CASE STUDY
Re-election
Independent Film Marketing Across Theatrical & VOD Release
How do you turn theatrical awareness into sustained momentum for a film’s digital release?
Independent film marketing becomes more powerful when each release window builds on the last. For Re-Election, Vanquish Media Group combined social media, grassroots collaborations, cast activation, paid media, and web support to build awareness for the theatrical release, then used that audience intelligence and engagement to drive the film’s VOD campaign.
THE OVERVIEW
Building Audience Momentum Across Multiple Release Windows
Re-Election is a wry, warm coming-of-middle-age comedy about Jimmy, a forty-something underdog who returns to high school to rewrite his past and finally win the class-president election he never could. The film stars Adam Saunders alongside Bex Taylor-Klaus, Kym Whitley, Tony Danza, Rizwan Manji, Patty Guggenheim, Nathalie Kelley, and others.
Its mix of nostalgia, comedy, second chances, and recognizable ensemble talent created multiple opportunities for audience development. But the campaign also needed to do more than introduce the film.
VMG’s Film Marketing strategy was built across two connected release windows: establishing awareness and ticketing momentum for the October 2025 theatrical release, then converting that existing audience into renewed attention and action when Re-Election moved to VOD in December.
THE CHALLENGE
Turning Theatrical Awareness Into Long-Term Audience Value
The campaign needed to introduce Re-Election, establish its comedic identity, activate cast and community audiences, and drive theatrical discovery across priority markets.
But theatrical release was only the first stage.
When the film transitioned to VOD, the challenge became maintaining momentum without starting the marketing cycle over. VMG needed to determine which audiences, creative, platforms, and campaign signals had already demonstrated interest and use those insights to reach higher-intent viewers during digital release.
The goal was to make each release window strengthen the next.
OUR SOLUTIONS
An Integrated Theatrical-to-VOD Film Marketing Strategy
VMG connected social media, grassroots outreach, cast participation, paid media, and audience retargeting across both release phases.
Character-driven content, behind-the-scenes moments, custom video, press coverage, and cast collaborations established the film’s social identity. Grassroots outreach expanded discovery through film communities, creators, fan accounts, entertainment pages, theaters, and aligned partners.
Paid campaigns across Meta, TikTok, and Google supported theatrical awareness and conversion. When Re-Election moved to VOD, VMG used the audience intelligence gathered during theatrical release to strengthen retargeting, refine creative, and prioritize viewers who had already demonstrated interest.
Instead of launching two separate campaigns, VMG created a connected strategy that allowed audience data and campaign learnings to move with the film from theatrical to digital release.
- DIGITAL CAMPAIGN STRATEGY & PLANNING
- SOCIAL MEDIA & COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
- GRASSROOTS & INFLUENCER COLLABORATIONS
- SOCIAL ACTIVATION TOOLKITS
- PAID MEDIA
- WEBSITE
- PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD & REPORTING
Need a similar strategy for your film?
THE RESULTS
Converting Release Momentum Into Higher-Intent Engagement
The theatrical campaign established a substantial audience foundation for Re-Election, generating 3.2M Facebook views, 1M+ Instagram views, and 4.59M in grassroots audience reach.
That foundation became increasingly valuable during VOD. Meta generated 209,862 VOD link clicks at a 5.37% CTR, while the campaign’s highest-intent warm audience reached a 7.34% CTR at just $0.06 CPC.
Rather than rebuilding awareness for digital release, VMG was able to use theatrical audience behavior to make the next phase more targeted and efficient
Carry Your Audience Into the Next Release Window
A theatrical campaign can do more than sell tickets. Done strategically, it creates audience intelligence and momentum that can strengthen every release that follows. Explore Vanquish Media Group’s Film Marketing services or book a discovery call to build a campaign around the full lifecycle of your film.
