THE MASSACRE OF KINGDOM

Silver Spike

Case Film

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TitleTHE MASSACRE OF KINGDOM
BrandNETFLIX
Product / ServiceNETFLIX KINGDOM
CategoryA08. Live Brand Experience
EntrantTHE GLUE SOCIETY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation WIEDEN+KENNEDY TOKYO, JAPAN
Production REVOLVER Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production 2 SKETCHEDSPACE Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
Additional Company THE GLUE SOCIETY Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Scott Dungate Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Executive Creative Director
Jordi Luna Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Creative Director
Sol Oh Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Art Director
So Hyun An, Devin Altman, Max Cameron Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Copywriter
Kerli Teo Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Head of Production
Jennifer Chien, Siyun Kim Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Agency Producer
Shinya Kamata, Ara Jo, Liwon Kim, Yurie Wiles, Ryan Johnson Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Account Team
Justin Lam Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Comms Planner
Jacob Kim, Eiji Iwakawa, Vinod Vijayasankaran Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Editor
Donna Kwon Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Designer
Ryan Fisher Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Managing Director
The Glue Society Revolver Director
Aaron Younglae Cho sketchedSPACE Executive Producer
Michael Ritchie Revolver Managing Director/Co-Owner
Pip Smart Revolver Executive Producer/Partner
Jasmin Helliar Revolver Executive Producer
Jongmin Jung, Sara Jiwon Liu sketchedSPACE Production Assistant
Yeon Bun sketchedSPACE Illustration Artist
Jane JaeEun Lee, Woobin Jang sketchedSPACE Production Manager
Tamon Fujimi, Junya Terui, Rick Sakurai, Yuhki Kurihara, Sayaka Massive Music Sound Design/Music
Ryuzaki (Mockumentary) sketchedSPACE Sound Design/Music
Jon Clarke, Lou Ellen (360 Video) Factory Studios Sound Design/Music
Jiwon Lee sketchedSPACE Sound Design/Music
Edward Kim sketchedSPACE Web Development
Yoobin Park, Seunghyun Lee sketchedSPACE Print Design
Kyung Roh sketchedSPACE Photographer
Nam Cho sketchedSPACE Producer (Mockumentary + 360 Video)
Song Kyung-A sketchedSPACE Actress(Mockumentary / 360)
David Riley sketchedSPACE VO

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

‘Kingdom’ is the #1 Korean series on Netflix.On the back of this great success, the ambition for Netflix is to take ‘Kingdom’ to the next level - franchising it out into other IP, games and series, based in the history and lore of ‘Kingdom’. This work was a crucial keystone in that expansion of the ‘Kingdom’ world.This exhibition took Netflix out of people’s homes, and brought it into the real world in a way that has never been done at such scale before.Proving again, that Netflix is a brand capable of delivering unique, memorable and conversation-worthy experiences to its customers.

Background

The Netflix Original series, ‘Kingdom’, is a fictional story set hundreds of years ago, in Joseon-era Korea. A plague of the undead ravages the land, creating political turmoil within a rich historical context. But what if that story was actually historical fact? The brief from Netflix was to create a rich and rewarding multidimensional experience for the existing massive Kingdom fan base, both in Korea and abroad. This event was particularly important in positioning Netflix as a brand that is culturally relevant, understands fans, and rewards them with experiences that competitors aren’t capable of. This project was also a crucial keystone to start building the franchise as the biggest Netflix Original IP in Korea.

Describe the creative idea

With ‘Kingdom’ already the #1 series on Netflix in Korea, the premiere of the second season in 2020 presented an opportunity to build on the global hype surrounding the show, build brand love and drive further subscribers & superfans to Netflix. Recognising this, we tapped into the audience insight of an incredibly engaged fan base, and built ‘The Massacre of Kingdom’ - a three-story museum of historical artifacts in Seoul. In this archaeology museum, the story of ‘Kingdom’ played out as real-life-history. Three floors of exquisitely presented artifacts, were re-created true to the narrative, and the period. Fans of the show were invited to come explore and interact with the rich history of ‘Kingdom’ in a world where fiction becomes reality.

Describe the strategy

The show already had millions of fans. The real goal here was to take those fans and turn them into super-fans. This both set the stage for Season 2, but also future expansions of the Kingdom IP to come. By making the fictional world of Kingdom something tangible - a real part of Korea’s untold history, we could cement the stories and lore of the ‘Kingdom’ series as something that felt real. This allowed us to break the division between truth and fiction, and bring fans closer to the show’s detailed world than ever before. And beyond all that, there’s the pure entertainment factor - giving the fans something great, memorable and conversation-worthy.

Describe the execution

Over six months, we took the concept from idea to execution. With constant remote collaboration (due to COVID19) between Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney we were collectively able to realise an exquisite level of craft, creating relics with traditional techniques authentic to the time period. Every detail had to live up the quality and precision of a real museum. From hand-painted scrolls, blown glass and mummified artifacts, to a traditionally carved wooden pagoda – decimated by fire. The lucky visitors were able to study the relics up close in gruesome detail. This intimate study set them up for one final twist... The Undead Artifacts, which awoke from their motionless states, with a deadly hunger for human flesh. *COVID19 safety protocols were followed to ensure the utmost safety for visitors and zombies alike.

Describe the outcome

Tickets sold out within hours. We filled 18 days of booking slots in less than a day, prompting extended hours of operation.Thousands of fans had the chance to experience the exhibition in person - safely spaced for COVID conditions.Lead actors from the series also stopped by - stunned by the level of detail.For those that unable to attend the event in person, a 360 degree video experience ensured fans wouldn’t miss out.To enable a broader audience access, we also launched the film ‘The Massacre of Kingdom Documentary’ explaining the events of ‘Kingdom’, recast as an actual historical event.The website saw more than 100,000 unique visitors. With the exhibition receiving rave reviews, local and international press, and front page coverage on Korea’s #1website.Social media was alight with thousands of images, videos, tags and mentions across various platforms. Resulting in millions of social impressions, and Netflix brand sentiment reaching a historic high.

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