In the realm of the movie industry, digital advertising has long replaced traditional methods like billboard ads, previews, and reviews. One of the most effective promotional tools are custom-made movie websites. Domains specifically designed for a particular movie release are crafted to arouse interest without revealing too much. Well-executed websites keep eager fans engaged for months, consistently building anticipation. But what occurs with movie websites after the show? We discovered three prominent examples.
1) Batman Campaign – A High-Flying Promotion, an Unspectacular Landing
To prepare audiences for a movie release and achieve strong box-office numbers, major movie studios employ elaborate tactics. For the second installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, the action drama "The Dark Knight," an immersive alternative reality campaign titled "Why So Serious?" was launched. The cross-platform campaign invited the audience to inhabit Gotham City and play roles as members of Batman's vigilante group or Joker's henchmen. An estimated 11 million participants from over 75 countries engaged in a virtual scavenger hunt like no other.
The campaign quickly transcended its advertising objectives, leaving a lasting impression in the press and setting new standards in immersive entertainment. Naturally, the intense excitement generated couldn't be sustained indefinitely – interest began to wane post-release, and the online presence of whysoserious.com received less traffic.
2) Space Jam – a Enduring Classic with Self-Irony
On the flip side, when movies achieve cult status like the 1996 animated comedy "Space Jam," where Bugs Bunny and the Loony Tunes engage in space kidnapping with Michael Jordan as a guest star, that website endures. The popularity of the "Tunes" remains so strong that early fans have passed down their enthusiasm to their children or even grandchildren. This benefits the movie website.
The Space Jam website has been online since 1996 – entirely untouched in the retro-chic of the internet's early years. Should even the slightest change be made, fans would likely protest immediately. While a Windows 95 screensaver may no longer be necessary, it's more about the principle. Over more than 20 years, the website has become a shrine for Space Jam, Bugs Bunny, and Michael Jordan enthusiasts and will likely continue thriving for another two decades. A new addition, spacejamanewlegacy.net, appeared in 2021 but had no content at the time of writing.
3) The Daily Bugle – the Tabloid of the Marvel Universe
Sony Media maintains a website for the Daily Bugle, a fictional newspaper from Marvel Comics. The website mirrors the design of American tabloid press and features content ranging from fantastic to satirical. Articles about Spiderman's activities prepare fans for upcoming movie releases, maintaining interest through entertaining, humorous, and clever content presentation. A website like this can endure in the long run.
Movie Websites as Marketing Tools
The way media and creatives develop and utilize websites for their content is diverse and not necessarily time-bound. These websites can be valuable not only leading up to a movie, event, or concert but also beyond its launch. While some websites evolve organically like Space Jam, others can be nudged to outlast the event's launch. When successful, they create a virtual presence that can be leveraged for future projects. Marketing books or merchandise through the movie website is also plausible.
A crucial factor is a compelling domain that aligns with the movie or event, ready for expansion into other activities from press coverage to potential online shops or blogs. This is achieved best with a meticulously planned website from the outset.
Unless they are early classics like Space Jam that secured the perfect .com domain at the right time, many opt for alternatives under .net. The introduction of the new gTLD .movie brings new avenues for visibility in this industry.
In each of these scenarios, Sedo's professional domain brokers can support you in developing a media strategy and registering the most suitable movie domain. This expertise benefits not only Hollywood's major studios but also medium-sized creatives. Moreover, if you decide not to maintain the website for your successful movie project, you can generate income through its sale – to acquire the desired domain for your next movie or event.