To promote the animation movie
Chicken Little, movie distributor Buena Vista International (BVI) wanted to engage people in a new way and encourage them to watch an online trailer of the film. The movie and its characters encouraged a fun, interactive approach—catering for a broad 18- to 49-year-old demographic.
Andrew Pascoe, Senior Business Executive at media partner MindShare, says BVI looked to maximize the potential of viral marketing among peer groups. “We wanted a rounded package that would appeal across all the major groups, and that could add value through editorial support, links to other Web sites and so on.”
Objectives:
The campaign was designed both to publicize the movie direct to the target audience, and drive cinema ticket sales beyond the reach of traditional offline media.
Creative execution:
It used an MSN Messenger (now
Windows Live Messenger) One-Click Theme Pack for users to download backgrounds, send winks, use
Chicken Little mood backgrounds, and send dancing chicken emoticons to other MSN Messenger users.
The campaign also featured an editorial page with details of the movie, plus a direct link to the InCinemas.com.au Web site, which featured the Chicken Little movie trailer.
In a network first, BVI placed an animated “premium expanding” button on the
MSN Home Page and in the Windows Live Messenger ‘hockey stick’ zone. Both featured a dancing
Chicken Little character that linked to the advertorial or the download screen.
A chat window text link provided an additional theme download option. Supplementary promotion was provided by a MSN Hotmail (now
Windows Live Hotmail) Inbox and MSN Home Page banner adverts.
Results:
Using MSN Messenger, BVI easily beat its target download figures and generated broad interest particularly through the viral spread of the dancing Chicken Little emoticon. It produced:
- More than 301,000 Messenger Theme Pack downloads.
- A target download figure exceeded by 60 percent in three weeks.
- An unusually high 0.5 percent click-through rate.
- Initial targets met with two weeks to go.
- Excellent Dancing Chicken viral penetration across all age groups.
- 40-50 percent extra value from viral distribution and editorial.
- The lowest client cost-per-click to date.
“This was a hugely successful campaign for us and a huge success at the box office too. The MSN Messenger campaign was a big part of that,” said Ms. McCormack.
Make Your Brand a Tool for Self Expression
People use Messenger to make weekend plans, discuss purchases, and stay in touch with their social network. This is when you can transform your favorite consumer into your best marketer. Contact a
Microsoft Sales Representative to learn more about advertising on Windows Live Messenger.
