Alice In Wonderland: A Digital Marketing Machine

Despite mixed reviews, Disney’s Buena Vista film, Alice In Wonderland, has grossed more than $320 million domestically in the six weeks since its March 5th premiere date.

Alice earned an impressive $116.1 million in its opening weekend and brought in an additional $62.7 million the following weekend. To date, it has grossed a total of  $784,394,369 worldwide; not too shabby for Director Tim Burton, who may owe most of his earnings to a rather unlikely source–you. You, of course referring to a universal “you,” or in this day and age, the social media masses that check their Facebook pages as often as they take a breath.

Below is a snapshot look at the best features of the campaign that made Alice such a grandiose success at the box office:

1. The Mad Hatter Yourself Facebook Application

On Facebook, fans of the film uploaded photos of themselves into the ubiquitous image of Johnny Depp as the maniacal Mad Hatter. Once they finished, they had officially joined “The Mad Hatter Army.” Users were then encouraged to upload the doctored photos to their own profiles, browse other users’ photos, attend the “exclusive” Tea Party (premiere), and share the application link with their friends. Over 170,000 Facebookers downloaded the application and almost every one of them made their Wonderland themed photos their primary profile pic.

2. Live Stream of the Premiere

MySpace, along with streaming video partner Ustream, hosted a live stream of the film’s premiere, where fans were able to take a virtual walk down the red carpet alongside all of their favorite stars. Almost half a million users participated.

3. iPhone and iPod Touch Game

On February 22nd (a little more than a week before the film’s launch), Apple released the The Alice In Wonderland iPhone and iPod Touch application–an interactive game that allows users the chance to transform into their favorite Wonderland-ridden characters. And, it’s offered in two ways–in full via the App store for a modest price of $4.99, or in a lighter version for free, also avaialble in the App store.

4. iPhone and iPod Touch Application

Users can play games, stream video from the film and download digital greeting cards, all for free. Fans can even feel the sensation of falling down the rabbit hole with a special simulation feature.

5. Alice for the iPad

This iPad app takes interactivity to a whole new level. Users can actually move and shake the Alice In Wonderland chartacters as they read their e-book versions of the classic tale, creating a whole new story in and of itself.

Alice for the iPad’s description on iTunes is as follows:

“Tilt your iPad to make Alice grow big as a house, or shrink to just six inches tall. [...] Throw tarts at the Queen of Hearts – they realistically bounce off her. Witness the Cheshire Cat disappear, and help the Caterpillar smoke his hookah pipe.”

4. Digitally Inspired Ads

The wonderfully garish image of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter covered nearly the entire front page of the LA Times during the week of the film’s release. According to newspaper execs, the idea was inspired by online advertising formats. John Conroy, a spokesman for the paper explained the controversial ad to the NY Times: “It’s taking a concept that we normally apply to new media and reimagining it to a concept in a newspaper.”

The Tim Burton-Johnny Depp franchise may be partially responsible for bringing in those with more of an eccentric taste to the box office. But this campaign also managed to permeate the minds of those who might normally have skipped out on the quirky flick.

If it’s on your friend’s Facebook, in your iPhone, alive on the page, or plastered across the front page of the LA Times in the most abrasive format possible, how can you possibly ignore it? This multi-platform campaign is a great example of why digital marketing is the key to successful promotion these days.

The LA Times ad, on the other hand: that was merely a testament to the amount of new media rapidly absorbing traditional forms. But we’ll leave that grand idea for another time and post.