The

Fault in Our Stars

A social media phenomenon

Anuraag Seshadri

Case Study
Introduction: The history of film promotions
Film promotion is a business as old as filmmaking; the first poster to promote a film was designed
in the year 1895 for the French feature film LArroseur Arrose. Since then, movie promotions
have been an integral part of the film industry. Movie promotions used to happen days before a
movie hit the theaters; as time progressed the tools for promoting movies evolved. The Internet
has changed the way many industries functioned; Hollywood studios used the Internet to make
movie websites that were more visual and interactive. In the year 1995, Star Trek became the
first movie to promote itself with its own website. However, it was with the advent of social
media that film promotion became a level playing field; you no longer needed to have deep
pockets to post a billboard at Times Square, Twitter and Facebook became the virtual equivalent
of Times Square.

A level playing field

Social media thrives on good content; it is an inexpensive method in getting your content across
to your audience. Short films and low-budget films that do not have any big names or the financial
backing of studios turn to social media to promote themselves. Paranormal Activity, made on a
shoestring budget of $15,000 USD, was extensively promoted on Facebook, the trailer and posters
directed their audience to the website where they could demand the movie to be played in the
theaters.

The goal was to get a million fan requests to help the film get a bigger release, the Facebook
campaign was so successful that the movie played in a 160 screens and earned more than $150
million at the box office. Today, the movie is a successful franchise.
The Fault in Our Stars A social media success story
In 2013, Fox Studios announced John Greens The Fault in Our Stars (TFIOS), a YA novel about two
teenage cancer patients, was to be made into a movie. The film starred two relatively unknown
actors in leading roles, however, Foxs brilliant social media campaign ensured that the movie
created enough buzz in the social media space to get everybodys attention. Instagram and
Tumblr were flooded with character posters and quotes from the book. Their Twitter page kept
its followers updated with working stills from the movie and news from the sets.

The campaign reached an even larger fan base once they collaborated with John Green, who had
a large following of 2 million subscribers on YouTube and 4 million followers on Twitter. It even
brought together fans of the books who got together to create their own Tumblr website with
quotes and images of the characters, in the process becoming the unofficial hype machine for the
movie. Their social media team also arranged a Twitter Q&A and Reddit AMA that helped them
spread the word and connect to the fans.
During the course of the promotion, their Facebook page crossed four million likes and their
Twitter page tweeted 1.9 million tweets. Foxs YouTube channel got more than 15 million views
within the first week of the trailers release. Along with regular updates there were also regular
contests conducted for free tickets to the premiere show. Every regular update or talk about the
movie used the hashtag #TFIOS making it easier to find information about the movie. Long after
its release, their Twitter and Facebook page also began promoting the movies DVD and Blu-ray
release.

The reception to TFIOS movie showed that a movie regardless of its genre, budget, and cast could
reach its audience if promoted using the right channels. TFIOS was a huge hit among teenage girls
who are active on Facebook and Twitter.
Result

Made on a budget of $12 million, TFIOS went on to rake in $300 million worldwide

The total domestic Blu-ray and DVD sales was worth $43 million

MTV Movie Awards: Movie of the Year, Best Female Performance

Peoples Choice Awards: Favorite Dramatic Movie

Total Facebook likes: 14 millions likes

Twitter followers: 995K

Mentions: More than 5 million mentions on Twitter over Summer 2014

Conclusion
Social media has changed the way promotion is done these days; it has become an essential part
of any marketing and PR strategy, all it takes now is a hashtag to spread the word. Over the past
few years, companies have adopted digital media to help promote their content using blogs,
journals, and other social media channels. Twitter and Facebook, two of the primary social media
tools have leveled the playing field for the entertainment industry. The Fault in Our Stars is a
great example of how a good product, even without big names or huge budget can find its
audience with the right digital marketing strategy.