Black Panther

Saturation marketing

Curran and Seaton

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Disney’s conglomerate global status enables them to engage in “saturation marketing”, a strategy used by high-profile conglomerates to create hype and uplift for a film prior to its opening weekend release. Saturation marketing is used, principally, to drive word-of-mouth endorsements. 

Disney’s television advertising spend, for example, helped ensure that Black Panther became an ‘event’ release, in 2016. With over $37 million spent on US national TV advertising alone the deep pockets of the Disney backed product helped secure maximum brand visibility for the product. Moreover, only a company with the economic clout of Disney could secure lucrative advertising slots during premium events like the American Super Bowl. 

Disney’s expertise also extends to its use of below the line advertising, with BP securing 330 million active interactions for their #wakanda hashtag campaign - making it the most tweeted about movie of all time. Similarly, Disney's global multisector clout helped secure personal appearances for the film’s stars in Time and Variety magazine. 

The overall effect of the Black Panther’s 360 degree marketing campaign was staggering. Over $404 million was earned in the first 10 days of the release, while the film’s long-term revenue is a record-breaking $1.3 billion.

360 degree marketing

Marketing that uses all possible means to engage and nurture customer interest. 360 campaigns use traditional advertising (trailers & print) alongside social media to maximise customer engagement.

Media terminology used

Below the line marketing

BTL marketing constructs a personal engagement with audiences via the use of guerilla marketing tactics and social media led campaigns. It can also be relatively inexpensive in terms of cost.

Word of mouth

Publicity generated for a media product that is spread from person-to-person. It is often suggested that WOM is the most effective marketing tool available to advertisers.