Why we're watching the Watchmen?

As many of you now know, today is the day Watchmen officially opens in theatres. As I write this, thousands of rabid fan-boys across the continent have already fought off sleep, jobs and, quite possibly, normal human contact to attend as many Watchmen screenings as possible (As I write this, the thrid screening of Watchmen is now taking place in Cineplex Odeon theatres across Canada). Oh rabid fans. So hilarious.

I wonder how many are wearing costumes to the theatre?

Anyway. I personally have been waiting for this film to come out since I saw that brilliant teaser trailer when The Dark Knight opened last year. For those not familiar, it's the one using The Smashing Pumpkins "The End is the Beginning is the End" remix, aptly titlted "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" (get it?). The song's been out for a while. I believe it first appeared on the Batman Forever soundtrack. It's also the first song I ever "downloaded" using Napster, way back when. Those were the days!

Zack Snyder's decision to use this track in the teaser was brilliant. It's a moody remix of a semi-popular, catchy song, and it provides an excellent glimpse into what the overall tone of the film will be: dark, brooding, and devious. It also foreshadowed the kind of publicity push this film was going get between then and now. Again, while I've been eagerly awaiting Watchmen's release, I'm absolutely amazed at the amount of publicity the film has generated.

I work in communications, with most of my experience being on the entertainment industry side. I've worked on enough entertainment-related brands to understand the challenges involved in landing mass amounts of publicity on a given project, let alone doing so in a concise manner using several different types of media. One thing I've learning through my experience is the importance of having a concise and well-thought out communications plan in place. A properly constructed plan will allow the execution of tactics to flow smoothly, while the absence of such a plan can lead to a jumbled, mixed-messaged mess. What the Watchmen communications/marketing team has done is mind-boggling, and I'm certain it's because of an excellent plan. 

The advanced coverage this film has received - especially during the last week - is just crazy. I haven't seen all the press associated with this film, but suffice to say, it's a massive amount. The Canadian press alone is staggering. A quick coverage scan shows over 150 print and online hits, including the five-or-so wire stories picked up by many papers across the country throughout the past week. From general film reviews to cast and crew interviews to the inevitable how-does-this-relate-to-Canada story, our homegrown press has been gobbling up anything and everything to do with the film.

I've also noticed the frequency at which print publications have been posting Watchmen sidebar and spinoff stories (check out those linked to the Katherine Monk CanWest piece - shown above, in the "More On This Story" section). I'm certain a publicity team had a hand in generating and facilitating this direct and ancillary press.

The National Post also ran an interesting illustrated history of The Watchmen screen adaptation (Who makes the Watchmen?) in it's weekly Avenue spread. Papers all over the continent have been printing features like this all week. I'm certain publicity teams all around the major markets have been working night and day to generate this kind of press. Kudos!

The Watchmen brand has also been steadily promoted using a bunch of different marketing techniques. These ranging from lengthy television ads to attention-grabbing events, including the innovative Manhattan-on-Thames stunt, featuring a 7-story-tall Dr. Manhattan rising out of London's famed river. They also created a fake newscast from the '70s that went viral in January. Wow. 

Perhaps the greatest press achievement has been the film's ability to settle so firmly within the realm of social media. Of the 25-or-so film blogs I follow, all of them have consistently posted on The Watchmen throughout the past two-weeks (see right for a few examples ->). The case can be made that a large portion of this online interest stems from the deep, religious-like interest many blog-enthusiasts have for Watchmen in general. However, I've noticed a large number of film-blogs posting original content, including direct interviews with actors/crew, behind-the-scenes features, advanced screening reviews and a slew of press material they could only have received directly. This suggests the direct influence of a publicity team, which also suggests the innovativeness on the part of this team to reach out to non-traditional media types. Again, kudos!

I'm sure I'm only scratching the surface of what has been done to promote this film. In general though, everything publicity and marketing teams around the world have done to promote this film is indicative of a well-thought out, well-researched and well-executed plan. It's amazing what a thoughtful and innovative plan can do to etch a brand so permanently in the minds of the general public.

While reading through Kofi Outlaw of Screenrant's disection of Watchmen today, I came across this quote... 

Seriously though, I’m getting a little fed up with these critics who have their heads so close up" to the movie screen they seem to miss what’s going on beyond the screening room, in the theater of the public. Watchmen is our cultural fixation of the moment–but that fascination won’t last long. I realize that. However, the Watchmen craze WILL last long enough for Snyder and Warner Bros. (and Fox) to turn a very pretty profit for all their hard work, distilling Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ great achievement into mass consumptive form.

Kofi Outlaw also mentions the hype surround the film as one of the main reasons why it will be successful. Obviously reviews of the film are going to be mixed. However, this quote to me that the Watchmen brand - at least for the moment - has transcended traditional movie status to become the pop-culture talking point du jour. Of course all the hype will fade next week, but to inundate a global population with enough information so as to create a global cultural phenomenon is no easy task. 

A lot of this hype can be attribute to a team of publicists and marketing people. Furthermore, all the tactics and techniques employed to promote this film outlines the utter importance of having a clear and concise plan. I'm certain without a well-researched plan, Watchmen would have been in trouble. Without a bankable star presence, it's quite possible Watchmen would be floundering instead of on the verge of a record-breaking opening weekend.