Hollywood weighs up social

Hollywood film companies are using social media to forecast how much money a film like The Avengers will make on its all important opening weekend. Fizziology  is the name of one company which is undertaking this Sentiment Analysis in Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and in blogs, and it would appear that they are managing to be very accurate. The last Twilight movie was tracked at an opening weekend of $140m and the actual figure it achieved was $138.5m. 


Traditionally movie companies have used research firms to undertake questionnaires about awareness before an opening, to help them set marketing spend but tapping in to social media, where people are offering their opinions voluntarily, is proving to be a much better gauge. 


In the last couple of years Sentiment Analysis has become far more accurate, largely because the software which is able to interpret language has become more sophisticated - see my previous blog about Oxford University spin out company, They Say. 


But of course like any brand which fails to deliver, social media can work against a movie as much as it can for it and 'word of click' can have a devastating effect, like the recent giant flop, John Carter. 


As the health of a brand becomes increasingly determined by their online social status, companies like Fizziology, They Say and BuzzMetrics, will become vital partners in setting budgets and determining strategy.