Business Challenges and Campaign Objectives
Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment in a massive movie franchise, was coming to theatres worldwide. To communicate to audiences that this was the must-see movie event of the summer, Paramount Pictures was looking for key partners which could help enhance the film and the film’s marketing efforts to the core 18–30 audience and beyond.
China has become the largest box office market in the world. In China, studios face restrictions in marketing films to local audiences. To grab the attention of Chinese consumers, Coca-Cola was identified as a top brand the studio could leverage to deliver the message that Transformers: The Last Knight was coming to cinemas. Partnering with Coca-Cola allowed the movie to be promoted across the country well before Paramount could officially promote the film release by using theatrical materials.
Insights and Strategy
Paramount Pictures’ strategy was to align with Coca-Cola and leverage reach and channels to tease while promoting the pending release. Timing of the campaign was mutually beneficial because Coca-Cola wanted to use something extraordinary to launch new “sleek” design cans in China.
Concept/Big Idea
The “TRANSFORMational” concept was to develop the largest promotional campaign ever activated on any movie, in any market, by leveraging the iconic Transformers movie characters to give the new Coca-Cola sleek can product an emotional edge.
The cornerstone of the co-branded campaign included a custom spot by Transformers’ movie director on TV, in movies, and on the web. It featured one of the film’s main and most beloved robot characters, Bumblebee (in custom CG), on the streets of Shanghai. The spot showcased the extraordinary special effects and large-scale action seen in the film while underscoring the lighthearted themes of the movie (and of the Coca-Cola brand) by highlighting a shared moment between Bumblebee and the heroine of the commercial.
Key Tactics
Coca-Cola supported the launch of the new cans and the Transformers: The Last Knight co-promotional campaign with a massive media buy for the custom spots. Over 280 million cans of Coca-Cola product were printed with robot characters from the movie, and larger-than-life displays were created and featured in over 71,000 retail locations throughout mainland China.
Results
The partnership campaign resulted in millions of increased impressions against the film’s target demographic through high-profile television spots run by Coke over an eight-week period, with an unprecedented media spend. Coca-Cola’s in-cinema spot, digital buy, and retail advertising in 71,000 high-traffic locations provided further reach that drove interest in and anticipation for the film release. For Coca-Cola, leveraging the beloved and globally popular Transformers movie franchise awarded the company a competitive edge among product rivals in the key summer season. This garnered significant gains in consumer and trade traction. Products could hardly be kept on shelves and were seen as highly covetable and collectible “must-haves.”
Source
“Transformers: The Last Knight Movie — Coca-Cola China.” 2018 REGGIE Awards Silver, International/Global Campaigns. Brand: Paramount. Lead Agency: Paramount.
- April 16, 2018
Paramount built anticipation for the release of the film Transformers: The Last Knight in China by partnering with the world’s largest beverage brand, Coca-Cola. Both companies leveraged the film’s iconic reach as a way to launch the new “sleek” Coke can in China.
Brand: Paramount
Lead Agency: Paramount
Award Level: Silver
Year: 2018
Categories: International/Global Campaigns
Campaign Summary
Paramount Pictures and Coca-Cola partnered on the theatrical release of Transformers: The Last Knight in China to create an extraordinary and unique co-branded campaign. The campaign featured a custom TV spot by Transformers’ movie director, Michael Bay, who brought Hollywood movie magic to the streets of Shanghai and further into the homes of millions of Chinese consumers. The brand spent a massive amount in “above the line” media across TV, digital, cinema, and social channels.
Alongside the release, 280 million new “sleek” beverage product cans were printed with robot characters from the movie, and larger-than-life displays were placed in over 71,000 retailers throughout mainland China. This gave the brand a competitive edge over other beverage brands. The studio garnered further reach in locations not covered by traditional theatrical advertising.
