Are they birds? Are they planes? No they are 1,580 insane people dressed as blooming superheroes! Yes that’s right, the record for the most amount of people dressed as superheroes was set by 1,580 dedicated fans at an event organised by DreamWorks Animations.
The event was held in October 2012 to promote the release of the DreamWorks movie Megamind starring Brad Pitt, Will Ferrell and Tina Fey. Whilst this record might seem a bit silly to some people, this activity actually turned out to be a hugely successful experiential marketing campaign.
Engaging Fans and Saving the World!
Megamind is an animated superhero comedy and a fun adventure for all of the family. So what better way to promote the release than something fun, humorous and a tad out of this world? To launch the movie, DreamWorks announced their MegaMonth an official period dedicated to huge events all around the United States. The ambition was to generate excitement ahead of the film’s release and boost ticket sales amongst audiences. To kick things off, the people at DreamWorks wanted to host an event that would live up to the tag of ‘mega.’
As with most experiential marketing campaigns, the involvement of Guinness World Records will significantly boost the chances of recognition and success. DreamWorks realised the appeal and profile a Guinness World Record could achieve and therefore turned to them to help connect fans with the film’s stars.
Perfect Execution and Desired Media Coverage
The publicity generated before the event raised consumer excitement significantly; causing hundreds of superhero enthusiasts to pour into L.A. Live (the biggest entertainment complex in Los Angeles). Will Ferrell himself was involved largely in the pre-event build up and was part of the record itself. dressed in a full Megamind outfit and leading the event.
The rules were simple – turn up dressed as your favourite and easily recognisable hero, making sure your chosen hero has appeared in a book, comic, film or television programme. The achievement was officiated and verified by Guinness World Records adjudicator Stuart Claxon, who presented the certificate immediately after the event had finished. With 13 stories broadcast worldwide, 58 websites covering the story online and a total number of 54 million impressions made the event was considered a huge success.
Guinness and DreamWorks Working Together
When it comes to advertising and marketing, there really is no better way of promoting your product than getting your fan base and potential consumers involved with something linked to your product. If you can make this involvement fun and interesting too, then the chances of success are increased significantly, especially if you are able to broadcast the results online.
With the aid of the immensely popular Guinness World Records, DreamWorks Animations were able to do just this and offer something incredibly entertaining and different for their fans. With so many available options in terms of setting records, this type of marketing technique can work for any brand, company or industry with fantastic results. So don’t just rely on old-worldly methods such as printed media or radio adverts. Be a hero change the world and do something different! Holy marketing campaigns, Batman!
About the Author: JonJon Yeung
JonJon Yeung loves to write about current trends in marketing & social media. Here’s a fun post about heroes, follow him for more adventures!