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How ‘The Blair Witch Project’ revolutionized movie marketing

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How 'The Blair Witch Project' revolutionized movie marketing

As a seasoned film enthusiast and marketing aficionado who has witnessed the evolution of the industry over several decades, I can confidently say that the story of “The Blair Witch Project” remains one of the most captivating and impactful chapters in cinematic history. In the late 90s, when the internet was still a relatively novel tool for marketing, this indie film managed to generate an unprecedented amount of buzz through a grassroots campaign that would ultimately redefine the landscape of pop culture.

In the beginning was the Word — or, as they call it in Hollywood, word of mouth.

Since the inception of movies, studio marketers have consistently sought methods to encourage people to discuss them. This could be achieved via attention-grabbing trailers, positive critic reviews or the casual recommendations from contented viewers at the water cooler. The power of word of mouth has always been capable of transforming an obscure film into a surprise success, driven by the collective excitement generated within communities.

1990s marked a period when the rapid expansion of the internet turned it into a swift, worldwide phenomenon, extending the scope of film marketing initiatives even into remote areas of what was then affectionately known as “cyberspace.” At that time, the idea of virality was predominantly associated with contagious diseases. However, it was a low-budget, off-the-radar horror movie named “The Blair Witch Project” that opened the eyes of the industry to this tool’s complete revolutionary capacity.

In a low-budget production led by directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, “Blair Witch” was marketed as an authentic discovery, supposedly recorded on camcorders abandoned by three filmmakers who vanished in the Maryland woods during a documentary project about a legendarily terrifying local hermit. This alleged event occurred back in 1994. The film’s debut at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival featured the unknown actors, whose names were included in the movie, being reported as either missing or deceased.

For around $1.1 million, Artisan Entertainment acquired the distribution rights of the film and initiated an unconventional marketing strategy. Since they didn’t have the financial resources of a large studio for pricey TV commercials, their marketing team constructed a website ahead of the film’s premiere. This site added to the “Blair Witch” legend with fabricated police reports, news articles, and interviews.

As John Hegeman, Artisan’s marketing head, I was a firm advocate for the power of the internet. I spearheaded the creation of the first promotional website for the 1994 sci-fi movie “Stargate”. Unlike traditional studio movie marketing campaigns that could easily exceed $25 million, I understood that the internet offered an unprecedented opportunity to reach a broader audience at a significantly lower cost compared to print and TV advertisements.

How 'The Blair Witch Project' revolutionized movie marketing

Hegeman told The Times in a 1999 interview that there are numerous alternative methods to reach an audience besides spending large sums of money. He added that the film’s pre-release marketing budget amounted to only $1.5 million. When people express doubt that something is achievable, it only fuels Hegeman’s determination to prove them wrong by responding, “Yes, it can be done.”

1. “In just a few weeks after its release, the ‘Blair Witch’ website, frequently updated to fuel curiosity, was receiving around 3 million visits each day. Artisan amplified the eerie advertising strategy by producing trailer-like documentaries using raw, shaky footage and terrified sounds. The young staff at the company were sent to cafes and dance clubs across the nation with the task of inquiring about the Blair Witch legend, armed with convincing ‘missing’ posters for the movie’s main characters.”

1999 saw the release of “Blair Witch” in July, and by then, excitement had soared to an unprecedented level, even catching the attention of the broader Hollywood. As a professor of entertainment marketing at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and previously the senior vice president of creative advertising at Warner Bros., Jim Fredrick recalls being amazed by the buzz that the independent distributor managed to create through their grassroots campaign.

Fredrick marvels at the cleverness behind the found footage genre and the intrigue it brings about as to its authenticity. “At large studios,” he notes, “they invest heavily in marketing and conduct extensive research. Artisan, however, lacked those resources. So they had to think creatively – and look what emerged: the internet, an affordable, if not cost-free, platform. These filmmakers managed to deceive the masses, much like Orson Welles did with ‘The War of the Worlds’ radio broadcast, and a sensation was born.”

How 'The Blair Witch Project' revolutionized movie marketing

27 cinemas screened “Blair Witch” initially, instantly captivating audiences who generated an astounding $56,000 per theater in revenue. However, some viewers reported experiencing nausea due to a combination of fear and motion sickness from the movie’s handheld camera work. Despite this, by the end of its theatrical release, it had grown to over 2,000 theaters worldwide and grossed approximately $250 million, which is over 4,000 times its initial budget. This made “Blair Witch” one of the most financially successful independent films ever produced.

After the “Blair Witch” filmmakers extended their movie into a broader franchise, which included books, comics, video games, and a sequel, many Hollywood producers attempted to replicate their approach. In the ensuing years, films such as “Cloverfield,” “Paranormal Activity,” and “The Last Exorcism” adopted the found-footage style with varying levels of achievement. However, recreating the unique cultural impact of “Blair Witch” proved elusive, as audiences became increasingly discerning towards marketing gimmicks.

As Fredrick puts it, “Ever since 1999, I haven’t worked on a horror movie where a producer hasn’t asked me something along the lines of, ‘Couldn’t you recreate what they did with “The Blair Witch Project”?’ It’s disheartening to have to explain that we can’t replicate history. The audience has grown wise and skeptical; it’s incredibly difficult to deceive them again. Achieving the same alignment of factors as ‘The Blair Witch Project’ might be an event that happens once in a lifetime.”

Despite the challenges in recreating its success, “Blair Witch” demonstrated the potential of internet marketing, inspiring film studios to explore creative digital campaigns and immersive experiences for viewers, instead of relying solely on conventional media outlets. In a broader sense, it paved the way for a new phase in popular culture where the distinction between reality and fiction would become increasingly blurred.

25 years after its release, Fredrick notes that the students in his film marketing class, who were born during the smartphone era, are aware of the significant impact “Blair Witch” had on cinema history.

In each semester, there’s an assignment asking students to share a case study of their preferred marketing campaign, and consistently, someone chooses ‘The Blair Witch Project.’ Despite not experiencing the movie during its initial release, they are amazed – even slightly bewildered – by the ease with which people were deceived into believing it was real. This underscores the impressive impact of ‘The Blair Witch Project.’ People find pleasure in unraveling a mystery.

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2024-07-30 13:33

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