Last week, we discussed the viability of interactive advertising to promote upcoming Hollywood movies. The general public wants to feel involved and wants to feel like they are participating in something. The passive experience oftentimes isn’t enough any more.

Following in this line of thought, the promotion team for Terminator Salvation have continued with the interactive strategy via Twitter. In addition to the TerminateYourself.com website, they have also set up a Twitter account to promote the movie. However, unlike other promotional Twitter accounts that simply blast out news and updates, this account has been designed to recruit “members of the human resistance” who will help to fight the evil cybernetic organisms of the future.

The idea is that these “members” can “communicate with each other through Twitter” as if they were actually a part of the movie’s fictional universe. The account will turn to this community of freedom fighters to decode “intercepted Skynet transmissions.” Yes, this “game” may not be quite as interactive as a real video game, but it gets the users to follow the Terminator Salvation Twitter account closely and on an ongoing basis.

Players earn points through timely assistance in decoding these messages and, with these points, rise in rank within the Resistance Army. Players must constantly be on guard against the machines, which periodically and randomly choose a number of players and penalize them a percentage of their points. A companion blog augments the information within Twitter and hosts a leader board for the game.”

In your next marketing effort, consider using existing technologies in new and interesting ways. Promotional Twitter accounts aren’t new, but Sony Pictures is doing something quite unique for the new Terminator movie.