Viral marketing is effective advertising that spreads brand exposure through social networks. The Blair Witch Project used viral marketing successfully in 1999 with a budget of $60,000 by having the actors update a fictional website about their characters going missing to generate buzz. District 9 used a viral marketing campaign beginning in 2008 that featured fictional news reports and surveillance footage to promote the low-budget science fiction film, which went on to be a sleeper hit in 2009.
1. VIRAL MARKETING The effective way or advertising or producing brand exposure through social networks.
2. BLAIR WITCH PROJECT Back in 1999, 2 little known directors , directed a –lost-in-the-woods thriller that reinvigorated the horror genre. The filmmakers only had $60,000 to play with, the internet proved a great success in making people aware of The Blair Witch Project. The film grew across America and with the launch of BlairWitch.com and the actors playing themselves updating status’ on the website to “missing, presumed dead” this was something fans loved. The film went on to make a whopping $250m at the worldwide box office, this proving viral marketing does work!
3. DISTRICT 9 District 9 is a 2009 science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell; and produced by Peter Jackson. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope and David James. Copley plays the role of Wikus Van De Merwe, an Afrikaner bureaucrat assigned to relocate a race of extraterrestrial creatures, derogatorily referred to as "prawns", from District 9, a military-guarded slum in Johannesburg, South Africa, to an internment camp outside the city. The story, adapted from Alive in Joburg , a 2005 short film directed by Blomkamp and produced by Copley, pivots on the themes of xenophobia and social segregation. The title and premise of District 9 were inspired by events that took place in District Six, Cape Town during the apartheid era. The film was produced for $30 million and shot on location in Chiawelo, Soweto, presenting fictional interviews, news footage, and video from surveillance cameras in a part-mock documentary style format. A viral marketing campaign began in 2008 at the San Diego Comic-Con, while the theatrical trailer appeared in July of 2009. Released by TriStar Pictures, the film opened to critical acclaim on August 14, 2009 in North America and earned $37 million in its opening weekend. Many saw the film as a "sleeper hit" for its relatively unknown cast and low-budget production, while achieving success and popularity during its theatrical run .