Me Before You
Targeted Word-Of-Mouth Screenings
The Challenge
Warner Bros entertainment had a great film their hands. A film that would drive very positive word-of-mouth with the right audience. But with the wrong audience would have a very negative impact. A specific demographic was required to see the film before release to impact opening weekend box office. We needed an audience of young chatterboxes who would be moved by the emotion of the film. We needed people who hadn't read the book but who liked other films of a similar nature.
The Solution
We proposed a two-pronged approach. Firstly we would recruit hairdressers and beauticians in and around the location of the cinemas we were booking for the screening programme. Using digital and physical outreach we targeted salons and freelancers within a 5-mile radius of our cinemas. He invited them with secure private links that couldn't be shared outside of our invited circle.
Secondly we segmented our own database to find any members who had seen and enjoyed one of a collection of titles we shortlisted with the client.
We used a staggered approach to screenings, allowing each wave of invitees to invite a friend to the next wave if they reacted positively to the film, and incentivising social posting to help the word of mouth to build organically.
The Result
A UK opening weekend box office of £1.8m million and lifetime of £8.75m with much of it attributed to positive word-of-mouth. And the director was very happy to have heard the gossip of the preview screenings on an impromptu visit to her local hairdresser.