Terrifying marketing tricks that worked a treat
October means one thing in the Palmer-Kiani household: scary movie season. Actually, it means two things: scary movie season and our dog, Pumpkin’s gotcha day (on theme, right?). I have always been big into horror films, thanks to my Mum’s passion for halloween and willingness to introduce us to films like The Ring when we were slightly under the age rating.
Now, as an adult, I get to enjoy them with a whole different kind of appreciation. What makes a horror movie successful? Why do some stand out against the rest? Of course, most of it is down to the writing, the direction, the production and all that creative goodness. But, there is a lot to say for the marketing.
Here are three movies that I think got it right.
Smile
Every time I watch smile, I have to talk about the guerrilla marketing. It’s one of the best stunts I have ever seen, and for it to be talked about for years after the film’s initial release is an incredible feat. With the aim to create hype around Smile’s release, paid actors were planted amongst the public at televised events like baseball games. Much like the hallucinations in the movies (spoiler alert), they would stand - unflinching - with a wide, creepy grin plastered on their face. The stunt grabbed attention. It got people talking. It got people sharing videos on social media. The images and videos were spread so far and wide, they gained over 170 million trackable views, and were circulating long after the actors had clocked off.
I even remember seeing it for the first time and feeling unsettled, and isn’t that the goal? If the promo can be this scary, imagine how good the film will be. The stunt gained news coverage and has been credited with the first movie’s box office success. Read more about the stunt here.
The Blair Witch Project
I’ll start this section with a confession: I have never seen The Blair Witch Project. As a horror movie fanatic, I realise how that sounds. The Blair Witch Project blazed a trail for found footage films, and it’s impossible to watch a movie in that style without a nod to it.
Before the film’s release at Sundance film festival, the website blairwitch.com was launched. It used fictional news reports, police filings, journal entries, and interviews, and attracted around 100,000 views before the film’s release. The intent? To create an air of mystery around the film. The entire premise of the movie is to appear like found footage from documentary crew, and this marketing strategy fed into that. It got people questioning whether this Blair Witch Project was real.
The campaign was relaunched ahead of widespread theatrical release. The site reached three million hits a day, and they even sent interns to local cafes to ask the public what they knew of the supposed legend. People became invested. And who knows whether the movie would have been as successful without the campaign.
Obsession
And how could I wrap this up without mentioning the most talked about horror film of the year?
During the promotional stage before the film’s release, billboards appeared with a love note and a phone number. Text the number, and you’d receive a string of obsessive messaged from ‘Nikki’ herself for a true immersive experience. Creepy, right? As the campaign progressed, the billboards were replaced with more erratic, desperate notes to relay the obsession and desire Nikki feels in the movie.
This attention-grabbing stunt was supported with personable interviews with the mind behind it all: Curry Barker. The billboards alone create talk, and intrigue, but the interviews and insight into why this movie was made, and the background into the creator. The result? Not just an interesting-sounding movie, but personal investment into the man behind it.
Not watched it yet? I dare you to before spooky season ends.
Scary movies not your thing? Here’s three of my favourite comfort shows.