3X MOVIES BORROWING FROM THE BRAND STRATEGY PLAYBOOK

The beginning of a new year means one thing: Oscar’s buzz. Hollywood is alive with murmurings of who’ll be there, what they’ll be wearing, and most importantly, who will be the one to bag an iconic golden statuette.

But, beyond awards season, there’s a significant shift happening in film. A change in movie marketing strategies has begun to reshape the landscape of cinema as we know it.

Now, films are becoming more like brands. And instead of asking ‘how do we promote this?’, execs are questioning “how does this fit into culture?”

Here are three movies taking a leaf out of the brand strategy playbook to get audiences looking their way.

“WUTHERING HEIGHTS”: CREATING ANTICIPATION THROUGH CULTURAL DROPS

Like it or not, “Wuthering Heights” is the film on everyone’s lips. Directed by Emerald Fennell, the mind behind the infamous Saltburn, the movie is a modern take on Emily Brontë’s beloved literary classic – starring silver-screen darlings Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as Heathcliff and Cathy.

But more than that, “Wuthering Heights” is a gold-star strategy play that shows what can happen when movies make like a brand and use cultural drops to their advantage.

Set to hit theatres on Valentine’s Day (a clever nod to the cultural calendar), the run-up to the film’s debut has seen minimalistic teasers being fly-postered around cities all over the world. Cryptic billboards scattered across the likes of London, NYC and LA, showed nothing but loaded language – designed to provoke curiosity, speculation and social sharing.

The Charli XCX-backed soundtrack, which is available as a collectable limited edition vinyl, has also been used as a cultural asset, tapping into pop culture and fandoms to amplify hype and clout around the movie. Meanwhile, Elordi and Robbie are everywhere, doing everything from Vogue covers to Architectural Digest interviews to get into the nitty-gritty of WH’s vast BTS content.

Our take:

By borrowing from lifestyle, fashion and music brands, “Wuthering Heights” shows the power of building relevance through sequenced cultural moments. Rather than relying on tired, traditional campaign thinking, it succeeds in creating artefacts, signals and moments – moving beyond cookie-cutter movie messages to craft something audiences (whether fans of the book or not) will really want to engage with.

MARTY SUPREME: CURATING A BRAND WORLD AS A CULTURAL SYSTEM

A Boxing Day box-office smash, Marty Supreme is the latest drop from Uncut Gems director Josh Safdie. It sees Timothée Chalamet take on the role of table tennis up-and-comer Marty Mauser, and broke viewing records worldwide upon its release.

But, rather than going with the typical trailers and junkets on its run-up, Safdie’s team instead opted to have Timmy take part in viral stunts and smart PR pieces to promote the movie – kicking off with the now famous “leaked” Zoom brainstorm. Off the back of its genius, we later saw Chalamet’s giant “orange blimp” idea come to fruition when it flew over U.S cities, as well as him becoming the first person to stand atop the Las Vegas Sphere (which looked like a humongous orange ping pong ball at the time).

Meanwhile, Marty merch was seeded to almost every trendsetter—turning them into walking billboards for the movie—and meme-ready content showed up on socials, including an unexpected nod from British icon, Susan Boyle.

Our take:

More like a brand launch than a movie release, Marty Supreme was a masterclass in how to captivate an audience by subtly tapping into their wants, needs and feeds.

Closely tied to the philosophy of the film, the strategy was built around a singular idea. Each and every stunt set a tone rather than simply describing the plot, in a show of smart thinking that applied brand territory theory in order to make culture a distribution channel.

THE MOMENT: CONTINUING A CULTURAL PHENOMENON

Proving that Brat Summer will literally never die, A24’s new drop ‘The Moment’ sees queen of pop (culture) Charli XCX take on her first official acting role – much to the delight of her swathes of fans.

The meta mockumentary, which follows an alternate-reality Charli struggling with the balance between fame and artistry, is a cool play on the real world. Having premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, more than 50 screenings sold out across key markets, making The Moment A24’s fastest-selling limited release to date. But alongside these ticket sales, the team has been hard at work with tactical marketing plays that engage wider audiences in the run to the film’s full release in February.

Last month, Charli posted a Brat green credit card to her Instagram, which quickly prompted brands like Sephora, Grindr and Byoma to jump in the comments. Part of an IRL series, the cards feature the names of the cast as well as a ‘rip the moment’ slogan on the back – each acting as a collectable keepsake for fans. Since then, we’ve been blessed with endless social content, some even incorporating Gen Z icons and fellow castmates Kylie Jenner and Rachel Sennott alongside Charli in wry skits and snippets.

Our take:

Much like the premise of the film itself, The Moment turns traditional marketing on its head. In its place, we’re treated to edgy and disruptive cultural plays – straight out of the challenger brand handbook.

Rather than attempting to re-enter the zeitgeist with something entirely new, Charli and her team are cleverly prolonging a phenomenon, similar to how brands extend successful drops into yearly re-releases, limited editions and collabs.

It’s a way to ensure longevity without tiring audiences, building long-lasting cultural equity, rather than (ironically) just a Moment.

Words by Emma Cocker, Copywriter.

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