Interplay between Social Media and Traditional Media: An Empirical Study in the Motion Picture Industry

Marketers leverage multiple media outlets to promote products. There are three media types: paid (e.g., advertising on TV), owned (e.g., company website), and earned (e.g., consumers’ word-of-mouth) media. The effects of individual media channels and the interrelationships within paid media have been examined by prior literature. However, little is known about interplay across different types of media channels. We investigate how social media marketing (both owned and earned media) and the interplay between traditional paid media and social media affect product sales. We analyze how promotional activities across different media channels influence the box office revenues of 200 movies in their opening weekends and subsequent weeks, respectively. We find empirical evidence that social media marketing is positively associated with product sales, especially in the initial product launch period. Additionally, traditional media and social media are substitutes. We discuss the implications of these results and outline our on-going research plan.