An Executive Plan for Disney’s Cruella
Disney’s Cruella is set to be released in theatres on May 28, 2021. I developed a scenario in which I planned (as best I could) the social media campaign for this upcoming film. In our scenario, the campaign has developed a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART) goal. The plan is to develop and execute a plan of action based on the SMART goals. In order to ensure success, the campaign has taken the business environment into consideration, including issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Disney’s video on demand application, Disney+.
The campaign will use a multi-platform approach with varying content aimed at specific portions of the target market in order to increase the film’s social media engagement. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok will give the campaign the needed reach to drive up attendance and streaming numbers. The campaign plans to enlist the help of influencers in order to further the campaign’s objectives. To determine the efficacy and success of these measures, the campaign will use traditional social media monitoring of campaign posts and advertisements, but will also use the help of Falcon.io, a social media tool designed to gather social media listening data and visualize it for analysis.
The campaign wants to support the made up (but reasonable) goal of a $50 million box office weekend for the weekend of May 28, 2021. To support this, the campaign’s goal is to increase the film’s social media likes by 5% each week on all platforms, and to increase comments and other engagement by 5% each week from the pre-event until opening weekend (the event). During the post-event, the goal of the campaign is to increase engagement by 10% for the week after the film’s release. Engagement will include comments, shares, and use of hashtags from the campaign.
Defined voice for the campaign is important, as the character appears different in all three of the trailers that Disney has produced thus far. Disney’s voice for the campaign should reflect the character’s rise to prominence, her willingness to stand up for herself, and should contain subtle touches on the empowerment of women. Maintaining the voice expressed in the third Cruella trailer will allow for consistency without detracting from the main character, Cruella.
The campaign will push three hashtags. “#Cruella” is the main hashtag for monitoring discussion on the campaign, while “#CruellaInCinema” and “#CruellaPremierAccess”, when used by the audience, will tell Disney who is watching or planning to watch the film in a theater or watch the film at home.
Three phases of promotions will be used, covering the pre-release, the film’s release, and the post-release. The content used in advertising will promote the film with a consistent voice across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
The pre-release phase will introduce the film and make it known to the audience that the film is coming. Some of this introduction may trigger a sense of nostalgia in some of the audience, and in others it will trigger curiosity towards the story of the 101 Dalmatians villain.
The release phase will take place from the Wednesday before the film’s release through the whole first weekend, and is designed to drive the film’s success as it competes with other events of the anticipated Memorial Day weekend. The campaign will also highlight the film’s availability in theaters in an effort to drive up box office numbers.
The third phase of the campaign, the post-release phase will attempt to build a “fear of missing out” (FOMO) sentiment among the audience. The campaign will continue to push through the post-release for the first week after the release phase ends.
The upcoming film Cruella will require a solid social media campaign to help Disney meet its revenue goals and to begin recouping lost money from the COVID-19 pandemic. This campaign is designed to push consumers towards watching the film in theaters, as more and more Americans begin to receive their vaccinations. The campaign will appeal to a target audience of women between ages 16 and 45 with varying motives, from nostalgia to interest in films covering the development of a female villain. The campaign’s SMART goals are founded in the desire to increase engagement on all platforms gradually until the film’s release. Given the tools, platforms, and influencers needed to succeed, the campaign believes that Cruella can be the first blockbuster of 2021.
