You know, the more I think about it, the more torn I become.

The Hunger Games has had a very innovative movie campaign, no one can deny that. In fact, the campaign has been not only innovative, but very interactive. It released an interactive poster, an interactive website, an interactive map tour of Panem, even an interactive magazine issue with Total Film, which used Blippar Augmented Reality to uncover extra content.

Now surveyors indicate that the movie could open at the 100 million mark. By all standards this number makes the campaign a total success. But I can’t help but wonder, now that the movie is premiering in less than a month, if they could still take this just a bit further into fandom gold. And by that I mean, take it beyond an interactive level and into a total immersion experience.

The Hunger Games campaign thus far has taken advantage of an array of visual assets and clever merchandising. But it’s not surprising to note how during this campaign most of the assets actually related to the narrative have been in fact released by the fandom, unofficial mediums, and other channels.

Yes, maybe parodies and unofficial book companions belong exactly where they are at, with the fandom. But at the same time, it is fascinating to see how the most original content I’ve seen developed in the Hunger Games universe has actually come from the fandom. I’m talking about people coming up with different versions of the Panem Anthems, different recipes of baking goods imagined to be found at the Mellark Bakery, or the absolute best Hunger Games T-shirts designs ever to be found online… even the most interesting ARG, that sadly was shut down by Lionsgate, actually came from the fandom. Scholastic and Movies.com launched very clever writing contests… but when it came down to the official campaign for the movie, assets related to the narrative were scarce.

I mean, I’m talking about the fact that they went through all this trouble of creating such a wonderfully interactive site for the Capitol. They had millions of fans register to be part of the 12 districts… and yet, instead of taking advantage of this wealth of fandom, the official movie campaign decided to utilize this resource purely for promotional purposes.

And they could’ve done so much more with the hub! For one, they could’ve had fans develop assets out of the negative space left to play with inside the universe. And by that I don’t mean something extremely complex or fancy… I mean, how about promoting content generation via contests relevant to what the different districts represent and their role in the Panem universe? Am I really asking for the stars here?

I understand that it is a rule in Transmedia to tell the story of the main character through the driving platform. But there is so much left in the Hunger Games universe that the fans would love to explore. Is it really that scary to go there?

After much consideration I've come up with a couple of explanations for what really is the predicament here. One explanation is that it was a clear choice between commerce and art. I was chatting briefly with Simon Pulman last week about this subject matter and he concluded that, if you think about it, the campaign has clearly done its job for the first movie. Why go the extra mile when you are reaching beyond your expectations when it comes to the impressive projected numbers we are talking about here, and that’s just national ancillary. Further efforts would’ve yield diminishing returns.

However, we are talking about an established franchise here. Two, maybe three movies are still yet to come. Don’t you want to nourish your fandom by doing something cool, immersive, and innovative NOW?

Apparently not. Especially when you are not motivated to do any further investing until you get back at least 400 million worldwide. But why? Going there DOESN’T cost that much money, especially if you already have all these great interactive elements in place to begin with. It would take nothing to go that extra mile. Why wait to start experimenting on movie 2, 3, 4?

My other explanation for this decision of not going the extra mile relates to the fact that when it comes to the narrative, the campaign choose to go with the easiest point of view. If you think about it, the movie campaign revolves around the decision of telling the story or introducing the audience to the Hunger Games universe from the point of view of the Capitol. The problem with this decision is that the Capitol is the least likable POV in the Hunger Games universe. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but it would’ve been nice to have access to other points of view too, i.e. the rest of the districts. After all, this is where the characters we care for actually live. Come on… I'm sure I'm not alone thinking this.

Now the question is, what’s it gonna take for a campaign to go the extra mile? When is gumption gonna be a prerequisite to finally do something truly innovative here? I mean, the clock is ticking people. Last time I heard we only have 10 more months before the apocalypse.