During this past weekend’s New York Comic Con Sony Pictures unveiled a first look at it’s remake of horror-movie classic, Carrie.
While there has already been a strong social media buzz around this 1976 classic based on an iconic novel by Stephen King, Sony Pictures is also taking a viral and mobile marketing approach to promote the film.
During Comic Con in New York, promoters of the film encouraged crowd-participants to “learn what happened to Carrie” by calling 207-404-2604. This mobile call-to-action is also featured in the only released teaser trailer for the film on YouTube. When a user calls the phone number, they interactively engage in a conversation with the main character of the film, Carrie; only to be interrupted by an overheard conversation with her mother. In one of the creepiest calls I’ve heard (that is, next to the campaign for the House at the End of the Street), users are promised a unique experience leading up to the film when asked to opt-in for “further calls” from Carrie.
The mobile marketing feature used by Carrie and Sony Pictures is an interactive and patented feature called IVR, or Interactive Voice Response, technology. It, in essence, allows an end-user to have an interactive phone call with a pre-recorded conversation, creating an exciting and media rich experience that is unparalleled. Additionally, users that opt-in to the Carrie campaign may receive additional phone calls or text messages from Sony Pictures helping to engage and build excitement around the film in the six coming months until the film in the Spring of 2013.
While many think of QR Codes or Mobile Webpages when it comes to a media-rich mobile experience, it is important to consider your customer-base. Today in the US nearly 50% of cell phone users do not own a smartphone, and those individuals are left out when it comes to these “traditionally” considered media-rich campaigns. A feature like IVR allows businesses to interact with a much wider consumer base than smartphone-only mobile marketing campaigns, while still creating exciting and media-rich campaigns.
Mobile marketing is one of the premier ways to market and generate buzz around a business or brand, and allows a unique and personal connection with your fans, followers, and customers. Mobivity offers a slew of mobile features that allow you to capture your customers attention where it matters most – on their phone; no matter what type of phone they use. And with the success Sony Pictures has already seen around this Carrie campaign, you can expect mobile marketing to become a strong fixture for connection for years to come.