“An adventure like no other.” – Here’s how a campaign gave Londoners a glimpse of Jurassic World! [Thursdays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Today is another day for “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
We’re excited to share with you another brilliant marketing stunt.
According to Jay Conrad Levinson, guerrilla marketing is unconventional. It’s engaging, easy to execute, and sometimes, inexpensive. Campaigns of this type make a huge impact and easily stick to consumers’ minds.
In today’s article, let’s talk about a clever and immersive marketing tactic for a 2018 science-fiction film.
Continue reading below to know how this campaign captured the public’s attention and compelled them to watch the movie in cinemas.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing
Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Velociraptor.
Brontosaurus.
Do you believe these kinds of dinosaurs—and more—existed millions of years ago?
According to paleontologists, dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles that first appeared during the Triassic Period. However, the exact origin, evolution, and extinction of these creatures are still subject to active research.
The first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early 19th century. Paleontologist Sir Richard Owen coined the term, “dinosaur” to refer to the creatures as the “Great Fossil Lizards.”
Since then, mounted fossil dinosaur skeletons have been major attractions at museums worldwide, and they’ve become an enduring part of popular culture.
The large sizes of dinosaurs, as well as their seemingly monstrous and fantastic nature, have also ensured their regular appearance in bestselling books and films.
Two of these bestselling films?
Jurassic Park and Jurassic World!
Photo from CBR
“Jurassic Park” is the 1993 American science-fiction film franchise that brought the dinosaurs back to life. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movies are based on the novel of the same name by author Michael Crichton.
The first “Jurassic Park” film is set on the fictional island of Isla Nubar, where wealthy businessman John Hammond and his team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs.
When an industrial sabotage leads to a shutdown of the park’s power facilities and safety precautions, a group of visitors and Hammond’s grandchildren do all their best to survive and escape the perilous island.
Meanwhile, “Jurassic World” is the 2015 American science-fiction film set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park. It takes place on the same fictional island of Isla Nubar, where a successful theme park of cloned dinosaurs has operated for years, bringing Hammond’s dreams to fruition.
The park turns into chaos when a transgenic dinosaur escapes from its enclosure and goes on a rampage.
Two sequels have been released under the “Jurassic World” trilogy: “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018) and “Jurassic World: Dominion” (2022).
The Rise of the “Fallen Kingdom”
In our past “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing” articles, we discussed how some movies and TV series used guerrilla marketing tactics to capture the attention of the public. These articles featured the promotional strategies for:
- IT
- Red Sparrow
- Trese
- Red Notice
- Ghostbusters (the 2016 reboot)
… and more.
Now, we’ll feature the guerrilla marketing campaign created for the second installment of the “Jurassic World” trilogy: The “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”
Photo from Posters.es
In May 2018, Universal Pictures pulled out the stops as the film’s dinosaurs got ready to take over cinemas on June 6, 2018.
Partnering with marketing agencies MediaCom and JCDecaux, the entertainment company surprised Londoners with its biggest-ever marketing and publicity campaign yet!
Let’s take a look at what Universal Pictures, MediaCom, and JCDecaux did to get the word out about the film:
- T-Rex Spotted on the Thames River
One early morning in May 2018, Londoners were surprised to see a life-sized fake T-Rex caged in a cargo ship on the Thames River.
While the cage seemed to keep the dinosaur harmless, the gigantic creature managed to put its head out in the open, capturing the attention of people in the area.
People walking along the Thames did a double take when they saw the fake T-Rex. Some immediately took photos and shared it on social media!
The campaign team did a great job conducting the stunt in the area. After all, the Thames River winds through London and on its banks rest many of the city’s biggest and busiest tourist spots like the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the Globe Theatre, and the Tower of London.
As a result, the simple stunt generated maximum visibility in the city!
- London City Hall T-Rex and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” Cast Appearance
After creating buzz through the fake T-Rex floating on London’s iconic river, the campaign team brought their marketing prowess to London’s city hall.
In front of the office building, staff from MediaCom and JCDecaux set up a giant T-Rex so people could take photos beside the iconic figure.
What’s more?
Londoners got their second dose of surprise as the film’s cast—Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Jeff Goldblum—and director J.A. Bayona made an appearance on site!
This stunt managed to get people more hyped about the film while they took selfies with the cast and the T-Rex statue.
- King’s Cross Domination
Displaying a fake T-Rex on Thames River and surprising people at London’s city hall with a T-Rex statue and the cast’s appearance weren’t all that the campaign team had up their sleeves.
In the last 2 weeks of May 2018, the team also took over London’s King’s Cross Station and turned it into a “Jurassic World”-inspired place!
Once the train station was closed on May 20, 2018, the campaign team immediately did their work and installed giant T-Rex and Raptor statues in the middle of the station. There was a gyrosphere beside the statues where people could sit and take photos with the dinosaurs.
The campaign team further enhanced the immersive experience through “Jurassic World”-related lights and sounds. Digital screens that showed the movie’s trailer and a VR (virtual reality) station were also placed in the station’s main tube/rail interchange.
Was the guerrilla marketing campaign for the “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” movie effective?
Thousands of Londoners and commuters stopped on their tracks upon encountering the film’s guerrilla marketing stunts. A lot of them posted photos on social media and talked about their amazing and immersive experiences from the campaign installations.
These were the results of the campaign:
- The campaign domination at King’s Cross Station garnered a total of 60 million social media impressions.
- The fake T-Rex on the Thames River, accompanied by the hashtag, #JurassicLondon, became a trending topic on Twitter for a week in May 2018. It was also talked about in one episode of the comedy talk show, “The Graham Norton Show.”
- Over 100,000 people flocked to London’s city hall upon hearing that there was a promotional stunt for the 2018 film in the area. Many of them wanted to witness the campaign firsthand and see the cast members in the flesh.
- Several film critics lauded the guerrilla marketing campaign. They acknowledged the campaign team’s all-out efforts to raise awareness about the new movie.
- The marketing stunt was featured in various articles published by Total Film, CinemaBlend, Dread Central, and more.
These results show that the guerrilla marketing strategy effectively helped generate excitement about the “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” movie. It didn’t only generate buzz but also encouraged people to see what the film has in store for them in cinemas worldwide!
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Some of the things that made the campaign effective were the element of surprise and the campaign team’s ability to provide an “adventure like no other.”
Think about this: Many Londoners were used to their daily lives in the city. For some of them, it’s an ordinary scene to be walking along the Thames River, or around the city hall or the King’s Cross Station.
However, thanks to the “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” campaign, the ordinary became extraordinary! What was usually a normal day for people became a day filled with fun and immersive experiences.
Besides, the campaign team took advantage of the actual absence of dinosaurs in real life to pique curiosity and capture the attention of the public.
By creating and displaying statues of these gigantic creatures, Universal Pictures, MediaCom, and JCDecaux sparked people’s imagination, compelling them to think of a world where humans and dinosaurs coexist, and what it would be like if dinosaurs re-existed—the core of the 2018 film.
Get inspired with today’s guerrilla marketing feature!
Like the campaign team for the “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” you and your brand can also succeed in attracting your customers and prospects with an out-of-the-box marketing strategy.
It’s time to make history in your industry… and if it’s in line with your brand’s reputation, start planning your own guerrilla marketing tactics and go ALL OUT!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers, and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Thursday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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