Paramount Pictures India & Viacom18 Motion Pictures engage Stephen King fans ahead of Pet Sematary's release!

This month, theatres across India found a new horror movie to entice audiences with. How did people get to the ticketing aisle of Pet Sematary? Here's a glimpse

Even if you are not into the horror genre, chances are that you have heard of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary! The visual piece of his legacy hit the theatres earlier this month. For maximum turnaround on the D Day, the movie was backed by an agile digital marketing plan.

A tale of a pet that returns from the dead, Pet Sematary’s dread and horror was aptly conveyed through a social media strategy that not only created buzz prior to the release but also managed to increase movie’s shelf life.

Sometimes dead is better!

With a multi-pronged approach, the campaign was designed on the key concept of the movie – Sometimes Dead is Better. The idea was to engage with audiences across specters for maximum excitement around the release.  

Paramount Pictures & Viacom18 Motion Pictures reached out to Stephen King fans, horror fans, and movies fans with customized communication for each.

To begin with, customized bookmarks with Pet Sematary branding were hidden in Stephen King & other Horror/thriller genre books in stores across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. A few lucky ones who got their hands on these won tickets to the movie — and of course, they were thankful, online.

The most important set of persons who must know about a new movie are those who watch that genre. The barrier was broken by the team as they paraded around theatres in Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore in the Pet Sematary character costumes, for the benefit of those who were watching 'Us'. Only to scare them… further.

These activities were supported with a concrete social media plan, aimed at creating buzz through thumb-stopping creatives.

Everyone likes to feel exclusive. Imagine being invited to a secret screening of a film of your favorite author. That’s a treat, and why wouldn’t it be? The team keep the social audiences hooked on by opening up the door to a secret screening. This was invite based only & to be a part of it, all you had to do was be a ‘BIG’ fan of Stephen King’s works. Hundreds of entries started flooding in across the country only to add up to the hype of the film.

These activities were supported with a concrete social media plan, aimed at creating buzz through thumb-stopping creatives.

Further, to amplify the reach of the campaign and interact with horror genre enthusiasts, Paramount Pictures collaborated with Terribly Tiny Tales, creating engaging content with #SometimesDeadIsBetter.

Through a strategic approach, Paramount Pictures & Viacom18 Motion Pictures managed to create buzz around the film, reaching the right audience through the right medium and obviously hitting the right kind of reviews for the film.