iPhone Becomes a Cheap Way to Market Films

One specialized example is Univeral's "Bruno" app, which allows users to "Bruno-ize" pictures of themselves and includes a "Touch Bruno" feature, where hitting his "sweet spot" rewards you with dirty talk.

Still, the most common form used by studios continues to be the “advergame” -- a videogame built especially for the smartphone.

Studios historically have released console games in conjunction with movies. But those games can take years to make and millions of dollars to create and distribute, which meant studios often licensed other companies to make games based on their movies.

Apps, on the other hand, can be developed quickly and relatively cheaply. Thus, studios can produce less expensive and properly timed companions for their tentpoles.

“It’s allowing things that were never feasible before,” said Seth Gerson, CEO of Last Legion Games, which helped make “Watchmen: Justice Is Coming” for Warners. “All of a sudden you can create a [massive multiplayer online game] that before would’ve cost millions and taken years.”

“Watchmen” is an online role-playing game that allows users to create their own character inside the film’s universe. Like all of the apps, it's purchased digitally, reducing the cost even more for studios. “There’s no inventory risk, so studios can invest a little bit of money -- and the rewards are fantastic,” Gerson told TheWrap.

While the majority of existing movie-related apps are games, studios and gaming companies both see an opportunity to push the marketing aspect of the apps even further. With the iPhone, there is the potential to link apps with social media like Twitter and Facebook.

"Fast and the Furious" is one app that has already moved in this direction as players can upload their top times to YouTube and post challenges to other players.

“For the studio it’s a new world,” Gerson said. “You can take the social features of the phone and enable a game to work within the different social graphs. And what can be done on the phone is only getting more interesting.”

Though the iPhone is just one of many platforms available, up to now it’s been the focus of most studio apps. The number of iPhone owners continues to grow, and recent studies indicate that the phone’s users are more active than users of other smartphones.

According to Nielsen, iPhone users are six times as likely to watch video, four times more likely to use the internet and five times as likely to download apps than other smart phone users.

This activity makes iPhone users the ideal candidates for marketing campaigns.

“I just read a report," Gerson said. "People who have laptops and iPhones are leaving their laptop in the office."

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