In August 1999, A low-budget, independent horror film titled The Blair Witch Project earned widespread attention, making it to the covers of Time Magazine and Newsweek at the same time.
And thus, the marketing of movies was forever transformed by The Blair Witch Project when it released in 1999.
What started as a small independent film quickly grew into a cultural phenomenon, thanks to the genius of its creators who understood the power of viral marketing.
They used the emerging internet to their advantage, crafting a myth around the film that would make audiences question its authenticity, creating a marketing strategy that was as innovative as it was effective, that influenced marketing tactics far beyond the film industry.
A Horror Film Born on a Budget
The creators of The Blair Witch Project, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, were film students at the University of Central Florida, and both were passionate about horror films but noticed that the genre had become stagnant.
They envisioned a new kind of horror film with minimal resources and no budget, they wanted to keep things simple: cheap cameras, no special effects, and an unknown cast.
Myrick and Sánchez were broke and raised just $30,000 from friends, family, and small investors to fund this project.
They posted a small ad in a New York theater paper looking for actors with improvisational skills. The catch? There was no formal script, and the actors received only basic backstories and plot points, with much of the dialogue and actions left up to them.
The shooting took place in the woods of Western Maryland near Burkittsville, and after eight days of filming, the crew had 20 hours of unpolished footage.
Building a Myth Around the Film
The real brilliance of The Blair Witch Project emerged after the film was completed, and the filmmakers understood that in order to break through the noise of the Hollywood machine, they needed more than just a movie, they needed a story.
Their unconventional marketing strategy would turn the film into a viral sensation, and to build some buzz and exposure, they decided to make the film appear as though it was real.
The three main actors agreed to avoid public appearances and not take on other acting roles while the movie was being distributed, and their IMDb profiles were altered to show that they were missing, presumed dead.
A website was created to support the myth of the Blair Witch, complete with fake newspaper clippings and details about the missing filmmakers, and to top it off, a fake documentary called Curse of the Blair Witch aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Breaking Through at Sundance
On January 23rd, 1999, The Blair Witch Project made history by becoming the first horror film to screen at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
To keep the myth alive, Myrick and Sánchez plastered missing posters of the filmmakers around Park City, Utah, and by midnight, the line for the screening stretched down the street.
The film caught the attention of Artesian Studios, who bought it for a record-breaking $1.1 million, which was an unprecedented amount for an independent film.
The studio saw the potential not just in the film itself, but in the marketing campaign that had made the legend of the Blair Witch feel very real.
How Viral Marketing Made the Blair Witch Project a Sensation
Artesian Studios knew that to maximize the film’s success, they needed to target college students, an audience that was already active on the internet.
This demographic was more likely to engage with the story and share it within their social circles, so Artesian’s marketing campaign focused on updating the Blair Witch website with new information, creating the illusion of a real, ongoing search for the missing filmmakers.
Missing person flyers were distributed on college campuses in the mid-Atlantic, and word spread quickly about the legend of the Blair Witch, and college students took to the web to search for more information, further fueling the buzz.
The official Blair Witch website became the centerpiece of the marketing campaign. It offered visitors a timeline of events dating back to 1785, detailing the history of the Blair Witch and the mysterious disappearance of the filmmakers.
The site also featured newspaper clippings, photos, and found artifacts that made the story feel like an authentic historical mystery.
The website was updated regularly with new content, including mock police reports, crime scene photos, and first-hand accounts, tapping into the power of social sharing, creating a community of fans who were eager to learn more and spread the word.
The Blair Witch Project’s Box Office Success
On July 14th, 1999, The Blair Witch Project was released on just 25 screens across the United States, before releasing nationwide on July 30th, which is widely considered as the films release date.
Despite its limited release, the film earned more than $1.5 million on opening weekend, and this success was amplified by word of mouth, with reports of people traveling long distances to see the movie and camping out in front of theaters.
The buzz was so intense that the film quickly expanded to 1,100 theaters, grossing over $30 million at the box office.
The Blair Witch Project is widely regarded as the first true example of viral marketing, and the film earned nearly $250 million at the box office, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time, especially when measured against its tiny $30,000 budget.
The innovative marketing strategy used by Myrick and Sánchez has since become a blueprint for many film and entertainment campaigns, helping to pioneer the use of the internet for marketing and promotion.
The Blair Witch Project proved that with the right combination of creativity, storytelling, and strategic marketing, even a small, low-budget film can make a massive impact.
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