This may be older news but relevant nevertheless. The Daily News reports that the movie "Garden State" is taking on cult-like status among young adults in part because of the role Zach Braff's blog played in marketing the film.

I had a look at the blog several days ago and the comments section is usually in the 1,000 plus figure. Usually comments are not an indication of much, however, in this case it shows that Zach Braff has managed to engage not only his audience but created a strong community around his blog.

The gimmick is smart PR, allowing Braff to continue the conversation he started in the movie and drawing fans back for another look.

And take it from a PR professional:

Remember how the Blair Witch Project took off like wildfire a few years back? It was a seminal event for online viral marketing. Well, blogs are making this easier and engaging for both the directors and the audiences. Way to go Zach. Show the big boys how it's done.

This is what I am hoping too. I am in the process of explaining to a film producer how blogs could help him promote his movie. I do not think he knows what a blog is although in the last few days I sent him links to the Garden State, QT diary (whether real or fake, it is still a great example), Jersey Girl Diary and some other ones to show him what blogs are.

A blog could become the smartest and most effective way to halt (or at least complement) the spiralling cost of marketing that can swallow up huge proportion of any film budget. There is a sort of Laffer curve of revenue and marketing spend - past a certain point the marketing cost will make it virtually impossible to make profit. By the way, I did not come up with this, they did.

As for film blogs, the old value-for-value rule applies. Give the fans something interesting and they will come back for more. A production blog is a natural start. Another film producer friend of mine created an 'accidental' production blog for his film Den of Lions - I believe the original purpose was to give his crew's nearest and dearest a chance to keep up with them while filming in Hungary. The blog's audience spread well beyond those involved in the film.

I can imagine following up on the production blog with updates on post-production and news of distribution etc. There is always a story behind producing a film, usually the nerve-wracking, last-minute-problem-fixing, people exploding crisis management kind, but nevertheless, oddly satisfying once the damn film is out. Or so I've heard.

I will be trying to make the point about how blogs can help him reach his audience, Real Soon Now. Will blog what comes out of it.

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