Would zombies use iPhones ?

When I took the train this morning I saw a print ad for the series "The Walking Dead" and I wondered: how do series sell themselves? Do and can series use new technologies?

For the record, zombies, as well as vampires or other gloomy/freaky creatures, benefit from a very large online and offline buzz. Partially propelled by the success of Twilight (not that I endorse that movie, but I have to face its large success and buzz)

As an introduction, let me present to you two print campaigns to promote the series "The Walking Dead":

- Norway 

The Norwegian campaign (December 2011)

The principle of that campaign.

See the first poster? You could actually strip off bits of the poster to get the adress of the website www.foxcrime.no. Just as a zombie would fall apart. 

- France 

Translation in English : "I see dead people, and then I kill them"

Translation in English: The only good dead people are dead dead.

This print campaign was made by the agency NoSite, to promote the first broadcast of The Walking Dead on Sundance Channel France, for the 12th January. The aim of the campaign was to show the human side of zombies, which enables an even more shocking contrast between the characters and the catch-phrases.

NoSite, of which this print campaign was the first campaign, also animates the twitter account of Sundance Channel France, the French antenna of the American Sundance Channel, that will broadcast the Walking Dead in France. The aim of the Channel: broadcast independent American and foreign movies.

Seeing the campaign, I wondered if NoSite used other communicational devices. 

And the answer was: not really. 

- Use of Twitter: no twitter account was created for this specific campaign. Likewise, the Twitter account of Sundance Channel only relayed the information, therefore undermining all the surprise effects created by the print campaign.

- Use of Facebook: Sundance Channel France has more than 13 000 Facebook fans, but the information about the imminent broadcast of The Walking Dead was, just like on Twitter, only relayed. Photos of the print campaign were posted, but without any inspiring quotes, without all the zombie effect which attracts so many people to view The Walking Dead. 

There is clearly a lack of use of the success of the zombie phenomena, new technologies speaking. 

For instance, the Walking Dead Facebook account gathers nearly 5 million fans, with a minimum of 3000 likes for each post from the owner(s) of the page (AMC, the US channel that created The Walking Dead, and Mad Men for instance) and hundred of comments for those posts. 

NoSite could have used this success to make a more interactive campaign to promote the broadcast of The Walking Dead in France. There is a huge online community of The Walking Dead fans: aside from the official facebook and twitter accounts, there are at least a dozen of non-official accounts that gather thousands of The Walking Dead fans. 

The official French Facebook page for The Walking Dead nearly gathers 5 000 fans, but there is no information as to the official character of the page: who created it, for which purpose. Moreover, the owners of the page do not seem to control 100% of the content published on their page. Commercial links are for example posted without being controlled. 

My advice: zombies are great (in communication). Why not take advantage of the existence of a gigantic fan community to use breaking-through communicational devices. For example, QR codes, or smartphones apps which could use all the fantastic imaginary behind the concept of zombies.

Zombies, get yourselves iPhones. 

Would Tintin use a smartphone ?

These days, when walking in the streets, listening to the radio, shopping, you might be overwhelmed images of Tintin, especially in France.

Triggered by the release of the cinematographic adaptation by Steven Spielberg of Tintin (The Adventures of Tintin – Secret of the unicorn : the first of a trilogy of movies).

This love for Tintin is not a new phenomenon, far from there (the blond reporter’s first appearance dates back to 1929) but only this year has Tintin started to invade the communicational sphere.

McDonalds, Pitch (Pasquier Group), Carrefour, media : many are those who take advantage of the character to promote their own products.

Did firms use traditional communication devices or an innovative, 360° degree, communication ?

Two examples : 

• Pitch's treasure hunt.

The aim is here… Well what is the aim ? I went on to search for clues, but the internet website is useless (no information telling us what is the treasure hunt all about).

All we understand is that Pitch (mainly brioche type pastries) used the image of Tintin to promote its products.

They have a nicely designed website : http://www.pitch-tintin.com/ , but not interactive at all. You can fill up a form to participate to the “treasure hunt”. A treasure hunt which is merely the possibility (by filling up this form) of wining prices (amongst which a trip to Belgum). But that’s all.

Most shocking of all : Pitch is not even on Facebook ! Even if the entry on social networks is difficult for a brand (between giving too much or not enough liberty to consumers, the right balance is find to hard), taking them into account and using them is vital to create a real relationship between brand and customer.

• Carrefour's "Mille milliards de promos" (translated in English by "billions of blistering promotions"– a word pun on the famous Haddock swear expression "billions of blistering blue barnacles").
This is quite a traditional campaign (disposal of advertisement posters in which characters from the movie are featured). An effort to note was the creation of a dedicated website (http://www.les-aventures-de-tintin.carrefour.fr/ ) to promote the operation. But the content doesn’t enable a full participation of lovers of Carrefour. 

The principle of the operation is the same as Pitch’s: possibility of wining prices. In addition here: the possibility of collecting Tintin figurines available in Stores. But once again, no interactive device (no Smartphone application, and absence from social networks, even if a Facebook share button and a Tweet button have been added at the bottom of the website. 

My conclusions: TINTIN WOULD NOT USE A SMARTPHONE. Tintin-centered campaigns are quite disappointing: lack of innovativeness, lack of use of new technologies (no smartphone application found yet)…

What's even more shocking is the lack of use of 3D, nevertheless one of the arguments for the innovativeness of the new movie !

These campaigns are more the less deceptive that Tintinology (collecting Tintin-based products, and the adventures of Tintin themselves are a symbol of adventure, and of the search for experimentation). 

Know more

For those who are interested on previous ads using Tintin as a promotion argument, see It’s not the first time that Tintin has been used for publicities (see http://pubenstock.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/les-aventures-de-tintin-dans-la-publicite-2/ for examples)

What’s Next ? For a successful 360° communication, wait for my next article “Timberland and CSR : how new technologies are the best way of selling recycled products”
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