Disney is using its stockpile of blockbuster franchises to boost advertisement sales.
This week, characters from The Incredibles — which has a sequel out June 15 — will appear as part of a sweepstakes campaign with Clorox. It will be announced via promotional spots on Good Morning America, as well as other digital and social platforms. It’s just one example of Disney’s sweeping efforts to use its franchise characters to generate upfront ad sales.
“We are starting to evolve how we expand engagement around premieres of these movies on our platforms,” Rita Ferro, president of advertising sales for ABC-Disney TV Group, told Variety.
Disney in recent years acquired Lucasfilm and Marvel, giving the entertainment giant a year-long pipeline of blockbusters ranging from Star Wars to the Avengers. The popular characters are bait for advertisers looking to lure trend-conscious consumers. Earlier this year, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther appeared in a Lexus Super Bowl ad and worked with the brand for promotions aired during ABC’s Academy Awards show. The film was also promoted during an NCAA halftime show on Disney-owned ESPN and ABC’s broadcast of its hit show Black-ish.
“The ability to use event programming across all platforms to showcase Black Panther in unique ways not only helped create awareness, but stimulated conversation that created additional earned impressions” Anthy Price, executive vice president of media, integrated marketing, and synergy at The Walt Disney Studios, told Variety.
Another recent example is Disney’s partnership with the Solo Cup Company to advertise the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story on Solo products, including the iconic red cups.
In retrospect, inevitable:
(via @reddit: https://t.co/RNgLOf7zQc) pic.twitter.com/TAYJvgHksX
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) May 7, 2018
According to Variety, Disney is looking to offer clients opportunities to spend across a variety of platforms, including one of its cable channels, Freeform. Whereas ABC tends to draw more female consumers, and ESPN appeals to more men—movies are a safe bet for both.
This year has already seen the arrival of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War — both of which smashed box office records. Next up is Star Wars’ Han Solo later this month, along with Incredibles 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp later this summer.
