Step Up Lieberman - Blogs, Social Networks, and Betting

First was the Lieberman surprise. Then this weekend 'Step Up' blew away projections and more than doubled estimates. Internet marketing from blogs and social networks were the prime factors for each.

While the funding raised by DailyKos and MoveOn wasn't a factor in the primary, the mobilization of undecided voters was unprecedented. By making the focus of the primary the war, bloggers were able to sway moderates to vote for Lamont without pushing a centrist agenda. Will the bloggers be able to sustain the momentum until the real election? Can they really get voters to elect an amateur single-issue candidate against their own best interest? Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Step Up is a cliché dance film which racked up over $20m its first weekend. How did it beat estimates of $8m so handily? There was no big marking push, no famous director or big name stars (although Channing Tatum is well on his way). But the movie does have nearly 100k myspace friends due to savvy use of social network marketing (at the end of the trailer was a myspace address not a .com) . They held an online dance contest on myspace that would allow the winner to perform in a music video. The promotion was interactive with a hint of reality TV and a chance at stardom. Very slick. With an audience 70 percent female and 72 percent were under 25 years old, according to boxofficemojo.com, what better way to reach them?

For this target audience, critics don’t matter. Participation and interaction do. Keep that in mind if you plan on shorting SOAP, the old metrics just don’t apply.