The Brief

The Hoyts Corporation distributes films across its 55 cinemas in Australia and New Zealand. With the release of SAW VII fast approaching, Hoyts were at a loss on how to create genuine excitement for what was being viewed as ‘yet another SAW film’. With only a month to go before the prelaunch promotion needed to kick off, our brief was clear: - Reinvigorate the aging SAW franchise ahead of its final release - Hit the box office target of $2.5m AUD - Having never run an activation before, Hoyts required a cut through campaign that would justify their decision.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

With a tight timeline and a budget of under $50k, we needed to develop a campaign that not only punched above its weight in terms of reach and engagement, but was also quick to market. Cue the ‘SAW PhotoBooth’. Placed into Hoyts cinema foyers, filmgoers were given the opportunity to view the SAW trailer and have a free photo taken. After the trailer finished, the photo countdown began 3… 2… 1 photo. Before the photo was taken however, SAW’s frightening antagonist Jigsaw would stick his head into the booth just in time for the photo to capture the terrifying reactions.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The key campaign results from a consumer perspective were as follows: - 4035 scary cinema experiences (50% over target) - 134,870 YouTube views (449% over target) And in the words of Hoyts: “The 'PhotoBooth' activation broke new ground for us as our first experiential campaign. The activation fulfilled and exceeded our expectations! The customer reactions caught were priceless and spread far and wide. The objective for the campaign was to meet the Australian box office target of $2.5 million – which we smashed!" Aleana Reynolds, National Promotions & Production Manager, Hoyts Distribution

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

With the SAW franchise in decline, our focus was to give audiences a taste of what the film had to offer. Given we were dealing with a Gen Y audience that practically lives online, we felt that by bringing the film to life in a fantastically horrifying way and capturing audience reactions, the reactions themselves would provide the best showpiece for the film. Our strategy was to develop a micro activation and use the physical engagements from the activation as content for the wider social media campaign, using Facebook and YouTube in particular to carry the conversation across Australia.