exploiting new technologies in the production of Avatar

1. HOW DID 20TH CENTURY FOX EXPLOIT NEW
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION AND
MARKETING OFAVATAR?
By Elen Agger

2. • Avatar, unlike most Hollywood films, wasn’t a franchise
film.
• It didn’t feature any big-name stars so it had to work hard
in order to find a target audience.
• However by exploiting new technologies Avatar was
marketed in many ways.

3. Avatar
• The company Mattel produced a toy line where each figure came with
a 3D tag that could be scanned by a webcam.
• It would then take the viewer to a ‘locked’ content online and the
characters were brought to life.
• Also Coke Zero produced cans that took people to the world of
Pandora, where the film is based.
• This was all done using a technology called augmented reality (QPR
Codes).
• The film was also supported by the release of a videogame based on
the film’s actions and characters.
• It was so collaborative that the director ended up using some of the
game’s character designs in the final film, this is a technology called
synergy.
• Both Ubisoft and the film benefited from this.

4. Avatar
• The website for Avatar offers many different features and the
majority are the interactive for the viewer.
• It has 14 side-scrolling square boxes which showcase many of
the film’s initiatives.
• Fans can show their interest in the film by contributing their
own content on Pandorapedia, which is a Wikipedia for Avatar
trivia and there are blogging communities, topics for
discussions and contests.
• There is an interactive trailer which has 11 points of interaction.
• One of the points in this is a one click access to each character
using the Adobe AIR platform.
• The website also includes three options for buying cinema
tickets.

5. Avatar
• Social Networking was also a big part in marketing Avatar.
• The film had 1.3 million fans on Facebook, 25,000
followers on Twitter, YouTube had 11 million video views
and Flickr reported over 1 million photo views of film stills.
• According to the media analysts Sysomos, Avatar was the
most talked about film on Twitter in January 2010.
• Some of the tweets where resulting from a “Tweet to
Listen” promotion that required a fan to send a message
on Twitter in order to listen to the soundtrack from the film.

6. Avatar
• All of these marketing methods resulted in the
international box-office taking more than $2 billion for a
film that cost $300 million to make.
• There were 47,487 (£600,000+) advanced tickets sold at
London’s Waterloo IMAX cinema a day before it opened.
• There were 69 UK cinemas in 2008 which had 3D
projectors and this figure then went up to 375 in 2011.
• It also resulted in the development of advanced fusion
camera system 3D technology which picks up high levels
of detail to offer an enhanced and more immersive
viewing experiences.