THE PHILIPPINES, OCTOBER 28, 2011: Horror returns to Philippine television on November 5 with the launch of the revamped Regal Shocker on TV5. To create buzz for the weekly show, TV5 New Media has launched an interactive online trailer on YouTube, an industry first in the Philippines. Regal Shocker was an 1980s TV show building on Regal Films’ reputation for horror, as proven by the success of its enduring Shake, Rattle and Roll film series.
As the first episode features a haunted elevator, this plot detail is used for the trailer. The viewer is asked to choose the correct sequence of elevator floors in order to escape alive.
"When we were brainstorming for possible ways to promote it online we decided to go for an interactive video trailer hosted on YouTube," explained Carlo Ople, Head of New Media at TV5. "Horror works best if the viewer is focused on the video, otherwise the suspense and momentum doesn’t build up. The problem with the internet is that there are so many distractions and it’s easy for viewers to just click another tab or check out another video without finishing a regular trailer."
"The Annotations feature on YouTube made it possible for us to create a choose-your-own adventure type of trailer," added Ople. "Another reason why we did this is because we felt that interactive videos are more shareable. With over 26 million Filipino accounts on Facebook we needed to create content that people can Like and Share otherwise we’re not maximizing the potential of social media."
This may be no Hotel 626, but it is certainly Facebook-friendly. The video, which was shot on an iPhone, with graphics added in-house, has been shared over 3,000 times on Facebook in the span of 24 hours. This timely promotion for the resurrected Regal Shocker is also a good test for interactive branded content.
