The Hunger Games and Social Media

I agree with the article that a lot of the Hunger Game's success came from a good social media campaign early on. I read the book before the movie becuase I had heard multiple people and seen internet sources all raving about it. I don't remember any online marketing specificly but it must have worked because I read the book and saw the movie. I have noticed this trend of hyping up films through online media before they open and I think it is an effective plan. I would not be surprised at all if more and more movies start to do this, so far it is a smart business move. 

I saw The Hunger games the week it came out and I loved it. Sadly I have the book on my shelf right now but have yet to read it. Hopefully before the second movie comes out I will read the book and see if the movie was up to standard compared to the book, because from my experience with Twilight, the book was definitely much better than the movie. The choice of actors for the main characters were a major disappointment, they could not act and did not portray the characters very well in my opinion. But media campaign definitely did make the movie a great hit. The talk about the movie was already been buzzing around a good year before the movie actually came out which gave them enough time to get the movie more hyped. 

I saw “The Hunger Games” opening weekend, and I admit social media played a role in my decision to see the film. My interest was peaked having watched the trailer on YouTube. I have a Yahoo e-mail, and I believe I was directed to the preview by an article about the film posted to the site.

I had no idea the extent of “The Hunger Games” social media campaign until now. The production took its social media promotion much further than merely posting a trailer. 

I looked at the film’s social media pages, and I was amazed. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such interaction between fans and a product.

As far as Facebook, enthusiasts are encouraged to submit art based on movie characters. They can also fill out a questionnaire related to the movie, and they were asked to vote for the film to win an MTV Movie Award. In addition, hundreds of fan videos have been submitted to the movie’s YouTube channel.  

 “The Hunger Games” is a case study on “How to Effectively Use Social Media to Promote a Product.” 

I think user generated content was a big reason the Hunger Games grew to be as popular as it did.  Not only that, but it helps that the storyline and the characters were easy to relate to even though it was set in the future (post-apocalyptic times).  The fact that the content intrigued people and was given an opportunity to create fan content and then share it across the internet to many of the other fans who are interested in Hunger Games was an exceptional way to gain a greater audience in such a short time frame.  

Also the fact that they started the social interest in the movie last summer, so there was more and more time to gain hype about it, especially for people who only knew about it, this could then propel their interest into making the move to actually seeing the movie/participating in creating content online.

This was a great marketing campaign. The idea of user generated content in social media is the best form of paying it forward to date. People are constantly on their social media networks sharing information with their freinds and making status updates. I cannot say how many times people have posted an article about a product or a trailer for a movie and I saw it there, on Facebook or Twitter, before I saw it on TV or in any other traditional form of advertising. This advertising campaign has obviously been paying off dividends for its investors. The opening weekend surpassed expectations and people continually spread word about how much they loved and wanted to see the movie. People want to see and talk about what everyone else is seeing and talking about. Using social media to spread the word is one of the best ways to accomplish those goals.

I saw The Hunger Games in theatres opening weekend, and it definitely didn't disappoint! I don't remember when exactly I heard about the series, but it was probably within a year of the first movie's release date. I think the first place I heard of the hit series was on E! News when they announced who would be playing the roles of the three main characters and my obsession spiraled from there. Obviously, social media plays a huge part of most students' daily lives so my Facebook and Twitter home pages became filled with my friends raving about The Hunger Games. This all was happening probably around September through December of 2011 so the movie was set to premier soon. I think that it was extremely smart of Lionsgate to promote The Hunger Games in social media. I was one of those people that logged onto YouTube the day the each trailer came out to watch it over and over again. I was always aware of what was going on with the film which made everything very easy to follow. To be honest, the media buzz is probably what drove my obsession with the series so I definitely believe that this was a great  tactic for Lionsgate to use.

I did see the movie, very soon after it was released. However, I had actually learned about the books and read them way before I knew a movie was being made from my roommate who had to read it for a class. I found out through my roommate that a movie was coming out and when I tried to find a preview, there were none for a long time, only people talking about it. I hadn't realized they used a social media campaign until this article, however now when I think about it, it makes sense. Somehow everyone knew about it, without there being a million ads on tv or hot boys to choose teams for (although I unfortunately saw shirts) and it was thanks to a well implemented social media campaign.

I have read the books and I am a huge fan.  The only reason I started reading the books was because of the way the movie was being advertised.  The second I saw the trailor for the movie I immediately thought I had to read the books before I see the movie.  Lionsgate was incredibly smart with the planning of this campaign since their target audience was teenagers and young adults, social media was probably the only way to get across these age groups.  Their utilization of social media is the reason why the movie was so successful and this is just an example of how movie advertising and campaigns will be from now on, until the next big thing since social media comes along, which will be a long time.

I have read the books and I am a huge fan.  The only reason I started reading the books was because of the way the movie was being advertised.  The second I saw the trailor for the movie I immediately thought I had to read the books before I see the movie.  Lionsgate was incredibly smart with the planning of this campaign since their target audience was teenagers and young adults, social media was probably the only way to get across these age groups.  Their utilization of social media is the reason why the movie was so successful and this is just an example of how movie advertising and campaigns will be from now on, until the next big thing since social media comes along, which will be a long time.

I for one have no seen the Hunger Games due to the fact that I am not interested in it like the rest of the world. Social media definitely had a great impact on creating massive buzz for the media to inform the population of the release and the movie itself. However, many people I know who have been raving about the movie read the Hunger Games series in books prior to the release. I believe that peole generate word-of-mouth buzz quicker than ever. In addition, the frequency of movie trailers advertised on television were massive! Some days, there wasn't one channel I'd be watching that did NOT show the trailer. Social media always has a great impact thought, especially because the generation today is highly reliant on the Internet, social media, and technology to gather information on many topics.

Using Social Media in preparation for this type of premier is a must- but the extent that Lionsgate prepped the opening weekend for success using social media was brilliant. The key tactic is user-generated media, which allows consumers to interact with each other and become invested in the topic.

Providing compelling content to those who most care about your product or brand and emphasizing the sharing of that content is a surefire way to improve perception and awareness. With an opportunity such as The Hunger Games, where fans are diehard and willing to share, every social media marketing effort results in significant incremental results. The compounding effectiveness resulting from shared content also creates a more resilient message as consumers are more likely to believe something they have received from a friend. The Hunger Games can now move forward into the rest of the movies with a similar strategy, with proven results, or continue to adapt and produce in an original way to see even more success.

Although I haven't been able to see the movie yet, I definitely know there is a massive buzz in the social media world (and this article clued me in as to why). Their mastery of social media should be a reminder for all of us enrolled in this course, that this stuff WORKS. It's as simple as that. Social media is starting to show a dollar value for businesses and I expect the hype to continue to grow into the future.

Hunger games was a huge success sure, but as far as giving social media a huge portion of credit for the success is a stretch.  My friends had all read the book prior to hearing about the release of the movie, which was the main reason they were hyped about it. Another reason for hype in my generation was the abundance of advertising on TV.  I couldnt count how many times I have seen the trailer for hunger games on network TV, but it was a lot.  It would be great to give the social media department for this movie all the credit, but this is one of those films with a cult following that would get people out to the theaters with or with out the extensive social media efforts. 

I don't exactly know how much of an impact Social Media has on many different films.  It wasn't as if there were Hunger Games posts on Facebook and Twitter BY the Hunger Games, it was through people who actually wanted to see it.  I heard about the movie from friends and from there I looked up trailers on Youtube.  There was no actual social medial output that caught my attention and made me want to go see the movies.  The only think I can think about that is on the top of my head is that there were Facebook apps that let you create a Hunger Games ID showing which district you would be from and what your job would have been.  I had already seen this used during Harry Potter, but I think it was the individual APPs that did this and not a company.  Even after reading the article, I feel that the use here was not as effective as it is made to sound.  I think it is making money regardless because it has a pretty different and out of the box plot.  

I have not seen this movie. The only social media contact I had with its release was of many-a Facebook friends ranting about how they "can't wait to see the Hunger Games". In essence, the campaign worked by generating electronic word of mouth from the excited individuals that read the book(s), wish to be part of something big or simply wanted to sit through a long movie that "must be good" due to its large cult-following. Though I respect the movie and its fans, there was a massive surge of Hunger Game fever in the social media outlets but no efforts that I saw were actually from the people behind the film's marketing effort. It made a lot of money already but was it really due to the social media marketing efforts? I think not.

You know, I havent seen Hunger Games, nor have I read the book. However, I'd like to do both; preferably read the book, and then see the movie. Lauren, one of my roommates, picked up the book and read it in two days. Then gave it to her boyfriend Dave to read. Then my other roommate, Chelsea, read the book in the same amount of time. Now I suppose it is my turn. However, while previews of the movie were surfacing on the internet and television, a girl from my hometown tweeted in disgust. Was it that her favorite book series of all time was about to be ruined by people like my roommates and myself- jumping on the latest crazed book series band wagon? Or was it that she didnt like that characters that were picked to portray literary ones. I have no idea. But she was upset. I like the fact that lionsgate took a swing at social networking in order to promote their new film- pretty cool, and cost effective if you ask me.

In many ways, I agree with this article. I have seen most of the social media marketing that The Hunger Games have used. Even though I have never heard about the book or the movie before it's premier, I still took the effort to look it up because I was confused as to why this movie was being publicized on every site and tv channel that I browse through. The part about how "power of social media is starting to show the business value in terms of dollars verses the hype" is so true, without hype nowadays, it is a risky move for businesses to make investments.  

I saw the movie The Hunger games and thought it was a great movie that provides the customer with an entertaining plot and an intense story line. Sticking closly to the books plot, the movie divates little from the overall premise of the movie, and leaves no important details out. I have never seen any social media campaigns about the movie and believe they didnt have to. The book alone has attracted a cult like following and Word of Mouth (WOM) was the reason the movie was as successful as it was. It wasnt the social media campaing at all. It was a part of advertising yes, but I think, personally, did little for the attraction.

I just finished reading the book so I can see the movie this weekend with my friend. I finished the book in two sittings and am about to do the same with the second book once I get this homework done! Social media is honestly what got me into the series. I never heard of it and then over night it seemed to blow up online and everywhere I went. I know people who already have countdowns until the second movie comes out. Normally I don't necessarily follow all the hype, but it generated so much I thought I'd give the series a try. 

The best idea this gave me for the project that I never thought of was starting to do your social media campaigning way early in advance! That way you have time to get the ball rolling and the hype to build by the time your final product or idea is released. Another thing that I find useful is content you can engage in. Advertising your product is one thing but when it's something I have to get involved in it sticks in your memory.

I did see the movie, but I have never seen any ads on social media about it.  I did see it on the CNN, and that drew my attention.  I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so i went to go see it. The movie was ok, I think the controversy of kids killing kids gave the move more hype than social media.  As I was do research about what Lionsgate did, it does prove that social media was the key ingredient in advertising this movie.

       I have not seen the hunger games yet, but I have read the books.  I still plan to see the movie, I just haven't yet had the time.  I feel that the movie had a strong start coming from such strong writing as well as a strong story.  It had a following before the movie was ever thought of.

       The social media campaign for the Hunger Games was outstanding.  Not only did they have a strong campaign on normal social media, it also had a "hunger games game" (originally started by a third party not related to Lionsgate) that took the users through the timeline of the book, before being abandoned half way through.  This helped because users who read the book could get to know the characters played by the actors who portrayed them.  It also gave a preemptive look to those who hadn't read it.

       The hunger games also had a strong campaign on regular social media.  Through twitter, people could follow what was going on as the movie progressed, as well as could give input, which spurred excitement.  Youtube launched a few different trailers, which, personally, got me really excited about the upcoming movie.

Just like many people here, I have not seen the movie or read the Hunger Games book. It actually surprised me that so many people before me commented that they had not seen it, due to the fact that is seems like everyone's talking about it! Whatever those marketers did, they did it right. The article tells us that they utilized social media networks, and it caught my eye that it said this: "How did this movie become an international global social phenomenon apparently overnight? The obvious answer is YouTube, Facebook and social media." I feel as though it shows the evolution of this social technology now that it is "obvious" that it will give a subject or movie instant global status.

I saw The Hunger Games a couple days after it came out and thought it was amazing! I was clung to my friends arm the entire movie. I had not seen the social media campaign on The Hunger Games and also have not read any of the books. I heard stories and plenty of information from friends and figured I would give it a shot and go see it. I think its amazing that the world has come to this where social media actually has taken over and paid off by $155m in one weekend. 

I haven't seen the movie yet. Honestly, before the movie was coming, I had not even heard about it at all, neither the book. Therefore, the phenomenon of The Hunger Games is like coming nowhere for me. However, I can see the movie online almost everywhere. Many of my friends are talking about on social media it after them going to the movie theatre. It was interesting that when I was playing Draw Something on iPad, there was even main characters name in the game. Anyway, under the condition that I have never touched either the book or the movie, now I almost know all the story line. This is what is called “the power of social media” I think.

I really want to read, and see the Hunger Games. One reason is because of all the hype, and per recommendation of my friends.

The key to this campaign was: the duration of advertising, and how widely spread the campaign went. It did not limit it self to just Facebook or Twitter. By using all platforms, and by starting early, everyone at least heard of the Hunger Games. And, once people hear about it they may become more interested, and will begin sharing, and seeking out information about the movie. Which is what social media is all about: sharing. The beauty of utlizing social media is it get people talking, and when someone talks on the internet, a lot of people can hear about it.

The fact that they had: interactive media, and allowed people to get to know the characters in social media before the film was released is amazing. Half, if not more, of a story is the characters. If people are fans of the characters from the internet they will likely go see the film about the characters they are already attached to.

This gets me thinking about the final project in two ways: start early for campaigns, and don't short yourself to one or two social medias.

I have not yet gone to see the movie, but I did recently read The Hunger Games series. Until recently, I had never really heard much about the series. As the premier date of the movie grew closer, I saw many excited Facebook posts that sparked my interest. Many of my friends are avid readers and because they spoke so positively of the series, I felt that I needed to see what it was all about. The trailers I saw posted online also added to my curiosity. Even though I have not yet seen the movie, the social media buzz produced by The Hunger Games has definitely made me want to. Now that I have read the books and am fully informed about the series, I am very excited to see the movie. Each time I see a new Facebook post praising it, my desire to see the movie grows even more. I assume that many others also feel this way, which proves that social media marketing really does work.

Before this blog was posted I actually read a different article, in the New York Times, about the exact same thing right before the movie came out. I read the book and have been paying close attention to it months prior to it coming out. When I first heard that they were going to make a movie from the book I knew that they would have no trouble making a lot of money off it because it was such a popular book. However, what made it go beyond that and into breaking the record amount for an opening weekend was the social media plan. They didn't just create posters, a facebook page, a twitter and be done with it. They created events and competitions that created a conversation throughout social media. After that, social media did what it does best and blew up the movie, advertising it for free. More and more examples of great social media marketing plans are showing up today and it's only proving that we still have a lot to learn in social media and that it is one of the best tools for marketing your company.

I have not seen The Hunger Games yet, nor have I read the books. But due to the social media, as well as, friends recommending it, I will eventully get around to doing both. I am always one to read the book before I watch the movie, solely due to the fact that the books are generally better. The social media has done a great job at making this movie one that everyone wants to see. It was one of the most talked about things on Facebook for the past several weeks. This shows in the box office numbers on the weekend in came out. I can't wait until I have the time to read the books, and watch the movie.

Yes, I have seen the Hunger Games. Back in November my roommate and I started to hear about all the excitement about the movie that was coming out in March. We started hearing about it from Facebook friends, all over the Internet and in entertainment news. Everyone was talking about the movie and the books. I had heard about the books before but didn’t really hear a lot till around November when the trailer was released. After hearing so much about it all of a sudden my roommate and I then looked up what the book was about and watched the trailer. We then decided to start reading the books before the movie came into theatres. Then when March 25 came around we bought tickets ahead of time and saw the movie opening day. I had no idea about the strategy that Lionsgate used with Social Media but I can definitely see its success. This was such a smart move on their marketing and I think using this tactic would be a good idea for other movies to use in the future. 

I basically missed out on the whole Hunger Games phenomenon. I never read the books, didn't follow the social media buzz, haven't seen the movie, and basically only grasp the premise of the movie/books. I kind of just assumed from what I'd heard that it was going to be something a lot like the Twilight films, which I also have never seen, nor have I read the books in that series either. 

Obviously based on the sales figures, Hunger Games is a straight cash cow, and social media is a huge part of that. I don't think anyone could check their Facebook newsfeed without seeing a post that was Hunger Games related in the past couple weeks. So they obviously did their job, they just didn't get me to put in the money for it like the rest of the population.

I did see hunger games! I was actually really excited for this movie. When I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie over Christmas break I saw a preview for the movie. A few of my friends said it looked lame, but I had wanted to see it ever since. When the movie came closer to being in theaters, everyone was talking about it. Everyone I knew was talking about the books and how it’s going to be like “a new harry potter” and there will be more than one movie. I have never read the books, and honestly, have no interest to read the books, but I will go see the movies. I finally saw it on my day off this weekend, and I enjoyed the movie a lot. I can’t wait to see what will come of the book series. 

I saw Hunger Games opening weekend and absolutely loved it. I read the book last summer and fell in love with the series. I have been waiting for this movie to come out for months and couldn't wait to get my hands on my ticket! I was so happy I read the book because I went with people who had read the book and people who hadn't. The people who hadn't read the book were very confused at times (and rightfully so). I thought the movie didn't go in enough detail at certain parts which I found important to the story. I watched the trailer for the movie over and over again until I was finally able to see it in theaters. I Think that the media did a good job of advertising the movie without being obnoxious or burning out the phenomena before it even came out, such as Twilight. I would highly recommend it! to both guys and girls of all ages.

I have yet to see hunger games, but not through lack of trying. I am just waiting for a good weekend to go, and when my boyfriends finally says its okay. I remember hearing about the book but thinknig it was about something completely different and choosing not to read it back in middleschooll (or maybe highschool?) However, it is due to social media that I am pressing to see this movie so much. Everywhere you look someone is posting about it on Facebook, twitter or some other social media outlet and ranting and raving about the movie. I would however like to read the book before seeing the movie, but since I do not have the time to do so as graduation fast approaches, I dont even care anymore. I want to see it BADLY. Not only do I want to see it, but my boyfriend, who is very agaisnt chick flicks even wants to. And that is solely because what he sees other people saying, (especially guys) on facebook. He sees people recommending it and not having a bad word to say about it so he told me he would even like to see it. If it were not because of social media, I know he would not even consider it. 

I read the books over winter break and my motives had nothing to do with social media marketing. I was actually recommended the books by my sister who then proclaimed, "It's got a movie coming out in March. It's going to be the next Twilight." Although that was not a very convincing argument, once I started reading the books I could not put them down. I didn't see any promotional things until early 2012 when a friend posted on my wall about the release of a China Glaze nail polish line inspired by the series called "Colours From the Capitol". Lionsgate's decision to use the same marketing team who worked with the Twilight films turned out to be really beneficial. I think Hunger Games was more successful because it's a better story. 

I haven't read or watched The Hunger Games, but I got interested in the story after seeing all the buzz of it on social media. The efficient and effective social media campaign of The Hnnger Games made the movie version even more successful after the popularity of its book. I think the key to the success of the Hunger Games could be attributed to the interactions with fans and readers. In another word, the social media campaign of the Hunger Games enabled existing fans to participate into the discussion, and attract other audience to watch the movie. Thus, there could be real-time input from fans, which largely atrributed to the success of this marketing campaign.

I have not seen the Hunger Games, and I don't plan on it because I am a hardcore Star Wars and LOTR fan. I feel movies like the Hunger Games and Twilight put really bad actors in a movie adaptation of a book that has done really well. It comes down to the target audience's demographics. Since books like Twilight and Hunger Games appealed to such a large interval of ages, it was very easy to sell the idea of a movie for these books.

Take Harry Potter: Sorcerer's Stone for example, it was made in 2001, which was before Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were created. Harry Potter: Sorcerer's Stone raked in more than $90 million in its opening weekend. The books have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide, and in 2000, the New York Times had to create a seperate bestseller list for children's literature. I'm just saying, if a book does really well on the New York Times and stays at the number 1 spot for months, the hype for a movie adaptation is going to be just as big, if not bigger. Obviously social media has a lot to do with the Hunger Games success, but I think you give the credit to the author Suzanne Collins for her ability to develop such interesting characters and a compelling and vivid futuristic world.

The first Hunger Games book has been on the NYT bestseller's list for 3 years now, and has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide.      

Yes. I was one of the midnight premier groupies waiting in the half-mile line at NGC for The Hunger Games. I read the books & loved every bit of the movie as well. The Hunger games had quite an effective social media build up, leading its readers into the movie campaign numerous months in advanced. Since the hit book series spread like wildfire in 2008, they have had a significant build up of die-hard fans. The movie’s success without a doubt reflected upon its overall appeal to all demographics, in which combined with social media, only added to the flame. Around its premier, I read that the turnout for males and females were both equally high, when compared to the female dominated turnout for the Twilight movies. This data could certainly contribute to the explanation of the movie's record numbers.

I think I only witnessed a trailer for this movie once or twice, granted I don't watch TV very much. I was wondering why so many people were talking about it on Facebook. I had never even heard of the series before. This article shed light on the whole situation for me. It makes sense that people were posting so much anticipating the movie because of the heavy investment into social media marketing. They put out a lot of interesting content that got fans engaged and these fans brought along even more fans. I personally grew completely annoyed with status updates about this upcoming movie, so I developed somewhat of a sour attitude toward the film even though I know nothing about it. However, I think most people were more willing to hop on the bandwagon through social media. Posting Hunger Games content on their walls became a part of their identity and they were even more inclined to purchase tickets and other hunger games merchandise.

I have seen The Hunger Games and absolutely loved it!!! I was one of the people that could not stop talking about it for the past 6 months. I think what attributes to this movie's success is the versatility among age groups and demographics. I think that is why their social media campaigns were so successful; they were able to reach a broad audience through various outlets.

I have seen the Hunger Games movie and I loved it! I was a huge fan of the books and thought they did a tremendous job of making it into a movie. As far as the social media, I thought they did a great job of promoting it. I felt that they embraced using social media and started their campaign awhile ago so that they could build up a following. This all helped to basically make the Hunger Games as massive as it was and will be in the future.

I have not seen or read the Hunger Games, but with all the buzz about it I've certainly looked into it. The people behind the buzz certainly know what they are doing and they've created and engaged with a fan base that's as intense as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. The fact that the movies are based on books in a series also prolongs the intensity and creates more anticipation. The Facebook page does a great job of trying to hold fans over until the next blockbuster with information and behind the scenes photos. I think it's crazy that they now have a Farmville-esque game for people to spend hours upon hours exploring all of Panem.

I just saw The Hunger Games last weekend. I watched the trailer on youtube when I noticed it on the homepage, I was instantly intrigued. The buzz on social media definitely caught my attention and played a large role in my going to see the film. I noticed the films buzz all over social media and when I decided I wanted to go to the show Saturday it was the only film that came to mind.

I find it ironic that this is the topic for the blog this week seeing as I posted a resource last week regarding the presence of advertising through social media that placed much excitement around the Hunger Games.  The presence of conversation regarding the Hunger Games through various forms of social media translated into much conversation about the movie on campus.  Although I have not seen the movie or read the books, I feel as though I know so much about the movie and the reviews just from postings on Facebook and Twitter.  However, after reading the Forbes article I see that this is no coincidence.  In fact, as the article indicates Lionsgate has carefully planned a series of social media promotions dating back to the summer of 2011.  Interactive marketing campaigns were notable highlights of this campaign.  What this article proves to me is that there is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of low cost advertising through social media, and having the skill set to do so can be a huge benefit.

I feel like that social media has become part of our lives now. People on the globe use social media to connect with each other and keep everything updated. The companies now started using soical media and youtube or any related sites to promote their products, movies, or services so people know about their products. Using social media sites seem to be a lot cheaper than putting a commercial on TV or billboards. Yet, using the traditional advertising methods is still important but if a company can promote it along with social media that everyone uses now. It will definitely gain more attention than just using traditional medias.