Assimilate
Feature film release
Best friends Zach (Joel Courtney), Randy (Calum Worthy), and Kayla (Andi Matichak) discover that their neighbors are being killed and replaced by perfect copies of their victims. Their only chance to survive is to covertly record the invasion in a desperate attempt to warn the world.
The Challenge
We came onto the Assimilate campaign very late in the game. Something like 2 weeks out from release. This was quite the challenge. We needed to drive up enough engagement and awareness for the film to entice audiences. Without a paid media budget we relied heavily on the rising stars within the cast.
our solutions
Our solution was to quickly create an intricate marketing strategy and execution plan. This included identifying proper target audiences and aligned organizations and influencers, successful deployment of curated content, and growing awareness and engagement through social media. The campaign was entirely organic, and we were able to leverage grassroots and social efforts to generate word-of-mouth buzz, and third-party support on aligned platforms. We created a website, along with the appropriate social media handles, and started putting the word out. With the red carpet premiere added on, we were able to generate additional buzz leveraging tickets and passes to interested and engaged fans.
Audience awareness begins with a custom website to gain engagement driven by various marketing efforts. An Engaging and sleek design, allows the audience to visit the page for the information they need as well as checking out any videos, media, or social links the page offers. Also adding ticket links, theater listings, to drive up theatrical or VOD sales.
A successful social media strategy was created to identify and engage audiences through Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. With the film’s lead actors huge followings, leveraging any and all fan bases/accounts, aligned horror films, thrill seekers, podcasts, and aligned blogs, allowed for organic growth and engagement at a good rate.
Along with web design, media and content creation, and marketing strategy, PR efforts were needed for this campaign during its Los Angeles premiere. By providing custom assets such as invites, cast Q&A graphics, and social content, we were able to increase awareness for the film’s red carpet premiere and VOD release. Event invites, and coordinating details were kept up with and updated on a daily basis to ensure a smooth and successful campaign.
the results
Assimilate was released on May 24th of 2019. With an entirely organic campaign we were pleased to see massive cross-platform growth, with total impressions between all platforms sitting at 586k and total engagement at 4.4k. Utilizing the cast’s following the film was able to gain traction and sales while social engagement grew daily. The film continues to enjoy tremendous social engagement and still maintains a haunting place in the cinematic thriller universe.
