Sunday, March 18, 2012

‘Hunger Games’ and Social Media - A Match Made in Heaven

It's no secret that "The Hunger Games" fever is sweeping the nation at lightning speeds. With less than a week before the hugely popular book series hits the big screen, excitement for the story and its characters is at an all time high. But why has it generated so much popularity over just a few months? The answer is, of course, digital media.

Keeping in mind that teens are the majority of the series' fan base, Lionsgate has spent only $45 million on advertising and hired a tiny staff of 21 people to spread "Hunger Games" hype - through a surprisingly cheap "yearlong, four-phase digital effort" focused on young audiences. By utilizing popular media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, and even iPhone games, Lionsgate marketing officials have carefully increased the internet buzz and have created a "box-office inferno" surrounding the upcoming movie. Considering the plot's tricky content (kids killing kids for a dystopian society's televised pleasure) and the number of fans it must satisfy, I'd say Lionsgate's marketing team is doing a pretty darn good job.

This is just another example of how important the internet has become to our society - politics, advertising, news in general is becoming increasingly dependent on new social media. What do you guys think about this? How could our obsession with the internet and social media hurt us, or help us, as a society?

4 comments:

Jamie Moore said...

I think this is a really interesting topic as well. Addressing Allyson's question, I think that social media can obviously do both good and harm. For something like this though, something that is encouraging teens to spend time reading rather than being on the internet, it is a good thing. Even though their motives are driven by monetary profit, I think its important that teens who aren't necessarily avid readers take some time to enjoy something, no matter where they heard about it.
I also read an interesting article on the books about why they resonate so much across both age and gender lines. The idea of a suppressive, big-brother type government is clearly not a perfect mirror image of something we can relate to, but the concept of reality TV and the media we consume because we are told to has a clear parallel to modern day. It is really fascinating to read it, having knowledge of other worldly events and governments that are more similar to that in the story, and compare.

Nikkie B said...

I think it's a good thing that technology has made it easier to advertise for something like a new book or movie. People don't read much anymore but since teens like following trends like being a Twihard (Diehard Twilight fan) and Potterheads (Harry Potter fans) it's easier to sell books and dominate the box office with sold out midnight premiers. It also helps sell T-shirts and they can make video games based on the book or movie and people actually buy that stuff. So I guess it's a good thing for the economy too. I think I might go see it even though I haven't read the books because the guy in it is a hottie. Anyone going to the midnight premier????

Keaton Gee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Keaton Gee said...

I definitely agree that THG is a wonderful paragon of the power of social media. Even months before the THG premier, it seemed like everywhere I looked, there was THG hype. (And when I say hype, I do mean hype. I saw the midnight premier, and I didn't think it was worth staying up for.)

That being said, I think this coupled with the KONY advertising, along with other social media phenomena, just go to show how technology has influenced our generation. Our generation is known for its huge advances in technology, hence the "M"-generation branding. (M is for media.) Our generation is essentially defined by technology.

I think this obsession with social media has the potential to help us, but will most likely hurt us as a society. People will, and have, exploited the powers of the World Wide Web to spread propaganda and propagate false information. But if people began using technology for good, I think we could go further than any generation before us ever has.