Touchpoints

I’ve been noticing something about today’s popular media: people want to consume their favorite music/tv shows/movies in as many ways as possible. They want to watch it, listen to it, share it with friends, learn more about every aspect of it. Smart marketers have created multiple touchpoints to encourage this interaction.
Maybe I’m late to the party as far as noticing this, but here are the two recent examples that struck me:

1. Glee. This new Fox tv show aired its pilot last month, and it was so popular that the producers have been pressed to come up with more content for fans. Apparently the feature song (Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’) was so popular on iTunes, that they’ve had to add additional music choices. The website is chock full of character interviews, actor bios and a photo gallery. Extras include Glee chewing gum (seriously), iTunes downloads and of course, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter fan clubs. Fans can be interacting with the stuff and feel that they stay connected until the show is back on in the fall.

2. New Moon. The highly anticipated follow up to the Twilight movie doesn’t hit theaters until November, but producers know that the fans don’t have that kind of patience. Posters for the new movie (with buffed up versions of hearthrobs Edward and Jacob) released online several weeks ago, and the producers brilliantly timed the trailer release with the MTV movie awards, where it got tons of hype. These two gifts to the fans were very well received. I’m curious what else they’ll give us between now and November.