The Mandalorian and Grogu: The Force Is Strong With DooH

The right place at the right time: One of the biggest strengths of modern DooH is contextualization. Programmatic booking allows to adapt advertising to certain triggers, like weather or very specific times.

But sometimes, campaigns need more than technology to let the creative really shine. Sometimes you need to put in the extra work. A great example for this is the Disney/Lucasfilm campaign to promote the new Star Wars Film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, which hit theatres in North America last month.

For this, Disney Studios Canada launched a DooH campaign that was placed closest to the most popular theatres around Canada. The creative was typically the movie poster with some motion added and an arrow moving towards the direction of the nearby theatre, featuring the Mandalorian motto “This is the way.”

A unique fan experience

But in addition, they wanted to have a unique real-world experience for the fans, and they chose Sankofa Square in Toronto, the “Times Square of Canada”, as the destination.

For this, they matched the fountain of the square to the creative in a 24 hour digital takeover: When Grogu appeared on the big screen, he raised his hands, and the fountain would go up, making it look like the character uses the force to control the elements in real life.

When invidis talked to Corey Tucker, Creative Lead & Manager at The Walt Disney Company in Canada, he explained that he was inspired by a site visit. Having used Sankofa Square to promote other movies, he was familiar with the environment surrounding the digital billboards. “Although the fountains weren’t active, I could see that the direction of the main screen was directly opposite where the fountains reside and the big idea just came jumping out at me,”, says Tucker.

Engineering it out

To realize his vision, Tucker worked directly with the engineer ofSankofa Square: “I explained what I wanted to achieve with the fountains and how it was important that the fountains only came up every two minutes for approximately ten seconds. Sebastien, the engineer, then explained how the fountains were powered and what their limitations were for how quickly the water pressure could respond, rise and shut down.”

Given that information, Tucker tailored and edited the footage of Grogu to fit the speed and rhythm of the fountains. After that, he tested the material onsite, tweaking the fountain speed and pressure until it was in snyc with Grogu’s hand motion.

Moving people, collecting likes

The campaign was a resounding success: Close to 100,000 pedestrians and commuters walked through the square during the activation. Disney monitored the location in person to see the reaction and supported the in-person views with extra messaging around the square that the film was playing across the street.

And, almost more important, the impact on the people was visible: “It was nice to see how many people looked up, recorded with their phones and best of all, how many people mimed using the force themselves”, says Tucker.

Also the media echo was a big success: “We received coverage from local outlets, but online is where it really blew up like the Death Star!” They accumulated more than 1 million likes on instagram with a big amount of engagement and shares. Tucker recalls: “The fans really loved it, and an energized fanbase has lead to some great opening weekend sales results at the theatre in that area and across Canada’s biggest market, Toronto.”

For invidis, this is a prime example of how an iconic DooH moment is created, providing a thrilling real-life-experience, which is boosted afterwards through social media visibility. And, just days before the Cannes Lions, a perfect reminder, that creativity and engineering must work together to achieve unique experiences.