Sony Pictures clears the way to include YouTubers in its movie PR blitz
SINGAPORE -- There is a big multi-day international press event happening now in Singapore to promote Sony Pictures Entertainment's three upcoming blockbusters: Ghostbusters, Inferno and The Magnificent Seven.
But amid the typical press conference sessions are spots saved for 15 "influencers" that Sony has flown here for its media blitz -- people with large followings on YouTube and Instagram that the company hopes will reach a new (read: younger) audience.
On Tuesday, the 15 took part in a scavenger hunt around Singapore for the Dan Brown thriller, Inferno. Sony has roped in the film's star, Tom Hanks, to help with the hunt, a moment it expects the group of vloggers will capture on YouTube and other social platforms like Snapchat.
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Sony's international digital marketing department, which is behind the social media campaign, has scheduled an Inferno-themed Snapchat filter for the day which will be active in the game area of the Marina Bay Sands, no doubt a continuous effort to brand the Snaps that come out of the activity.
The company also had a Ghostbusters Snapchat filter for Sunday's Guinness Book record-breaking red carpet event here, where hundreds of people showed up dressed in the iconic "no ghost" logo.
This is one of the social stars, Claudio Di Biagio, who wore the costume on Sunday night:
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The 15 influencers are:
Jeremy Goh (Singapore)
Karan Talwar (India)
Hung Wu (Taiwan)
Claudio Di Biagio (Italy)
Rafael Osvaldo Rosales Rábago (Mexico)
Marcelo Forlani (Brazil)
Ruslan Tushentcov (Russia)
Anastasiia Shpagina (Russia)
Sebastian Gerdshikow (Germany)
Julien Bam (Germany)
Gong Bao (Germany)
Alexander Cheng Loew (Germany)
Rose Ellen Dix (U.K.)
Roseanne Elizabeth Spaughton (U.K.)
Nafiesa Farzaana Rasoelbaks (The Netherlands)
A new social dawn for traditional marketing
While engaging social media stars is not a new strategy, this marks the first time Sony Pictures is dedicating this much effort to these creators, said Aaron Wahle, senior vice president of international digital marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Endorsement from this segment of influencers "has never been more important," he said.
To get the wheels turning, Sony had to figure out new ways of getting them excited about the launch beyond setting up interviews with the stars that press events are centered around.
"We will look back at this week as a landmark for the whole movie industry."
"It's something that goes beyond traditional, tried and tested movie marketing," he said.
After the week is over, Wahle's team will measure the new audience growth that the social creators have helped Sony reach. Eventually, this will affect the way that the company conducts and times future movie launches, and could even affect elements of the movies themselves, he said.
"It’s a big step, and I think we will look back at this week as a landmark for the whole movie industry," said Wahle.
It's apparent how influential some of these social creators are.
The U.K.'s "Rose and Rosie" -- Rose Ellen Dix, who maintains a YouTube show with wife Roseanne Elizabeth Spaughton -- instagrammed a picture of them with "Ghostbusters" star Melissa McCarthy and director, Paul Feig, which racked up nearly 19,000 likes within half a day.
Not all of the 12 are big on social media, though. Germany's Sebastian Gerdshikow maintains a movie blog but has a six-month-old Instagram account with a mere 35 followers.
Still, choosing a German-language blogger is a more targeted play for the audience in Gerdshikow's home.
This strategy is evident in localised inside references made by some of the posters. In this tweet from India's Karan Talwar, he namedrops Feig and celebrates some Bollywood pride:
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Sony isn't alone in shifting resources to social media. In March, Warner Brothers promoted "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" with a custom filter that overlaid The Dark Knight's costume over users' selfies.
The studio's "Suicide Squad" also got a boost from The Joker's filters in the popular app:
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Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
