A few months ago I was walking around central London when I saw a big line forming in front of a food truck. As I got closer, I saw it had the Stranger Things logo on it. It was in fact an activation for the Netflix show as they were about to release their second season.
In case any one of you don't know, Stranger Things, is a Netflix series released in 2016. The synopsis: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl" (Netflix, 2017). It is based on TV shows and movies from the 80's, so it has that nostalgia feel that made the show very successful.
Netflix was releasing their awaited second season at the end of October 2017 and they used London as one of the cities to promote the show, in my opinion, in a very original way.
The show has a character, Eleven, who loves waffles. She is one of the most beloved characters of the show. So Netflix put waffle trucks all around the city during the week of release.
It was a fun way to not only have people tweet or post pictures that led to promotion for the show but what I found interesting was how they brought the show to their customers. They gave viewers an experience and they made them part of it by sharing something in common with one of the characters. They thought of their customers, which sometimes with shows or movies is hard to get because it seems to be a one way medium with no interaction. By the way, the waffles were free!
Another thing they did was to partner with a major brand, Topshop. They basically turned their Oxford Street store into a Stranger Things museum. Every floor had an installation or something related to the show.
As the ad says: "Immerse yourself in iconic moments of the show". This again I think is a great marketing strategy. And a way to bring the customer to the world of this show. The most immersive thing they had was one of the displays of the stores, facing the street, had a lab that you could be part of an experiment. Thus emulating one of the iconic scenes of the show. As you may have guessed, there was a long line to be a part of it. Again, bringing the audience (customer) straight into the world of the show.
Netflix must have spent a lot on this activation throughout the city. But what I find interesting is how more and more TV shows and movies are trying these experiences with their audience. As I said, sometimes film and TV can be a one way media but this just makes us feel part of it. The customers are getting smarter and traditional advertisement sometimes doesn't work. The more transmedia a content can be, the better. But always, always, thinking about the customer.
References:
Stranger Things Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80057281
Oxford Circus tube station gets ‘Stranger Things’ makeover. Available at http://www.nme.com/news/tv/oxford-circus-tube-station-stranger-things-makeover-2153296#VHmCzKsRPErwbxbR.99
Stranger Things collection for Topshop sees fans queuing on Oxford Street in the rain. Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/fashion/news/stranger-things-collection-for-topshop-sees-fans-queuing-on-oxford-street-in-the-rain-a3663821.html
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