A Killer Review – Social Networks as Critics
Will my friends kill Killers?
Recently I wrote about how input from my personal social network compelled me to go see a movie that critics had panned. Now, it seems, the critics are being bypassed by some of the movie studios.
A recent article in NorthJersey.com revealed that the movie studio Lionsgate was planning to launch the new movie Killers without the customary practice of screening it for critics. According to the article, Lionsgate would rather take their chances with reviewers on Facebook and Twitter — that is, people who are probably closer to their target audience.
Lionsgate marketers are, pardon the pun, hoping for a killer review of Killer on Twitter.
As the media continues to evolve with new technology, the opinion of your friends has much more impact and influence than some anonymous reviewer. Sure, there will always be certain reviewers that we know and trust, but they are a fading source for information.
Marketers at Lionsgate recognize this and hope to ride the wave of buzz. It’s an interesting experiment, typically reserved for genre films. They figured (probably correctly) that the reviewers would hate their genre flicks, but that it would appeal to the target audience.
Now, they’re going straight to the audience. It’s the ultimate in buzz and viral marketing. It’s a new media stunt that garnered buzz for a movie property that was probably struggling for attention.
As far as I am concerned, I am now more interested to check out Killers. Now, at least, I know that I can trust the critics, since they are my friends.
And if they trick me into going to see a movie that I hate, well, I guess I need new friends.
Kid Gives Good PowerPoint
If you work in corporate America, particularly in marketing, you probably build decks and presentations. For the most part, these presentations are built in PowerPoint. And suck.
Seriously, I sit through countless presentations, and the vast majority aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. (A little joke there. Hah.)
Well, apparently Scott McCloud knows how to make a really good presentation. And if you watch the embedded video (go full screen), you’ll see his 13-year old daughter Sky McCloud does too.
Sky McCloud Presentation from Duarte Design on Vimeo.
Ask yourself: Is your client presentation or pitch deck as good as the one delivered by this 13-year old?
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