Directed and written by Daniel Myrick, The ‘Blair Witch Project’ horror film of 1999 is one of the perfect examples of effective marketing tactics. Calling the marketing and promotion strategies of this film astounding is more of an understatement; it is more than that. Actually, Blair Witch is among the most successful low-budget films in the history of the US box-office. Made for a total budget of $50,000, even the makers of this film had their eyes popping at the unprecedented yet astounding success of this film when it clocked 100 million dollars domestically (Mark, 2013 pp.2). In the real sense, the success of this film attracted the attention of many Hollywood executives, who sought to launch a profound and objective peek into the marketing strategies of ‘Blair Witch’. As if not enough, the worldwide earnings from this film rose to 240 million dollars which smashed most of the already set records, launching a sudden and unexpected box-office production coup. Showered with praises from both big and small names in the film industry, ‘Blair Witch’ pocketed numerous attractive awards in an industry obsessed with and used to big names, which marked a revolution in the industry. Owing to its unmatched success, this case study has chosen and will use ‘Blair Witch’s’ marketing tactics to highlight examples of effective online marketing campaigns. Moreover, the paradigm and marketing model of Blair Witch will be examined and discussed in details. Some of the online marketing tactics applied by the makers of this film are discussed in depth below.
The Website
Undeniably, the website, blairwitch.com, was the number one marketing tool used by the filmmakers to achieve and excessively surpass their set limits for the film (Kev, 2011 pg. 1). Or, as Brett (2013 pp.2) puts it; the website played a pivotal role in the marketing of Blair Witch. The mega call to action drove people in herds to the site and popularized the site with its news spreading like wildfire. Despite website surfing being a relatively new concept in 1999, blairwitch.com was very simple which made it likable among many consumers at the time. Interestingly yet, the site was fully operational even before the movie was released, when the film hit the cinemas, more people flocked the site to get a taste of what had been cooking. Luckily, the website extended the storyline giving the prospected viewers more information about the film which only increased their thirst for the film. Precisely, the website campaign was advantageous from two points: timing and limitation (Anthony, 2014 pp. 4). While the web was a relatively strange platform then, producers kept bombarding people with more and more information regarding the film, raising the anxiety even more. Also, the producers took advantage of the free publicity offered by the internet which was in its development phase at the time. The friendly and welcoming look and feel of the website also catalyzed its access making the campaign even more effective.
Leaflets of Missing Persons
Even though the internet was a new element of socialization at the time, Blair Witch producers foresaw the ‘viral’ concept and exploited it to the maximum; information can spread to billions upon billions of the world population just a few seconds past production. Actually, the primary aim of the producers with respect to Blair Witch was to raise the anxiety of the public through cliffhangers and uncertainties. Every single step taken towards the marketing campaigns of this movie was aimed at stirring confusion among the general public, thereby building the curiosity which would later translate to stacks of dollars. The leaflet bearing real names and photos of the lost was released to the public through the site. The leaflets made the mass wonder whether the project was just a scam and if the lost were found or not (Stanley, 2010 pg. 1). Consequently, this strategy got millions of people talking to each other about the movie while several others flocked the movie stores to watch for themselves and unravel the secrets behind that strange list. This marketing strategy was the basis for all the campaigns that succeeded; most which were remarkably successful.
Chat Rooms and Message Boards
Needless to say, timing was the primary source of buoyancy for all the marketing campaigns done for Blair Witch (Kev, 2011 pp. 3). The year 1999 was a time when those who were able to access the internet were great fans of the AOL, and they quite often visited chat rooms and other forums where they gossiped and exchanged information. With this concept inscribed in their instincts, the producers used the forums to spread the word about the movie by directing people to the website and presenting the missing persons’ particulars. Hiding behind the skin of the usual online users, they initiated discussions about the film and came up with fierce debates on the same. This move not only intrigued the chatters but prompted them to get a copy of the Blair Witch.
Trailer and the Documentary
Each inch of the film’s marketing strategy was tailored to cause a stir, and keep mouths running among the public. The trailer raised the public’s anxiety to its unbearable levels and made them literally sit in wait for the official release of the movie (Stanley, 2010 pg. 2). Simple yet informative and captivating, most prospective viewers fell for the trailer way before they watched the actual movie. Even more surprising is the fact that the trailer avoided the mainstream media in a bid to make viewers think they encountered it by mistake and share their ‘peculiar’ finding with others. Moreover, the producers initiated a partnership with the Sci-Fi Channel to produce a mini-documentary of the movie which emphasized on the authenticity of the storyline despite its horrible nature. This mixture of tactics combined and threw a massive action force to the public; the public reciprocated by asking for the release of the movie.
The Magazine Advertisement
As it seems, the producers of this film would not let any stone unturned. Considered one of their modest and efficient moves, the marketing panel featured a full-page advertisement of the Blair Witch in renowned entertainment publication magazine, the Variety Magazine. Instead of putting up one of those flashy headlines, the simple headlines read: “blairwitch.com:21,222,589 hits to date”, an unbelievable figure which threw the whole Hollywood into a frenzy and opened the hidden potential of the internet. More intriguing, however, is how the advertisement focused on the website rather than the actual film. Besides indirectly sending readers to the blairwitch.com, the advertisement popularized the film as well. From the internet live statistics, the year 1999 only featured 190 million users of the internet, 21 million visitors to the website translates to 11 percent of the entire internet visiting blairwitch.com after only one weekend(Mark, 2013 pg. 1).
Conclusion
With these numerous examples, it cannot be doubted that every single bit of the marketing strategies for the Blair Witch was engineered with an expert precision to capture the attention of the public. With each strategy reinforcing and supporting another, the efforts put in place by the producers did not disappoint. Regardless of its low-budget nature, that was overridden by the intensive campaigns which left the viewers yearning for more and more of the film. Moreover, it brought to light the names that were initially a mystery to the film industry and filled their pockets with stacks of dollars, leaving most big names’ with their mouths wide agape. With all the awards and the heralds, it is still important to note the effectiveness of the marketing strategies and tactics employed by the team. Obvious yet is the power of the internet with respect to marketing. At this point, it is only fair to conclude that the Blair Witch is an emblem of effective marketing, mainly through the internet.