by Phillip Sternitzke | @PSpepper

TV is king, let’s go ahead and get that straight. For years now, people have said that old media like TV and print are dying, while new media revolving around the internet is taking over. While print media has been digging its own grave for a while, TV is going down swinging. Shows like The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, The Walking Dead, and Sunday Night Football all averaged around 20 million viewers per episode during 2015 and those are just the heaviest hitters. There are dozens of other shows that pull millions of viewers every week. With such high viewership, advertising rates for commercials are otherworldly with 30 second spots ranging from a couple hundred thousand to over half a million dollars during primetime on a popular show.

Studies still show that TV ads have the most impact on buying decision. So while TV viewership has fallen over the years, it’s still the king when it comes to advertising. With the rise of new media, someone who knows what they’re doing can bring more attention to their product or service than any 30 second spot on primetime network could. It’s an exciting time to work in advertising and marketing, this is the first time in a long time that we’re seeing a true changing of the guard.

One of the most effective marketing campaigns we’ve seen in years actually comes from a movie, the 2016 superhero comedy film Deadpool. In summation, the movie followed a vigilante hero named Deadpool as he hunts down the man who turned him into what he is. Upon its release it shattered box office records, most notably it has since become the highest grossing R-rated film of all time with $771 million. For those who don’t know the movie industry, R-rated movies generally don’t make much money; only a small handful have made over $500 million. The reason behind the film’s initial success were not the positive reviews, or even the word-of-mouth testimonials from viewers, it was its ad and marketing campaign.

While the film did have more traditional ads on TV and magazines, the bulk of its attention was sent over the world wide web. Various trailers playing before YouTube videos, PSA’s from the title character on Facebook, and even spreading a challenge to fans which had them trick their significant other into seeing the movie saying it was a romantic-comedy (since it was released on Valentine’s Day). Once everything was said and done and the movie premiered, it was an instant box office hit by making back its budget before its opening weekend was over. Demographics showed that the primary audiences of those who saw the movie were young people who used these new media sites that their marketing campaign revolved around. Deadpool had one of the most successful marketing campaigns we’ve ever seen from a movie; so much so that it has raised the bar for the entire film industry.

Now being completely transparent, Deadpool wasn’t the first movie to go for a primarily viral marketing campaign. Cloverfield back in 2008 had the first modern viral campaign, and The Blair Witch Project in 1999 utilized the internet to have its trailer passed around direct download video sites as well as featuring clips on their website made to look real. But now with social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, an entire marketing campaign could be successfully launched by a small team of professionals.

For more info on how to utilize social media for marketing and advertising, make sure to contact Social Media Delivered at (469)248-0616.