Transmedia storytelling means so much more than just exposing your brand or product across multiple platforms. It’s about deliberately harnessing the unique abilities of every single social media platform to craft an overarching narrative that, when put together, creates a complete and deliberate entertainment experience for it’s consumers. And the makers of Deadpool have got it nailed.
Deadpool the Movie, due to be released on Valentine’s Day, is certainly one for the Marvel fans. Despite being a Marvel Comic movie it is aimed at a specifically adult audience due to it’s graphic nature and has already been denied approval for release in China due to the country’s strict censorship laws. It tells the story of Deadpool, played by actor Ryan Reynolds, a special forces operative who is part of an experiment that leaves him with powerful regeneration abilities..
Director Tim Miller and actor Reynolds’s haven’t held back on making Deadpool out to be a full blown self-professed pansexual anti-hero. It’s because of this that the movie’s scope for transmedia marketing has been made so astronomical – and the marketing guys certainly haven’t disappointed. Here’s how…
Instagram Awesomeness
Deadpool’s Instagram is everything you’d expect it to be. From pictures of him posing on the Thanksgiving table, to him thumbing a lift to Comic-Con all the way to candid bathroom shots. This account generates the perfect amount of worthy entertainment to help keep fans happy and psyched for the release.
Their Instagram account is a perfect example of social media marketers understanding what works on that particular platform and using it to contribute to the bigger picture.
Valentine’s Day
The Deadpoolers have taken full advantage of the movie’s release date by creating a poster that makes the film out to be the perfect romantic film – complete with the perfect tagline “love never dies”. This was an instant hit across social media channels as geeks got to attempting to trick their girlfriends into viewing it.
In a brilliant attempt to drive up excitement for the film’s release, advertising boards were placed in public view on the streets of New York and Los Angeles. Ryan Reynolds even shared an image on his Twitter alongside the perfect line “In 32 days, let’s cuddle like koala bears from hell. #deadpool”.
Clickpooler
Perhaps the most innovative digital marketing move by the makers of Deadpool is how they have harnessed clickbait. They constructed a few farfetched content titles that generated the perfect amount of intrigue, linked them to one landing page and exposed them on social media channels. By enabling easy generation of new titles and direct sharing, they created something both hilarious and self-promotional.
By taking advantage of arguably the most frustrating and irritating style of content marketing and putting it in line with the character’s personality they have completely and totally nailed it. This is just another example of how their understanding of every marketing avenue can’t be underestimated.
Surprise Early Screenings with Ryan Reynolds
In one of the coolest moves by producers ever, 20th Century Fox decided to mix marketing and advertising with rewarding their fans with a surprise early screening. Fan’s, who thought that they were attending a fan get-together with a few clips and giveaways were instead able to see the whole film weeks early, in some cases while Ryan Reynolds was in attendance!
12 Days of Deadpool
The Deadpool marketers managed to keep fans buzzing about the film throughout the Christmas period with the help of their 12 Days of Deadpool campaign. Every day 20th Century Fox released a new piece promotional content every day, up until the big day when the second full-length trailer was released.
These are just a few examples. So much more has come from the Deadpool marketers in their attempts at Transmedia marketing mastery including April Fools on TV, invading the adverts of other films and an awesome announcement at the IMAX. That’s why Deadpool’s transmedia marketing is awesome.
Photo Source: By Nigel Horsley [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
