more expensive than the others but the payoff will be worth it.

Wearables, AR and VR

Amidst the ever-increasing online noise, it is becoming increasingly difficult to break the clutter on social media platforms. Direct touchpoints are obvious, indirect touchpoints like word-of-mouth, social conversations and interactions are crucial too and probably play a larger part in getting footfalls to theatres as far as movie marketing is concerned.

When Wearables, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality excite consumers, why shouldn’t marketers consider them? Accessibility of such technology is an experience in itself and the fact that these conversations are happening bears marketer's attention.

Rethink the future. Big budget movies will need just this.

Digital Influencers

Social media today, is no ministerial diktat, it’s a way of life and has influenced our behaviour in unimaginable ways.

Global digital statistics continue to show an ever-growing surge of users across multiple platforms. With beyond impressive active user growth across platforms, a unified mass communication doesn’t necessarily warrant attention.

What does impact though is sending out messages through those who have the power to ‘influence’. This influence usually stems from an individual’s expertise in an area of interest resulting into a strong following over time. Employing influencers to build in subtle promotion adds a lot of credibility and complements the efforts of the marketer.

If you want to cast a smart net and make waves, this is it.

Need of the hour? Discard old-century legacy measures, embrace and experiment with new methods of engagement, widen digital horizons and opportunities for the coming year.

The clock is ticking. What’s on your radar for 2015?