Why is this work relevant for Media?

For Disney, a key challenge is being a box office-driven business but being a step removed from ticket sales, as that lies with exhibitors. To close the gap between the media buys and ticket purchase, we brought the box office into media placements driving consideration and purchase via media partnerships and platform innovation. Before the Endgame comes the “Endwait”, transforming the waiting time in bus stops all over the island into a cinema box office, with no waiting time. To close the journey, through #AvengersSG we’ll direct commuters immediately to the Marvel Messenger chatbot where they can buy the ticket.

Background

Fans have waited 10 years for the epic end of the Marvel Studio cinematic journey, so with the premiere of Avengers: Endgame in Singapore scheduled on the 24th of April 2019, anticipating this world premiere, Singaporean fans intended to avoid spoilers at all cost by getting tickets to watch the movie before anyone else, even leading cinema sites to crash on the first hours of the advance sales opening day. Knowing that movie attendance has been declining in recent years due to the change in consumer habits and behavior, Disney wanted to close the gap between the media buys and ticket purchase, creating an interactive OOH campaign where fans don’t have to wait anymore.

Describe the creative idea/insights (30% of vote)

Introducing Avengers:Endwait, transforming bus stops into a cinema box office, with no waiting time. The idea was executed for the first time ever in Singapore, through a new innovative ecosystem which uses real-time data (eg: movie showtimes and nearest cinema location) from the cinema operators and displays it interactively on 100 digital bus shelter screens islandwide. Finally, to close the journey, through #AvengersSG we’ll direct commuters immediately to the Marvel Messenger chatbot where they can buy the ticket on the spot, with no waiting time.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

For Disney, a key challenge is being a box office-driven business but being a step removed from ticket sales, as that lies with exhibitors. To close the gap between the media buys and ticket purchase, we brought the box office into media placements driving consideration and purchase via media partnerships and platform innovation. The strategy was to take an innovative offline-to-online approach that not only will help to drive footfall to specific cinema locations, but it also allows the brand to tap into consumer’s impromptu decision making, engaging with digital media placements while waiting and thus driving consideration and purchase while providing a seamless experience to own media channels through cross-platform innovation.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

From the first day of the movie release, the communication featuring all five cinema operators’ API live feeds to display the actual movie showtimes. Screens will be again customized through geo-fencing, each bus shelter location will be paired with the nearest two cinemas, enabling to see real-time movie ticketing status for 2 weeks. Each showtime was color-coded according to their status Using new-to-market technology partner Jumper.ai, we built an ecosystem where people could engage with Disney content on social and put a brand-relevant pre-set hashtag in the comments (#AvengersSG)

List the results (30% of vote)

The cross-platform campaign Avengers: Endwait triggered purchases directing it to Disney’s social media ecosystem, connecting content directly to box office results and raising overall media efficiency through greater engagement: - 11% increase in visits in the nearby theatres - 20% Increase in ticket sales - 35% Increase in chatbot bookings - 126% increase in Attention Time - 267K Media Impressions - Biggest Opening Weekend Ever in Singapore - Number 1 Box Office Opening of all time