Overview
Universal Pictures, one of the largest movie studios in Hollywood, launched a theatrical marketing promotion for an original title from Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pics within the horror genre, The Black Phone. The goal was to build up an audience of superfans, directly engage them in an authentic way, and ultimately convert them to sell-out screenings, sell movie tickets, and encourage word-of-mouth marketing.
How The Black Phone Used Community
Universal Pictures used Community to directly engage audiences in an immersive way, sending rich media campaigns such as birthday grabber gifs, video and photo clues, film scenes, AR app download links, links to screeners, an AMA with Ethan Hawke, and more.
The team used geo-targeting to sell out special screenings, sent personalized messages based on fans' interests, and ran an interactive clue-based journey to send special content to fans in an immersive way. The talent AMA's enabled scaled personalized responses to thousands of fans.
Success Metrics
The Black Phone marketing campaign on Community resulted in much higher engagement rates as compared to social media, with direct and immediate access to fans.
- 43% engagement rate
- 34% click-through rate
- 20% conversion rate for ticket sales
- $110K+ in opening-weekend ticket revenue
Key Features
- Direct engagement with fans in an immersive way
- Rich media campaigns
- Geo-targeting to sell out special screenings
- Personalized messages and content based on fans' interests
- Talent AMA's that scale personalized responses
Conclusion
Universal Pictures' The Black Phone marketing campaign on Community successfully drove high engagement and ticket sales. By using direct engagement, rich media, geo-targeting, personalized messaging, and talent AMAs, the team converted superfans into sell-out screenings and word-of-mouth amplification.
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