WHV's Eibert talks about engaging the core fans, and creating new ones.

Return to page 1

Harris: And, when you said that you need to spread the word of mouth using the core fans-- are there particular bloggers that you have relationships with, or do you try to establish relationships with them on an individual basis for each film, or just kind of monitor who is talking about what and then reach out to them?

Eibert: Online PR and promotions help us spread the word. Depending on the release, we'll target dozens of niche entertainment or fan sites and provide them with exclusive content; prizes and DVDs. These sites in turn run approved sweepstakes and create DVD reviews, which starts the buzz.

Also, we have great relationships with the top entertainment, media and DVD sites. With over 100 campaigns a year, we provide a steady flow of product for review and DVD clips for editorial.

Lastly, successful promotions empower the core fans to virally market the DVD to their wider social network. For instance, for the "Corpse Bride" DVD, we ran an online poetry contest with once-in-a-lifetime prizes (actual puppets from the film). Thousands of core fans not only submitted gothic love poems, but also actively marketed them through emails, MySpace pages, widgets, et cetera. The promotion received hundreds of thousands of votes, and surpassed our traffic goals.

Harris: For something like "Harry Potter" that has such a rabid fan base for the movies, and before that, the books, it has got to be somewhat of a challenge to make the DVD release fresh and interesting.

Eibert: DVDs allow fans to get more engaged in the film through behind-the-scenes featurettes, games or by just watching it over and over.

My group reminds these rabid fans what they loved about the film and why owning the DVD will enhance that experience. For "Harry Potter", we launched "Harry Potter Magical Trading Cards" to do just that.

Fans can collect 70 to 80 cards from each of film. Cards can be earned by viewing clips, playing games, visiting partner sites, answering movie trivia and buying the DVD. The cards were a big hit as fans started trading them amongst themselves.

To keep it fresh, we launched new card sets six to eight weeks before a "Harry Potter" DVD is released. Immediately, our message boards are alive with fans trading cards, remembering favorite scenes and talking about our DVD release date.