Is Hollywood Afraid of Twitter?
August 20th, 2009Author: Laura Halsch
That’s the question being asked in this mornings Baltimore Sun, which looks at the ability for this real-time broadcasting tool to influence public perception of a film within minutes. While WOM having a major impact on movie-going is nothing new, the emergence of Twitter- even more so than review sites like Rotten Tomatoes – makes it extremely easy and fast to share opinions with a wide audience.
While in some ways I understand the fear associated with this rapid-speed networking, of which Twitter is really only one one channel in many (we all saw how Bruno’s numbers dropped quickly after opening night). I also think this presents a huge opportunity, especially for smaller movies with smaller marketing budgets.
This morning, I tweeted about the documentary, Art&Copy about the advertising industry, which I’m excited to see when it gets to NYC. Looking just at Twitter, over 700 people have already linked to the film’s site, and there is a fairly steady stream of commentary coming in about the trailer. We’ll have to wait and see how this affects sales.
If District 9 is any indicator, though. This type of buzz can translate to real sales. The movie has been one of the top trending topics on Twitter, with commentary being overwhelmingly positive. And the sales numbers have been higher than expected. Not to say at all that Twitter is the only factor here. District 9 had a smart marketing campaign, and seems to actually be a good movie. But it does look like this fast-tracked buzz is a major force that will continue to grow in importance for Hollywood.
