The heart of guerrilla marketing is the proper utilization of those weapons you choose to use. But how did this small budget horror flick shot on dinky consumer cameras go on to garner such success. Sep 19, 2016 the blair witch projects marketing was beyond that. The blair witch projects iconic marketing sagindie. Guerrilla marketing has developed into a basic strategy overarching the marketing mix, a basic marketing policy attitude for market development that. Academy originals has come out with a retrospective, in which the filmmakers and actors talk about how the film was made.
Matt took a look back at one of the most inventive, successful, and nottomention, terrifying, marketing campaigns in film history. Arguably the most effective viral guerrilla marketing campaign to date was for the movie the blair witch project. Guerrilla marketing tactics are used in order to arouse interest and create a buzz towards the intended. When the blair witch project was unleashed upon audiences in 1999, no one could have predicted how the film. An investigaton into the relevance of guerrilla marketing. Apr 08, 2016 the internet is now an essential part of all marketing strategies in the movie industry but it was the 1999 phenomenon that was the blair witch project that is credited with being the first movie. In june 1998, filmmakers daniel myrick and eduardo sanchez launched the original blair witch project website via their production website. The campaign involved spreading rumours about the fictitious legend of the blair witch.
Jan 29, 2015 aside from huge boxoffice numbers, blair witch also cemented his place as an icon of guerrilla marketing. How the blair witch project changed horror with cheap. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Apr 19, 2010 a guerrilla marketing campaign can be tailored to almost any small business. Second, you want the guerrilla marketing strategies that you select to be sticky. Generally the intended result of a guerrilla marketing campaign is for it to go viral. Useful lessons were learnt, particularly about engaging the commitment of a.
This marketing campaign was clearly a rousing success, and created a brand image around both the blair witch myth, laying the ground work for a sequel, and around artisan entertainment, which now bills itself as the company that brought audiences the blair witch project. They had thought it all through, to make a hoax so palpable that the whole world would believe it. Pure and simple, if people dont know about you, your products, or your services, they cant buy from you. The lowbudget movie was built up with an unprecedented viral campaign that focused mainly on spreading the myth of the blair witch as if it were a real local legend. The blair witch project is a 1999 american psychological horror film that was produced by five graduates of the university of central florida film program with a minimal budget and a camera. In order to understand the principles of guerrilla marketing communication very well, first it is necessary to identify the difference between traditional marketing and guerrilla marketing communication. The viral aspect of the campaign generated buzz about the story long before the release of commercials, trailers, posters, and other forms of traditional marketing. Suddenly the little western maryland farming village was flooded with tourists seeking mementos of the fabled blair witch. Our experiment was to apply streetsmart, belowtheline, guerrilla marketing tactics such as theirs to a digital cinema release of our movie spudmonkey.
Every single tactic carried out revolved around stirring confusion among potential movie viewers. Williams, who are investigating the supernatural legend known as the blair witch in the town of burkittsville, maryland. Here are the five key tactics used to bring about the unbelievable success of the blair witch. A guerrilla marketing campaign can be tailored to almost any small business. How the blair witch project changed horror with cheap shaky. But the blair witch project spectacularly made an approximate.
Guerrilla marketing can select from 100 methods, 62 of which do not require funding, and this is its primary advantage. Whenever someone asks me what guerrilla marketing is, this is the example i cite because who could forget the blair witch project. This controversial movie created one of the earliest viral campaigns. Stealth marketing is also a most popular technique use in the guerilla marketing. Chat sites started picking up rumours of three college kids who were lost in the woods while on a film school. Hell donahues mother would even receive sympathy cards. One of the most famous examples is the blair witch project, a film that was promoted using guerrilla marketing efforts. The marketing strategy for the blair witch project is an ingenious campaign that really worked incredibly well for the film. With viewers and even some of the films actors believing that some of the events in the movie were real, the film continues to spark theories and controversies since its debut in 1999.
Marketing costs for this production completely outweighed the actual budget of filming. The book could have been a little bit more exiciting but it was satisfying. Oct 30, 2012 matt took a look back at one of the most inventive, successful, and nottomention, terrifying, marketing campaigns in film history. Impact of guerrilla marketing on consumer perception by mohsin shakeel, muhammad mazhar khan. The internet, which already has more than one billion users, is key area of implementation. Core concepts of guerrilla marketing entertain and engage rather than educate. Long before anyone had even coined the term viral marketing, the filmmakers were using the internet to get audiences to buy into the premise that the blair witch project was a. An investigaton into the relevance of guerrilla marketing to. The term guerilla marketing, created by advertising executive jay conrad levinson in 1984, describes the unusual and often cheeky tactics used in a downlow ad campaign. Guerrilla marketing gets the message across to the consumer, and viral marketing encourage people to pass on the message. Oct 28, 2003 independent film distributor artisan entertainment inc. Both ways are applicable to guerrilla marketing in 30 days and beyond. What is guerrilla marketing and what can it do for your brand.
What do the blair witch project, old spice and halfway, oregon have in common. Aug 25, 2016 second, you want the guerrilla marketing strategies that you select to be sticky. How to pull off a guerrilla marketing campaign small. Online guerilla marketing techniques liberty tax franchise. How the blair witch project changed movie marketing forever. The graduates of the university of central florida film program set up an internet campaign to spread rumors about the fictitious legend of blair witch through a web site.
Thereby, until now no uniform categorization of these instruments has prevailed. Guerrilla advertisement and marketing sciencedirect. Mar 07, 2017 people across america were stunned by the runaway success of the blair witch projecttm none more so than the residents of burkittsville. Traditional marketing identifies the heavy weapons of marketing. Williams, and joshua leonardwho hike in the black hills near burkittsville, maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the blair witch. The blair witch projects marketing was beyond that. Williams, who are investigating the supernatural legend known as the blair witch in. Guerrilla marketing identifies two hundred weapons of marketing, and many of them are free.
After the filmmakers had finished filming, they started an internet campaign to spread rumours about the blair witch legend. As blair witch 2016 takes to the box office, the drum catches up with of one of the. Blair witch project still the greatest marketing campaign. Guerrilla marketing strategies in large scale enterprises.
The blair witch project created on small budget, the blair witch project was an unprecedented success, which can be attributed mainly to a clever guerrilla marketing strategy. Aside from huge boxoffice numbers, blair witch also cemented his place as an icon of guerrilla marketing. The blair witch project is one of the most important films when it comes to horror cinema, and the found footage genre specifically. Meet the don draper of guerrilla marketing takepart. The blair witch project paradigm and online fan discourse. Jul 31, 20 what do the blair witch project, old spice and halfway, oregon have in common. In the following the most important instruments of guerrilla marketing are structured in the three categories infection guerrilla marketing, surprise guerrilla marketing and ambush marketing. Viral marketing is often used in conjunction with other methods of marketing, such as in the case of the blair witch project. The film was made on a limited budget of 50 thousand dollars, but it exceeded expectation by crossing close to dollar. Another significant aspect of guerrilla marketing is that it delivers its message in the most effective manner possible. The blair witch project 1999 is a documentary film about the. Jul 14, 2014 long before anyone had even coined the term viral marketing, the filmmakers were using the internet to get audiences to buy into the premise that the blair witch project was a true story. Guerrilla marketing designates the selection of atypical and nondogmatic marketing activities that aim to achieve the greatest possible impactin the ideal case with a comparable minimum investment.
Independent film distributor artisan entertainment inc. Guerilla marketing is one of the growing marketing techniques which are used in advertising industry. Williams, and joshua leonardwho hike in the black hills near burkittsville, maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as. Viral guerrilla marketing and viral marketing go hand in hand. The blair witch project stayed in the topten movies rank for nine weeks.
A gripping horror thriller worlds scariest places book 1 jeremy bates. Like the film, monellos promotional campaign played with the boundaries of truth and fiction to get its message across. One example of successful guerrilla marketing was the film the blair witch project. I thought the discription in the book was better than the discription in the movie. Apr 10, 2017 the blair witch project created on small budget, the blair witch project was an unprecedented success, which can be attributed mainly to a clever guerrilla marketing strategy. Guerrilla marketing designates the selection of atypical and nondogmatic marketing. The simple and extremely costeffective campaign was done through a means of the internet. Sep 12, 2016 foundfootage pioneer maintains reputation because of its phenomenal marketing campaign. Theyre home to some of the cleverest guerilla marketing campaigns ever known. With that being said, theres a way for basically any business or brand to do some form of guerrilla marketing, its. Before paranormal activity even made its way to the drawing board, the blair witch project was under everyones radar as one of the most outstanding horror films of all time. How the original blair witch project ushered in a new era of viral. Foundfootage pioneer maintains reputation because of its phenomenal marketing campaign. Guerrilla marketing can be implemented with diverse tools.
One of the best guerrilla marketing examples is the blair witch project. This is about a film the blair witch project created by 5 students fresh from film. It was still a little weird but im a good reader so i basically understood. The nature of the production obviously helped this being a lowquality documentary style feature using unknown actors. The blair witch project the success of the blair witch project is one of the most notable marketing campaigns in history. If used wisely guerilla marketing can pay rich dividends as happened in the case of the blair witch project. The blair witch project is a 1999 american supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by daniel myrick and eduardo sanchez. How the blair witch project changed movie marketing. That is, they should be something that causes people to keep thinking of what they saw and spreading the story. Guerrilla marketing innovative or parasitic marketing. University of lahore islamabad campus pakistan abstracts purpose. The buzz around the film was unlike anything the world had ever seen. A further outstanding example of a viral marketing. The blair witch project posted on october 30, 2011 by kathryn castle the blair witch project is a good example of a transmedia project as it is a 1999 film, comic book, video games, and website including mythology and documents as well as a mockumentary as platforms to tell its story.
The blair witch project devils advocates peter turner. Guerrilla marketinginnovative or parasitic marketing. In the end, this guerrilla marketing campaign was what helped the blair witch. They buried their actors and asked them not to show up until their lie came out first out in the open.
But at the time, monello didnt see the tactic as guerilla marketing. Page 27 of 31 case study the blair witch project the blair witch project is the story of three student filmmakers, heather donahue, joshua leonard and michael c. An investigaton into the relevance of guerrilla marketing to small and mediumsized enterprises msc international marketing strategy benjamin bach bachelor thesis business economics offline marketing and online marketing publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. A few college film students created a super low budget horror flick and turned it into a national blockbuster by staying one step ahead of the publics perception. Guerrilla marketing has developed into a basic strategy overarching the marketing mix, a basic marketing policy attitude for market development that goes off the beaten track to consciously seek new, unconventional, previously disregarded, possibly even frownupon possibilities for the deployment of tools. Guerrilla marketing has developed into a basic strategy overarching the marketing mix, a basic marketing policy attitude for market development that goes off the beaten track to. The blair witch projects true genius happened offscreen. Impact of guerrilla marketing on consumer perception. This is about a film the blair witch project created by 5 students fresh from film school. A website was set up entirely devoted to the blair. The blair witch project 1999 was one of the most profitable films in history when measured by its return on the initial investment.
Aug 05, 2015 page 27 of 31 case study the blair witch project the blair witch project is the story of three student filmmakers, heather donahue, joshua leonard and michael c. The internet is now an essential part of all marketing strategies in the movie industry but it was the 1999 phenomenon that was the blair witch project that is credited with being the first movie. It tells the fictional story of three student filmmakersheather donahue, michael c. I personally thought that the blaire witch project project was an okay book. People across america were stunned by the runaway success of the blair witch projecttm none more so than the residents of burkittsville. People across america were stunned by the runaway success of the blair witch project tm none more so than the residents of burkittsville. The main theme behind the blair witch projects marketing campaign was to establish uncertainly among the public. Guerrilla marketing has developed into a basic strategy overarching the marketing mix, a basic marketing policy attitude for market development that goes off the beaten track to consciously seek.