Cloverfield utilized a unique viral marketing campaign to promote the low budget monster movie with minimal information about the film. The teaser trailer provided cryptic footage without revealing the title to generate audience curiosity. An alternate reality game and websites were created that provided backstories and clues without directly relating to the film's plot, encouraging discussion and "word of mouth" promotion. As more details emerged over time through trailers and posters, interest in the film increased leading up to its release.

1. Film Promotion
Case study

2. Cloverfield (2008)
• Monster movie
• ‘Eye-witness’ presentation using hand-held
camera (representation of technological age)
• Low production cost (£15m)
• Made £22m in opening weekend
• Made specifically for ‘YouTube generation’
• Created it’s own audience through virla or
‘user-generated’ marketing campaign

3. The teaser trailer
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxiM#action
=share
• No one knew about movie before teaser release
• Shown before Transformers movie in 2007
• Trailer didn’t name the film
• Gave only a release date
• Created memorable images (Statue of Liberty head
crashing to ground)
• Created enigma-mystery – created audience curiosity to
generate interest in
producthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvNkGm8mxi
M#action=share

4. Target audience
• Trailer placement indicates target
audience – teens and young adults
• Hard to market
– Tend not to watch TV on a predictable, regular basis
– Access to multi-channel cable TV fragmenting audience
– Record programmes and watch later – fast-forward
through adverts
– On-demand, downloads, YouTube – split audience
– Wait for release of DVD rather than cinema
• Specialised online and computer savvy – interaction
with marketing vital to generate interest

5. Building the campaign
• Teaser provided producer JJ Abrams
• Created genre expectations – creator of Alias and
Lost
• Searches led to website with address www.1-18-
08.com (date of release)
• Slowly released pictures time and date stamped
to build chronological glimpses into film’s
narrative
• Encouraged discussion on blog, social media –
campaign ‘word of mouth’

6. Movie poster
• Showing ruined New York
• Coincided with second
more detailed trailer
• Geographical markers ‘area
formerly known as Central Park’
• First time film’s title was shown
• Official movie website launched
• Links to MySpace and Facebook pages created by
characters from film
• Regularly updated creating real-time story – back story that
explains elements of the film’s exposition
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxqSIsxMlYQ

7. Widgets
• Available to download from official site
• Piece of software attached to MySpace, blogs,
etc.
• Contained first five minutes of film and
introduction by JJ Abrams
• Registration of contact details – competition
to see who could pass on the widget to the
most people
• Direct ‘word of mouth’ marketing

8. Traditional marketing
• Adverts sent to mobiles
• Traditional posters
• TV slots
• Increased public and mainstream interest
• A lot held back to encourage views at the
cinema

9. ARG marketing
• Alternative Reality Game – parallel campaign
• Only a few direct connections were made to
Cloverfield plot
• Homepages for fictional company’s Tagruato and
Slusho! put online
• Competitions for audience to create ads for soft
drink
• Tagruato’s corporate site looks like a conventional
business site – even down to ‘hacking’ by eco-
terrorists regarding dangerous practises by the
company

10. And more…
• Jamie and Teddy – Manhatten couple – set up
website to post video-blogs to stay in touch as
Teddy moved to work for Tagruato in Japan
• Didn’t hear from him – he sent her a package
containing a recorded message and a gooey
product he advised her not to eat
• She assumed he’d got a new girlfriend and ate
the product – she is seen in Cloverfield passed
out on the sofa at Rob’s leaving do in opening
scene of the movie
• http://jamieandteddy.com/

11. And more…
• Back stories encourages audience to build a
story for themselves
• Supplements the highly restricted narration of
movie itself
• Created a ‘universe’ bigger than the movie
• Told from PoV of people who have limited
access to info (just like audience)
• Heightens audience identification with
characters