Sony Pictures clears the way to include Social Influencers in its movie PR blitz – Alvinology picked as sole representative from Singapore and Southeast Asia

Last week, a big multi-day international press event happened in Singapore to promote Sony Pictures Entertainment’s three upcoming blockbusters: Ghostbusters, Inferno and The Magnificent Seven:

In a report by Mashable, it is mentioned how amid the typical press conference sessions, 15 spots were saved for “influencers” that Sony has flown in or invited for its media blitz. These are people with large followings on YouTube, Instagram or other social media platforms that the company hopes will reach a new, younger audience.

We are proud to share that our site, Alvinology.com is one of the 15 influencers hand-picked for this engagement and is the sole representative for Singapore and the whole of Southeast Asia.

It’s a pity I already had a family holiday booked to travel to Kyushu, Japan, for the same week, otherwise, I would definitely not miss such a golden opportunity to waltz with the folks from Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as Hollywood celebrities like Tom Hanks and Melissa McCarthy.

I had to send a representative instead; and we sent one of our best, Jeremy Goh, to attend the press event on my behalf for Alvinology.com.

The full list of 15 influencers are:

• Jeremy Goh (Singapore) – on behalf of Alvinology.com
• Karan Talwar (India)
• Hung Wu (Taiwan)
• Claudio Di Biagio (Italy)
• Rafael Osvaldo Rosales Rábago (Mexico)
• Marcelo Forlani (Brazil)
• Ruslan Tushentcov (Russia)
• Anastasiia Shpagina (Russia)
• Sebastian Gerdshikow (Germany)
• Julien Bam (Germany)
• Gong Bao (Germany)
• Alexander Cheng Loew (Germany)
• Rose Ellen Dix (U.K.)
• Roseanne Elizabeth Spaughton (U.K.)
• Nafiesa Farzaana Rasoelbaks (The Netherlands)

As part of the event, Jeremy took part in a scavenger hunt around Singapore for the Dan Brown thriller, Inferno. The film’s lead, Tom Hanks, was roped into the hunt and lucky Jeremy got to meet him this close:

Recognize the two guys on the far left and right? Actor Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard share some talk time with Alvinology.com writer, Jeremy Goh. The upcoming Inferno movie based on the novel by Dan Brown, brings the dynamic duo back into partnership, and sparks are set to fly. Posts coming up soon! #infernomovie #tomhanks #sonypictures @sonypicturessg

A photo posted by Alvinology.com (@alvinology) on Jun 15, 2016 at 9:03am PDT

Jeremy also got took part in a string of other promotional activities for the various movies and stayed at Marina Bay Sands with the rest of the influencers for a period of 4 days:

Magnificent 7 stuntman, Ryan fell from a multistory height 9 times into a pile of sand with NO crashpad for the movie. How much punishment did he put Alvinology writer, Jeremy Goh , through? Jeremy got to learn some nifty mixed martial art moves from Ryan and the team from Evolve MMA. #mag7 #sonypictures @sonypicturessg

A photo posted by Alvinology.com (@alvinology) on Jun 13, 2016 at 6:51am PDT

Alvinology is at the scene. Large crowds thronged the @marinabaysands plaza to catch a glimpse of talented, witty and friendly star, Melissa McCartney, of the latest Ghost Busters movie. #ghostbusters2016 #ghostbusters #sonypictures @sonypicturessg

A photo posted by Alvinology.com (@alvinology) on Jun 12, 2016 at 6:13pm PDT

Summing up his experience for this unique press event with other influencers from around the world, Jeremy said: “We all drank the same, got drunk the same, danced the same, quarrelled the same, go through life with the same goals, but came from all corners of the globe”.

“I thought that a team that had a German and a Chinese would have what it takes to win the Amazing race. Turns out, the combination is better in one entity – The team of Chinese Germans guys took the top prize,” he added.

While engaging social media stars is not a new strategy, this marks the first time Sony Pictures is dedicating this much effort to these creators, said Aaron Wahle, senior vice president of international digital marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment to Mashable in an interview.

Endorsement from this segment of influencers “has never been more important,” he said.

“We will look back at this week as a landmark for the whole movie industry. It’s something that goes beyond traditional, tried and tested movie marketing,” he added.

Now that the week is over, Wahle’s team is measuring the new audience growth that the social creators have helped Sony reach. Eventually, this will affect the way that the company conducts and times future movie launches, and could even affect elements of the movies themselves.

We are proud to be involved in this history-making relook of how press events will be conducted in future for blockbuster film releases.

“It’s a big step, and I think we will look back at this week as a landmark for the whole movie industry,” said Wahle.

Thank you Mr Wahle for the vote of confidence in Alvinology.com!

Please stay tuned to our site for updates on the three movies, Inferno, Ghostbusters and The Magnificent Seven.

Finally, to all those snobs from mainstream media who like to look down on us online guys:

Time has changed guys. Move with time or become obsolete. Online is the future.