The Zeitgeist has moved on from Snakes on a Plane, which is a great lesson. The hype was great, and a lot of fun to be a part of. However, if the product is mediocre, there’s not much positive word of mouth, and the promise of the brand and the resulting image do not match, then it won’t ever stay on top.
   Snakes on a Plane was big because of the honesty of the title, striking a chord with postmodern audiences. It was like a well promoted brand backing up an inferior product. The Embassy theatre here in Wellington, where The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had its première, looked pretty quiet outside (see the Citylink webcam)—because even after a week since the US première, the buzz had fizzled out. By the time August 25 came around, and New Zealand had its Snakes première, it was already old news.
   Stateside, Snakes fell to number nine last weekend—a huge drop from first, but not atypical of horror films.
   It was still a success given what it was. It was thanks to the blogs that a mediocre horror got the audience it did in its first weekend. But if the product was as solid as the brand, it would have stayed on top for longer.
   You can hype anything all you want, but longevity comes from quality, perceived and actual, and other elements of brand equity. Posted by Jack Yan, 15:08  permalink

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