The Summer Blockbuster Series analyzes the social media campaigns behind major summer movie releases.
Rebooting a classic film franchise is difficult. Rebooting a franchise that already had a high-profile (if critically panned) refresh only a decade ago is even more of a challenge. That’s the task faced by director Rupert Wyatt and 20th Century Fox with the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which opened in theaters August 5.
Rise is a new origin story written as a prequel to the 1968 film, Planet of the Apes, starring Charlton Heston.
Rise joins a growing list of Hollywood remakes or reboots of franchises that already tried (and failed) at making a comeback. Five years after Ang Lee’s Hulk failed to make the green hero into a movie franchise, Marvel Studios tried again with 2008′s The Incredible Hulk. After negotiations with director Sam Raimi broke down for Spider-Man 4, Sony opted to reboot the franchise from the ground up with Andrew Garfield. The Superman franchise is getting its own reboot in 2013, just seven years after Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns failed to bring the Man of Steel silver screen success.
And so, a decade after Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes hit theaters, 20th Century Fox is also trying again.
Let’s look at the social and digital strategy that 20th Century Fox is taking with this film.
Facebook
The Facebook page for Rise of the Planet of the Apes is aiming for fan engagement. It’s asking fans to “Like” the page to unlock access to more features. These features include research videos, an iPhone app (also available in the App Store) and “exclusive content.”
We’re not sure how well this approach has worked for overall engagement, as the film only has 67,000 likes, but it’s a novel tactic nevertheless.
The rest of the page is sparse in terms of content and features, especially when compared to other films in our Summer Blockbuster series.
iPhone App
In the mobile arena, 20th Century Fox released a special iPhone app, Apes Will Rise [iTunes link] to help promote the film.
The app includes a memory game, access to information about the film, the film’s YouTube channel and access to online ticket information.
We like the app and its features but we wonder why this was limited to the iPhone. Many of these features would seem right at home on the film’s Facebook page or other mobile carriers.
Twitter
The studio has its own Twitter account, @apeswillrise, and is also using the hashtag #apewillrise to promote the film.
Like Facebook, the Twitter promotion for this film is more limited than what we’ve seen with other would-be franchise films this summer.
YouTube
The most comprehensive social media promotion for Rise of the Planet of the Apes is its YouTube channel. Not only does the page have a custom design with real-time updates, it also has a ton of HD video, ape films, behind-the-scenes moments, TV spots and various versions of the film trailer.
Even though the channel is just a few months old, it already has more than 32 million views and is in the top 30 most-viewed channels on YouTube for the United States.
Special Effects Livestream
WETA Digital, the special effects team behind the film, held a live video conference unveiling the apes in the film using Livestream.com.
This 30 minute presentation did a lot to show the techniques that went into creating the apes as well as the motion capture technology WETA Digital used for the project.
Can a Muted Campaign Lead to Success?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is expected to easily win the weekend. Early reviews of the film are also positive, which could lead to better word-of-mouth buzz.
Still, we have to wonder if the digital campaign behind the film is as strong as it could be. Rebooting an iconic franchise is hard work. A more robust social campaign would likely give the film a better shot at connecting with audiences.
Does the Rise digital campaign pass muster? Let us know what you think in the comments.
More About: Film, Movies, planet of the apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Summer Blockbuster SeriesFor more Media coverage:Follow Mashable Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:26:36 +0000 at http://mashable.com/2011/08/06/rise-of-planet-of-the-apes/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/06/rise-of-planet-of-the-apes/#comments
Rebooting a classic film franchise is difficult. Rebooting a franchise that already had a high-profile (if critically panned) refresh only a decade ago is even more of a challenge. That’s the task faced by director Rupert Wyatt and 20th Century Fox with the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which opened in theaters August 5.
Rise is a new origin story written as a prequel to the 1968 film, Planet of the Apes, starring Charlton Heston.
Rise joins a growing list of Hollywood remakes or reboots of franchises that already tried (and failed) at making a comeback. Five years after Ang Lee’s Hulk failed to make the green hero into a movie franchise, Marvel Studios tried again with 2008′s The Incredible Hulk. After negotiations with director Sam Raimi broke down for Spider-Man 4, Sony opted to reboot the franchise from the ground up with Andrew Garfield. The Superman franchise is getting its own reboot in 2013, just seven years after Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns failed to bring the Man of Steel silver screen success.
And so, a decade after Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes hit theaters, 20th Century Fox is also trying again.
Let’s look at the social and digital strategy that 20th Century Fox is taking with this film.
The Facebook page for Rise of the Planet of the Apes is aiming for fan engagement. It’s asking fans to “Like” the page to unlock access to more features. These features include research videos, an iPhone app (also available in the App Store) and “exclusive content.”
We’re not sure how well this approach has worked for overall engagement, as the film only has 67,000 likes, but it’s a novel tactic nevertheless.
The rest of the page is sparse in terms of content and features, especially when compared to other films in our Summer Blockbuster series.
iPhone App
In the mobile arena, 20th Century Fox released a special iPhone app, Apes Will Rise [iTunes link] to help promote the film.
The app includes a memory game, access to information about the film, the film’s YouTube channel and access to online ticket information.
We like the app and its features but we wonder why this was limited to the iPhone. Many of these features would seem right at home on the film’s Facebook page or other mobile carriers.
The studio has its own Twitter account, @apeswillrise, and is also using the hashtag #apewillrise to promote the film.
Like Facebook, the Twitter promotion for this film is more limited than what we’ve seen with other would-be franchise films this summer.
YouTube
The most comprehensive social media promotion for Rise of the Planet of the Apes is its YouTube channel. Not only does the page have a custom design with real-time updates, it also has a ton of HD video, ape films, behind-the-scenes moments, TV spots and various versions of the film trailer.
Even though the channel is just a few months old, it already has more than 32 million views and is in the top 30 most-viewed channels on YouTube for the United States.
Special Effects Livestream
WETA Digital, the special effects team behind the film, held a live video conference unveiling the apes in the film using Livestream.com.
This 30 minute presentation did a lot to show the techniques that went into creating the apes as well as the motion capture technology WETA Digital used for the project.
Can a Muted Campaign Lead to Success?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is expected to easily win the weekend. Early reviews of the film are also positive, which could lead to better word-of-mouth buzz.
Still, we have to wonder if the digital campaign behind the film is as strong as it could be. Rebooting an iconic franchise is hard work. A more robust social campaign would likely give the film a better shot at connecting with audiences.
Does the Rise digital campaign pass muster? Let us know what you think in the comments.
More About: Film, Movies, planet of the apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Summer Blockbuster SeriesFor more Media coverage:Follow Mashable Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:26:36 +0000 at http://mashable.com/2011/08/06/rise-of-planet-of-the-apes/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/06/rise-of-planet-of-the-apes/#comments
