March 25, 2019
Anne Felicitas, editor
With spring’s arrival officially concluding the dreary winter season, one can’t help but feel that good things lie ahead. Other than warmer weather and sunnier skies, there’s one highly anticipated event that’s looming on the horizon: the debut of Avengers: Endgame.
Yes, the final installment of the Marvel franchise is only a few weeks away (31 days, 6 hours, and 15 minutes, to be exact), and despite the year-long wait, the release of Captain Marvel and the new Avengers trailer reminds fans that the final battle for the universe is coming soon to theaters.
Still, the Avengers brand must sustain the hype using other means, by maintaining a strong brand presence on Instagram and Facebook, for example. Because fans can easily divert attention to some other blockbuster film or highly praised horror flick, it’s imperative that the brand maintain people’s interest. With only a month left before show time, here’s what Avengers: Endgame could do to further promote the film.
Reach Everyone, Even Those Who Aren’t Fans
This may be hard to believe, but not everyone enjoys the Avengers franchise. This may be even harder to believe: not everyone is familiar with the Avengers. For this reason, the blockbuster film must produce promotional content that explains the Avengers story and the final installment that’s coming out on April 26. The second trailer for the film does a great job of summarizing the series and the events that lead up to Endgame.
If I were the marketer for this film, I would continue promoting the second trailer while targeting a wider audience, both fans and non-fans, using a Custom Audience to reach the former group and a Lookalike Audience to reach the latter group. This allows me to reach more potential film goers, not limiting myself to only those who have been following the franchise.
Push Ticket Sales to Fans
Ads with “Buy Now” messaging and call to actions aren’t suitable for an audience unfamiliar with the movie. I would only push sales to an audience that is already familiar with the franchise and an audience comprised of loyal fans. Because those groups already know the story, the characters, the events that lead up to the finale, they are more likely to purchase tickets than those who have never seen a Marvel movie before.
Of course, I can still target non-fans. I can target those who have seen the video ad for the trailer several times, those who have clicked the ad to visit the Avengers website, or those who have interacted with any of the Avengers Facebook and Instagram pages, events, or content. To reach them, I can use a Custom Audience, indicating whether I want the source to come from web visits or social media activity.
Court Those Who Didn’t Convert
The 2000s Aaliyah hit “Try Again” is onto something. Although a good proverb to heed in almost all endeavors, the adage “first you don’t succeed, try and try again” are words to live by in advertising. Because users don’t convert after seeing the first ad (normally it takes them a few days to take a desired action), advertisers must retarget until users finally purchase.
Similarly, users who see the first Avengers trailer online won’t likely convert right away. In fact, they may scroll past the ad without giving it a glance. But after showing the ad a few more times in the next week or two, those apathetic users may begin to show interest, first by watching the ad, then by visiting the website a few days later, and, hopefully, by purchasing the movie tickets.
Avengers: Endgame is only a month away. Still, the movie franchise can squeeze in a solid ad campaign during the remaining weeks before the finale comes to theaters.
Written by Anne Felicitas, editor
