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I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood and filmmaking because despite its glamour, beautiful people, and larger than life personas, movies wouldn’t get made without a whole lot of tech geeks.
1. Get Ready to Get your Geek on
The evolution of the movie business spawned many technology companies, but probably none as successful as Panavision whose Panatar lenses would dominate the industry for 50 years. If you wanted your movie to look right you needed to shoot it in 35mm and most likely were going to use a Panavision camera. But the costs were exorbitant, rentals of equipment (you weren’t allowed to purchase the cameras) and film costs alone could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the 1980s video cameras became mainstream, but they didn’t provide the same picture quality as film and were largely relegated to home movies. But the beginning of the 21st century saw the explosion of the Digital Single Reflex Lens or DSLR camera which would level the playing field for film-makers everywhere.
For a couple thousand dollars in post-production software and a decent DSLR, anyone had access to the quality and flexibility of a traditional film camera with the convenience and cost savings of a digital camera. How is this relevant to the travel industry?
Cameras have always served as travel companions, but now the cameras that people are bringing around the world with them are capable of creating Hollywood quality movies. Even the iPhone has a more powerful chip than the camera used to shoot the Star Wars prequels. Not only has this allowed consumers to post higher and higher quality videos, but it also raises the bar for what people post. Social media provides a platform for people to cultivate their online identity – home movie quality videos won’t cut it anymore. Thanks to technology, people are now able to create content that looks the part, but what about the content itself?
2. People want to build on the things they love
In preparation for the release of the 2012 movie The Amazing Spider Man, Sony released several different teasers and trailers across social media. All told, nearly 25 minutes worth of the film was released across different videos. Using only these videos one fan took it upon himself to compile, organize and re-cut all the material into one 25 minute “film” which did its best to mirror the as yet unreleased film’s narrative.
The reaction among Sony executives was mixed, with some wanting to quash the video altogether, while others applauded the enthuisiasm of their fans and tried to figure out the best way to embrace the video. Ultimately the video was allowed to stand and the movie has gone on to make three-quarters of a billion dollars worldwide.
The television show “Mad Men” depicts Madison Avenue ad executives and their lives. It takes place in the 1960s long before the advent of social media. But in a case of life imitating art imitating life, one dedicated fan of the show took it upon herself to create a Twitter account of one of the shows main characters – the housewife of one of the titular ad execs. Initially the show’s producer Matthew Weiner was unhappy with the following that @bettydraper received, but ultimately came to realize that the vibrant community being built around the show was good for everyone involved.
Both these examples show the extent to which fans are willing to immerse themselves in content creation. Neither received any kind of monetary remuneration. They weren’t participating in a contest sponsored by the producers. They spent a considerable amount of their free time creating content on behalf of some of the highest paid set of professionals in the world.
The two keys to tapping into this talent pool is first, have a product that is compelling enough to have dedicated fans. The travel industry is chock full of these. The second key is to create an environment where the community rewards this kind of content. Although neither vimeo user SleepySkunk nor Helen Klein Ross received any money for their efforts, they received the respect and admiration from the Spiderman and Mad Men communities. This desire to be recognized and appreciated is a core motivation in the growth of social media participation and proves the fact that:
3. It’s all about me (unless it’s all about them)
The film “Jack Reacher” which will be released at the end of this year stars Tom Cruise, but if you visit its page on IMDB you might think it stars Alexander Rhodes in the role of “Suspicious Onlooker.” Turns out that Alexander Rhodes is a Production Assistant / movie extra who figured out the algorithm behind how IMDB sorts cast and crew. With a little help from the community on the social bookmarking site reddit, Mr. Rhodes was able to boost his name up to the top spot.
This story reveals three important insights about the social media community. First, people love notoriety in any form they can get it. Second, people can be very clever when sufficiently motivated. On the surface it seems like a very logical heuristic for IMDB to use, but it’s clear that it left an opportunity for people to take advantage. Third and perhaps most interestingly, the community can be selfless (or loves a good story.)
Surely a large percentage of the >300K people that visited Mr. Rhodes profile page on IMDB weren’t personal friends of his. They didn’t earn any money or prizes for bumping him to the top. They won’t benefit from any career advancement that Mr. Rhodes achieves due to this stunt. What they will have a sense of accomplishment at making someone’s day and a funny story to tell.
But for the producers of the movie itself, this stunt is proving to be a social media windfall. Well in advance of the planned promotional period, the story behind this movie has already gone viral. Once again, providing a platform in which the community will appreciate contributions of sufficiently motivated content creators proved to be a model for success. So how can the travel industry provide this environment? It’s all about…
4. Location. Location. Location.
There’s a little secret that independent film makers use when they want to add production value to their films: shoot it on location. Interior scenes can be very low quality without top notch lighting and cinematography, but outdoor scenes with natural backdrops provide a richness and depth with almost no effort.
For a person chronicling their life in social media, travel is one big on location shoot. Being somewhere exciting adds instant production value to your life without any effort on your part. “going on my morning jog” as a facebook status update probably won’t garner many likes on your facebook wall. “going for my morning jog at Machu Pichu” along with a picture of you in the Andes is much more likely to make a splash.
The effect is amplified when it comes to video. Matt of “Where the Hell is Matt” fame made a career out letting the location do all the work. His videos are just a static shot of him dancing (poorly by his own admission), but it just so happens that he’s dancing at some of the most amazing locations around the world. People love watching the videos because his goofy on screen persona is endearing but also because it’s so international. Which brings me to my last point:
5. Content doesn’t need to be international to be international
For a number of years now, big budget Hollywood movies have been made with an international audience in mind. Films are released at the same time worldwide and foreign distribution has become more lucrative than domestic. But there is some trepidation about how internationally produced content would fare in the main stream American market. The traditional wisdom is that the content would have to be catered to the American audience, the language would need to be English and the subject matter would have to be relatable to middle America.
Which is why K-Pop artist’s Psy’s Gangnam Style was such a surprise. The song is completely in Korean, it’s about the culture surrounding a suberb of Seoul, and the style of the video is unlike anything seen on American television. But thanks to social media it has been a runaway success allowing Gangnam Style to be played on radio stations nationwide and Psy to make appearances on American television including the very American “Today” show on NBC.
In this case both the entertainment industry and the travel industry are achieving the same effect: making the world a smaller place. For marketers the take home message is an optimistic one. People will respond to compelling content regardless of their culture or nationality. At the end of the day authenticity and an engaging story drives whether people respond.
