Swiping RIGHT on a film character: Find out how this movie studio promoted its film on a dating app!
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Swiping RIGHT on a film character: Find out how this movie studio promoted its film on a dating app! 2016 was a momentous year for comic book fans all over the world as they saw the release of multiple blockbuster films like “Captain America: Civil War,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and “Suicide Squad.” These movies drew widespread attention from fans and casual moviegoers alike. Aside from these, another film commanded the interest of viewers that year. The movie’s title? “Deadpool!”
“Deadpool” is a film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The movie revolves around the story of the main protagonist who went from being a special forces operative to a mercenary. The film was directed by Tim Miller and stars Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool), Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, and Ed Skrein. The development for the movie started as early as 2000, however, progress was stalled due to production changes. In 2009, 20th Century Fox started to produce the film. Unfortunately, production for “Deadpool” halted in 2011 because of the box office failure of “Green Lantern,” a DC Comics film in which Reynolds starred in. Additionally, 20th Century Fox had concerns about the R-rated nature of Deadpool and its source material. Due to these unfortunate circumstances, the movie’s production was stalled until 2014, when test footage for the film was leaked to the public. Reynolds attributed this mishap as the reason why the movie was greenlit. Aside from that, there was clamor for a “Deadpool” movie from comic book fans. So, once the leak happened, the hype for the film adaptation reached astronomical heights. The result? The leadership of 20th Century Fox seized the opportunity and moved forward with the production of the flick with a February 12, 2016 release in mind. So, how did 20th Century Fox market the film? As with every other movie, “Deadpool” was marketed through social networking sites, billboards, and TV spots. While this strategy helped build awareness, the marketing team needed to generate more buzz for the film. To spice things up, “Deadpool’s” marketing team created a Tinder profile for the movie’s protagonist as part of the film’s digital guerilla marketing campaign. If you’re not familiar with Tinder, it’s an online dating app that matches users with potential partners based on shared interests and preferences. By “swiping right” on each other’s profiles, individuals are matched, allowing them to socialize. On the other hand, “swiping left” means a user isn’t interested in the potential match.
Those who saw Deadpool’s Tinder profile found his bio that included his character traits and the date of the film’s premiere. Tinder users who matched with him were given a link to purchase movie tickets. Was the digital guerrilla marketing campaign successful in generating buzz for the film? Yes! 2 weeks before its release, tweets about the movie ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 on Twitter. Additionally, the digital guerrilla marketing campaign on Tinder was talked about on prominent websites such as Wired, ComicBook.com, Reddit, Forbes, and Ad Age. The attention the film drew also translated well in its box office numbers. During its opening weekend, “Deadpool” earned a total of USD 150 million in the U.S. and USD 132 million internationally. By the end of its theatrical run, the movie had gained a total of over USD 780 million in profits. While the digital guerrilla marketing campaign wasn’t solely responsible for the film’s commercial success, it clearly helped in generating buzz for “Deadpool.” What made the campaign work? The answer is simple: It caught everyone by surprise! In 2016, no one would have thought to use a dating app to promote a movie. Because of that, users who found out about the stunt were intrigued, and thus, spread the word through social media and word of mouth. Moreover, the Deadpool character is fun, over-the-top, and larger-than-life. This enabled individuals who saw him on Tinder to actively remember and talk about the film. Remember: Guerrilla marketing is a versatile strategy that can help you actively engage with your target audience. When planned carefully, campaigns of this type will enable you to generate lots of awareness and engagement for your brand. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to learn how one chocolate brand encouraged the love of reading in South Africa in 2021? See it in next week’s article! |
