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Slusho!
A game, a movie, a marketing campaign, and a story
OK. I'm writing about Cloverfield again because almost everything I've seen has either focused on the plot, the monster, or the backstory, and the rest concentrates on its viral marketing. But I noticed a website today that listed other Cloverfield sites, including some that were "oog," an acronym for "out of game," meaning that they are not in the story. Then it hit me.
DUH!
What's so interesting about the Cloverfield phenomenon is that producer JJ Abrams and his cohorts have created a full tapestry that is itself an art form — and a marketing campaign. If you're uncomfortable using the term "art," fine by me. Call it a multimedia project, if you like, but it's the harbinger of how marketing is evolving into something that is part of the product. In this case, it's a game that began in July with the release of the first, untitled trailer, preceding the showing of the Transformers movie.
From there, multiple websites appeared with clues. Some, undoubtedly, were generated by the Abrams team, others were "leaked" to fan sites, and more came from sites created to simulate characters — human, corporate, or otherwise — from the forthcoming film. The viral part of the marketing kicked in, but it might have died then if the story and the ideas were not compelling. But they were, and "new" clues, videos, photos, websites, "news stories," and such trickled out. The virus not only lived, but spread, and was nurtured by the "infected." The game was on, and in the process, a richer fabric, a more detailed and compelling story, was created that extends beyond a movie.
DUH!
What's so interesting about the Cloverfield phenomenon is that producer JJ Abrams and his cohorts have created a full tapestry that is itself an art form — and a marketing campaign. If you're uncomfortable using the term "art," fine by me. Call it a multimedia project, if you like, but it's the harbinger of how marketing is evolving into something that is part of the product. In this case, it's a game that began in July with the release of the first, untitled trailer, preceding the showing of the Transformers movie.
From there, multiple websites appeared with clues. Some, undoubtedly, were generated by the Abrams team, others were "leaked" to fan sites, and more came from sites created to simulate characters — human, corporate, or otherwise — from the forthcoming film. The viral part of the marketing kicked in, but it might have died then if the story and the ideas were not compelling. But they were, and "new" clues, videos, photos, websites, "news stories," and such trickled out. The virus not only lived, but spread, and was nurtured by the "infected." The game was on, and in the process, a richer fabric, a more detailed and compelling story, was created that extends beyond a movie.
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