The spirit of web 2.0 would lead us to believe that people want to feel involved with the media that they consume. With blogs, for example, many readers want to have the opportunity to voice their opinions through the form of comments. When it comes to YouTube, people want to share their own videos and interact with the other users in the video-sharing community. Given this ongoing trend, it makes sense that some marketing tactics are taking advantage of our increasing desire to feel connected and involved.

When it comes to advertising a new movie, most studios take on the same kind of approach. You get to see the posters at the theaters, malls, and other public places. You catch the trailer at the theatre before watching another film. You watch the commercials on television and you visit the website for more information. That’s all rather conventional, but at least a handful of movies this summer are taking a different approach.

Ali Larter stars in a new movie called Obsessed where she plays a character obsessed with her new boss. She’s pure stalker material. Instead of letting you watch the trailer, the promoters have come up with a unique website called GetObsessedWithAli.com where they produce a custom video feature your likeness (or that of your friend). I decided to put together the clip for Stephen Fung and he quite enjoyed it. This is great advertising for the movie, because people are automatically willing to share.

Similarly, the promotion team for Terminator Salvation put together a site at TerminateYourself.com where you can transform into a battle-damaged Terminator. I used the service to transform John Chow into a Terminator Viking and I think it came out quite well. Again, this is great advertising, because people will want to share their creations. Viral campaigns cost little to launch, but can be very valuable if successful.

The next time you consider putting together a new marketing campaign, think about how you can get your potential customers to interact with it or with your product.