Disney’s Cruella

Overview

Disney’s new live action, Cruella, is set to be released on May, 28, 2021. The movie will be out in theaters and streaming on Disney+ for a one time premier fee. The film stars Emma Stone (Cruella) and will add to the long list of live action films based on Disney animated originals. Nowaways, marketing on social media is just as important as marketing anywhere else. This marketing plan will outline how Cruella will be introduced on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter. The plan will be organized by pre-event, during-event, and post-event strategies. Followed by figures and examples of each planned post. The goal of these marketing efforts is to curve the perception of Disney+. With recent releases, subscribers did not prefer to pay additional premier fees on top of the set monthly price they already pay. This campaign will encourage fans to subscribe to the service while making it worth their while.

SMART Goals

The goal is to create and grow a loyal fanbase and drive sales for Disney+. After the negative responses on additional fees to see new movies on a service people are already paying for, it is important for Disney to improve and adapt. There’s a global pandemic happening. Showing brand new films on Disney+ is indeed adapting to the norm. But the goal here is to take it a step forward. To change the strategy and make it worth the customer’s while so they get something they feel is fair. The first step to that is getting the word out.

Campaign

The platforms for this marketing will be Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter. Instagram will highlight photo based advertisements. The target market for this app will be Disney+ subscribers and future potential subscribers. Instagram has users of all ages. But most subscribers are probably 18+.

Videos such as trailers and interviews will be posted on Tik Tok. Since Instagram is more photo appropriate, Tik Tok will be priority for video content. Disney+ isn’t the only way to see the film. It will also be released in theaters, which teens are probably still attending with their friends. Tik Tok is for all ages but it is a trendy, teen app. The Tik Tok posts are meant to seek out that demographic and even older, familiar fans with the Cruella interview content planned.

The target market for Twitter are potential viewers with shorter attention spans of all demographics. The whole idea of Twitter is getting your thoughts out in a quick way. So, short captions and videos only. Instead of the one-and-a-half-minute preview that are shared on Instagram, Twitter will post two 30 second clips of the trailer. These trailers will advertise Disney+ at the end.

The voice of this campaign is going to be straight forward. It’s Cruella, but it’s also Disney. Don’t want too friendly of a voice. But still want to bring people in.

Nowadays, influencers are huge part of getting the word out on social media. Using their brands and credibility to push Cruella could make a real difference. For this film, the plan is to reach out to influencers from three different levels (mid-tier, macro, mega). The reasoning behind this is to reach as many demographics as possible. Some examples of influencers to use are Francis Dominic (@francisdominiic — 86.5K), Courtney Quinn (@colormecourtney — 751K), and Snitchery (@snitchery — 1.1M). Francis is a Disney/theme parks influencer. Courtney is a color and fashion influencer with her own Disney account on the side. Snitchery is a professional cosplayer and artists with many years and looks under her belt. These are all people who could use their creative gifts in partnership with Disney in effective ways.

Sources:

DisneyMovieTrailers. (2021, February 17). Disney’s Cruella | Official Trailer. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmRKv7n2If8.

EnertainmentTonight. (2021, January 31). ALL THREE Cruella de Vil Actresses Talk Playing The Iconic 101 Dalmatians Villain. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C9jP54W74g.

Solsman, J. E. (nd.). Mulan’s 2020 online release: Everything to know. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/news/mulan-disney-plus-free-2020-movie-new-live-action/#:~:text=When%20was%20Mulan's%20release%20date,Disney%20Plus%20on%20Sept.%204.

Spellberg, C. (2021, February 12). When Will ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Be Free on Disney+? Decider. https://decider.com/2021/02/10/raya-and-the-last-dragon-free-disney-plus/.

Stream Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic. Disney+. (n.d.). https://www.disneyplus.com/.