“Help me bloggers. You’re my only hope.”

In the STAR WARS universe Jedi Masters are the most powerful and influential people. The have the ability to change people's thoughts and even move objects by using the force. No evil villain on the dark side can stop a Jedi, especially one as powerful as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Luke Skywalker. Now in the world of Lucasfilm, the Jedi do not have the same influence – the bloggers do.

Bloggers, and more specifically the fans, play a large role in the success of Lucasfilm and the STAR WARS franchise. Not many other brands have the dedication and following that of STAR WARS.

Don’t believe STAR WARS fans are completely devoted to the brand? Many fans flock every year to the Yoda statue at the Lucasfilm headquarters as stated in an article from the Huffington Post.

One visitor stated:

"Yoda is the source of wisdom and gravitas for the whole trilogy," said fan Dale Tolosa, 37, an underemployed actor who often dresses as a Star Wars biker scout with his chapter of the 501st Legion, an international, all-volunteer costuming group. "It's almost like he's a religious symbol or the Statue of Liberty, or a representation of all the positive fantasy that George Lucas has brought to the world since 1977."

So how do blogs work into the media relations of Lucasfilm? The company uses an external blog as means to reach fans and media outlets about anything from press releases to popular merchandise. This STAR WARS blog is a way for fans to connect with the brand while also having the option to share their own interactions. While someone within Lucasfilm writes the blog, it does share stories from its fans. Lucasfilm prides itself on its fan involvement with the brand. They even have a complete section on the starwars.com website where they dedicate space to fan sites.

Even though STAR WARS does invest in connecting with their public, the same cannot be said about Lucasfilm. As previously stated the main company of Lucasfilm does not have a blog or any presence in social media. It seems they only share the information they want known and that only includes major accomplishments by George Lucas and a timeline of the company. Perhaps this is because of the competition they have with other companies in the filmmaking industry. Similar to the royal family and their “image-control system” with a royal photographer, it appears Lucasfilm does not share much information through the parent company on a regular basis.

This also could be due to the founder George Lucas. Lucas has been the spokes person for the company since it’s beginnings in 1971, and yet not many people look at George Lucas in way that other founders/CEOs are viewed like Steve Jobs for Apple. Perhaps this is because he is not a very “likeable” character.

For STAR WARS the spokesperson(s) have morphed into being the characters from the movies, rather than George Lucas. The public doesn’t want to see George Lucas in commercials rather they would prefer some comical robots or perhaps a rambunctious wookie or  maybe the internet phenomenon known as Admiral Ackbar.  

Admiral Ackbar is a squid character from STAR WARS that has been taken from the shadows of anonymity and has been “trapped” in the spotlight for some time now. He has even commanded the attention of many people including the students of Ole Miss.

This is when the STAR WARS blog came in handy to the brand. Not only were they able to show support of their fans by posting pictures, comments, etc., but they also even posted a statement about the incident here.

Examples like Ackbar shows that corporate communications is constantly changing and evolving with the appearance of new technologies like social media. It also shows that companies like Lucasfilm have decided that "If you can't beat 'em. Join 'em."