Monsters University

Recently, as in within the past 2 days, Pixar released a viral video from the Dean of Monsters University, the fictional college of the characters from Pixar's Monsters Inc. Video Below:

And I came across it on a site that I frequent claiming the video as viral marketing (link). So I wanted to go ahead and apply some of things I've been learning lately about Social media to this strategy, to analyze how well it might be paying off.

The video as of today, this minute, has 755,329 views, which is a good bit. But viral, I'm hesitant to say. Let's look at it compared to the viral craze that I think has everyone's attention - Harlem Shake. They are homemade videos of people dancing outrageously to an electronica song. And one in particular that has been up for only a week approaches 15 Million views. That dwarfs this Monsters video. On Social Mention, Harlem Shake is being mentioned in some capacity every hour. While Monsters University gets a mention across the spectrum every nine or ten, and has much fewer unique authors, a little under half of any Harlem Shake video. And when comparing that to the Old Spice ads, surpassing 40 million views, it makes this viral campaign all the less viral. Consider this too, 600,000 of the views are actually from a version of the video that released in late January. This particular video only has about 90,000 views. So to me, it just doesn't seem to have the share-ability that other marketing campaigns have had in the past, or that entertainment videos have presently.

However, it is an impressive use of integrated marketing. They have even dedicated an entire site, which I must say is extremely clever. MU has a students and teachers page, even displaying sports at the fictional University. This content is a brilliant way for them to create a presence on the internet. So, the video makes complete sense in this context. I think it will offer them a great opportunity to create and share more and more content leading up to the film's release. And it's well developed, this site is no joke. I found plenty of interesting material that kept me jumping from page to page within their site.

So, it's cute and effective, but not viral; at least not yet. It is hard to get buzz going about a film especially one that doesn't premier until the summer. They are just trying to build awareness now. And for the most part, I think they are doing a great job. But I am anxious to see how this message will spread online for Monsters University. If they want a truly viral video, maybe they should consider having Mike and Sully do the Harlem Shake?

House of Cards: how Netflix can change TV and Film

With the new release of the David Fincher produduced and directed television series House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey, there has been a great deal of buzz around Netflix and their new found programming empire. Prior to this was the release of Lilyhammer, a Netflix trial at premium content fully released through Netflix and produced by Netflix. But compared to House of Cards it has not received the same attention across the web that its most recent production has.

With this successful interest garnered, the discussion on whether or not this strategy of bulk release, all thirteen episodes available at once, is an appropriate way to schedule content and maintain buzz. Appropriately enough this conversation took to Twitter to hash itself out.  

A lot of important issues are mentioned like water-cooler talk and anticipation. But that approaches Netflix from the perspective of a cable network. With this bulk release they are targeting their audience, binge-watchers, and hoping that they will spur the buzz necessary for the show to gain steam. If this show does increase the subscriptions of Netflix for even a short period I think they will be able to call it a true success. Because, this interest will show program developers that they have an entirely new avenue to appeal to, strengthening Netflix's presence in distribution and programming. Just imagine if five years from now Netflix offers the same number of shows per season as a basic cable network, only Netflix doesn't have to worry about ratings or scheduling. They would be able to make shows that target segments of people without interfering with another segment's best time to watch. This way content is not mutually exclusive. The amount of content would be astounding. This truly has the potential to change entertainment as we know it, as long as Netflix can maintain that buzz and attraction from its subscribers and new subscriptions.

On the subject of the actual show, I have watched two episodes and must say it is really nice to know that I have the ability to hop back on Netflix and watch it at my convenience. I don't have to wait until Thursday night, when I'm usually busiest, to try and cram one of my favorite shows in before it only becomes available on Hulu. I think this strategy was perfect for what Netflix is. But I do see how it could lose the publicity that tv shows receive from having their content released week-to-week.