Here is my PowerPoint presentation discussing the marketing campaign for the sci-fi/drama/comedy film 'The Martian' starring Matt Damon: particularly in terms of digital marketing on various platforms.

1. Marketing for ‘The Martian’
By Sophie Rudd – 12ALS.

2. Online videos – the power of going viral.
• When researching the marketing for 'The Martian', the first example I came across
used digital technology to market the film and create an intrigue for an extremely
wide audience.
• - this example comes from a video which has gone viral across virtually all social
media platforms (i.e; Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest)
• - it is a video which appears initially as an advert for the film, but it is actually a
video containing all the stars from the film (such as Matt Damon and Jessica
Chastain) in complete character mode. It is a video of Matt Damon's character
taking us around this ship which will be heading to Mars and he introduces to all
his fellow crew members.
• - Ultimately, this video gives audiences an insight into what they can expect from
the movie, and this helps to create a buzz about the film by reaching out to a wide
audience - the video went viral across social media.
• - As the video progresses, it also has little pop-ups of members of the public
watching this video titled "Ares 3: Farewell" and their messages, with hash tags
about the film and the journey to mars these characters will take.
• - this means that the video spreads even more - people can share it with friends,
and more and more people feel excited about the prospect of seeing this movie.

3. • The webpage of which I found this
video on also refers to a similar
video used in the process of
marketing 'Prometheus' - a film by
Ridley Scott, who also directed
'The Martian'.
• - this video similarly contained
one of the stars of 'Prometheus' -
Michael Fassbender - and he too
was in full character mode;
highlighting like "Ares 3: Farewell"
the context of 'Prometheus': the
progression of mankind into a new
technological age, where robots
are the new servants of humanity,
but their progression is of much
wider context then the human
race understand.
• - What this suggests is that Ridley
Scott believes strongly in the use
of such marketing techniques.
• - the video for 'Prometheus' went
viral, maybe with that knowledge
in mind, it was a key reason to
create a similar video for 'The
Martian'.

4. Social Media platforms
• 'The Martian' also has it's own official Twitter
page (@MartianMovie) with 30.1K followers. And
with the knowledge that Twitter currently has
15 million active users; so this number isn't a
large percentage of Twitter users, but
compared to the films official Facebook page -
there are 556, 252 people who like that page -
and 31 million Facebook users in the UK; still
not an incredibly large percentage. However, as
more people followed the film on Facebook, it
gives an insight into who the target audience is
for the film; on Twitter, 2/3rds of users are
aged under 34. Whereas on Facebook, only 26%
belong to the 25-34 age gap. So this suggests
that 'The Martian' attracts an older audience.

5. • But what is interesting between the official
Twitter and Facebook pages for 'The Martian'
is the chosen backgrounds. On their Twitter
page background, it informs a user that 'The
Martian' has had 7 Academy Award
nominations (including 'Best Picture', 'Best
Actor' and 'Best Adapted Screenplay'), and has
also won two Golden Globes ('Best Actor' -
Matt Damon and 'Best Picture - Musical or
Comedy'). This information is not supplied by
the Facebook page.
• Also, the fact that 'The Martian' has won
awards and is up for awards as a comedy has
caused a stir amongst followers of the film: it
has become a marketing technique in itself as
it has caused intrigue for an audience as to
how a film about a man abandoned on Mars
and left to fight for his life (quite a 'drama'
storyline) which is also a sci-fi movie can be
classed as a comedy.

6. • Interestingly enough, 'The Martian'
also has an official Instagram page.
But when one observes the statistics
for Instagram users, it is clear that
the younger generations dominate
this social media platform; more so
then other platforms with 100 million
active users every month - and 34%
are aged 18-24/33% aged 25-34. Also,
with 40 million posts a day, 8'500 likes
and 1000 comments per second, this
appears the perfect way to gain the
attention and create a buzz over a
film. Yet, when we look back at
previous marketing amongst social
media pages, it appears as if 'The
Martian' is mostly aimed at adults.
But then the use of online videos
which have spread virally across the
Internet, it can be said that this film
does indeed attract a much wider age
demographic then simply one
category.

7. Digital Marketing through apps
• In addition, the marketing campaign through the
use of digital technologies for this film also
comes in the form of an official game. It is titled
'The Martian: The Official Game' and is based on
another gaming app called 'Lifeline' - which is
also based on the film for 'The Martian'.
Ultimately, this gaming app could be seen as a
form of VRG, as the premise of the game puts
user in the shoes of the main character (Mark
Watney - played by Matt Damon) and experience
the struggles he faces in his fight for survival.
The game is also free to download on any
phones, tablets etc. So this could be seen as a
digital marketing technique once again aimed at
a younger target audience; the generation who
are seen as using phones and devices more then
their parents (referring back to Twitter - 80% of
users use the app on their phones, so does that
mean more young people of today's generation
are likely to use this app?)

8. How did they do it?
• Finally, there are several articles
which reveal how 'The Martian'
was created in terms of VFX. One
such article I clicked on has a
YouTube video attached which
breaks down just how the
characters were made to appear
on the surface of Mars etc. This is
a key marketing technique using
online platforms to target the
audience members interested in
the technical side of making such
a film; as well as those who find
the whole prospect of travelling
to Mars, and answering the
question of whether there is
actually life on Mars very
interesting and an enigma they
enjoy witnessing in a film.
The Martian Visual Effects: What Was
Real and What Wasn't?