The Purge (2013)• Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller

• Budget: $3 million (around £2 million) - low production cost

• Made $34 million in its opening weekend in America and $1.5 million in the UK.

• Made $89.3 million worldwide

• IMDB Synopsis - “In the future, a wealthy family is held hostage for harbouring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12 hour period in which any and all crime is legalised”

• Released on the 31st May 2013 in the UK and 7th June 2013 in the USA.

First Trailer & Posterhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LLaybEuzA

• Trailer was released on April 3rd 2013• Synopsis was revealed in December 2012

so audiences were already aware of the plot

• Very narrative driven• Follows the cliche horror trailer where it

starts out very positive and then becomes very dark and ‘scary

• A poster was released the same day of the trailer

• The trailer and poster both featured iconography - the masks that the killers were wearing

Target Audience• The film was rated a 15 by the BBFC which suggests that

the target audience is people in their late teens (15-19).

• The target audience would probably be American more than any other culture as American historical songs are played in the background. The film also includes a plan which is set by the US government.

• The target audience are keen social media users which is explains why the marketing campaign was very social media heavy

• The first trailer says that the film is from the producer of other Blumhouse productions ‘Paranormal Activity’ & ‘Sinister’ which were box office successes. This means that audiences will associate the trailer with these films.

Building the Campaign• The first trailer mentioned other films that

were from the same production companies which means that audiences will associate ‘The Purge’ with those films

• The mentions of ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘Sinister’ will create genre expectations as those films were received well by audiences and were classed as scary.

• The marketing campaign was very social media based and was nominated and won ‘Shorty’ awards

The Use of Social Media• A social strategy was devised that would play upon the concept, themes, and unique

situations presented in the film.• Social media creative and content challenged users to put themselves in the world of The

Purge, asking them to share reactions on how they would #SurviveTheNight • The marketing campaign made the film extremely relatable and relevant to moviegoers• The efforts executed across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram all took advantage of

the interest that users had in the film, and built upon fan excitement leading up to and through the weekend of release.

• Social media content was created that consistently provoked the question of what it would be like to live in the world of the Purge, encouraging fans to care and share

• this included the creation of propaganda material ("The Purge: Keep our nation strong"), public service announcements ("During the annual purge, emergency services will be suspended"), question cards ("Can you trust your friends on purge night?"), and countdowns to The Purge itself (the premiere of the film)

• The campaign was taken a step further creatively through the use of a robust Tumblr page that capitalised upon the creation of multiple GIFs from key moments of The Purge to tease the film.

More on Marketing

The film used techniques that other successful films used. For example, many have commented that posters for The Purge were very similar to posters for District 9 which was another successful film. The Purges posters had a similar effect to District 9 and had audiences thinking ‘what would I do if this really happened?’. The posters also look pretty realistic so it may lead to people researching the film so they can know what is really happening on June 7th.The official ‘reminder’

poster was released in late April 2013. I think one of the biggest reasons for how effective this film was was due to how realistic the advertising made it seem. The whole marketing campaign effectively created intrigue.

The New Founders of America Website

The New Founders of America viral website, is perceived to be a government run site during the universe in The Purge, set in the year 2022. It is supported by wonderfully catchy articles, like “Senate to Vote on Bill Extending Purge to 18 Hours” and “Purge is the Solution, Scientists Say“. Each article has a fun array of comments.

According to the campaign, the “government” creates the 28th Amendment of the United States to:SECTION 1: The Annual Purge shall begin each year on June 7 at sunset, officially starting at 7PM, and ending at sunrise, June 8, at 7AM.SECTION 2: During the time of The Purge, any and all crime, up to and including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire and hospital aid will be unavailable until The Purge concludes.

SECTION 3: The following weapons cannot be used during The Purge: weapons of mass destruction, fragment-producing explosives higher than a hazard class HC/D 1.4 and viral contagion projectiles.SECTION 4: Government officials of ranking 5 and higher have been granted immunity from The Purge and shall not be harmed.SECTION 5: Non-compliance with any of the aforementioned rules will result in death by hanging.

The release date was the same as when The Purge was meant to fall on which meant that as the film approached, the Purge would also be approaching.

After the Release• Since the release of the film, a sequel has

been released and a third instalment is scheduled to be released in 2016.

• ‘The Purge: Fear the Night’ events were also held which was an immersive horror experience

• Scare zones themed to The Purge were also held at Universal Studios’ halloween horror nights

• Released July 2014

• First trailer released in late March 2014

• The Purge: Breakout - “you pay to be pretend-kidnapped by someone who is taking full advantage of the current “One Night Only – Nothing is Illegal!” plan that the (fictional) Purge offers. You and five friends (if you have five friends willing to pay to do this, otherwise it’ll be five strangers) must solve puzzles and decipher clues to escape from a hellhole constructed from four semi trailers. All the while, you’ll be harangued by chained-up women in gory makeup, and stalked by a big beefy man who looks more interested in tending to his many BBQ restaurant chains than he does in butchering innocent civilians. If you can solve the puzzles in time, you win! If you can’t, you’ll be “purged,” and fake-killed in the most interactive way imaginable, whatever that might be. If you’re lucky, maybe the killer will offer you a plate of brisket as you leave”

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzuOBbQ2Y-o

• Made $110 million worldwide against a budget of $9 million