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Movie Marketing

Stree 2 promotions invoke old spells from the marketing playbook

Relying on the success and cultural relevance of its predecessor, Stree 2’s marketing focused heavily on on-ground initiatives to spellbound its fans. The cast’s popularity on social media was harnessed with the help of various content formats to keep digital natives engaged.

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Harshal Thakur
New Update
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The much-awaited sequel to the 2018 horror comedy film, Stree, hits theatres on 15th August. The fifth instalment in the Maddock Supernatural Universe, it features Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana returning as their original characters. 

While director Amar Kaushik announced plans for a sequel back in 2018, the film did not go on floors in the subsequent years. It was in 2022 that the sequel was confirmed. 

Being already an anticipated sequel, the marketing of the film just needed to leverage the prior momentum and build on it to amplify communication. A variety of avenues were explored to reach different cohorts of audiences. 

Creating sparks with music

The teaser for Stree 2 debuted in theatres during the end credits of Munjya on June 14 and was subsequently shared on social media on June 25, 2024. The film's trailer, released on July 18, 2024, garnered over 100 million views across various platforms within 24 hours.

A key focal point of Stree 2’s marketing was the song ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ featuring Tamannaah Bhatia. In the following days of the song’s release, it trended #1 on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. To date the song has garnered 82 million views on YouTube.

Subsequently, the song ‘Aayi Nai’ was released, which too, trended #1 on YouTuber.

BTS clips from the songs were posted on social media to give an inside glimpse of their making process.

Taking the social pulse 

Stree 2’s marketing focused on leveraging the social media presence of its stars as well as the production houses. Memes featuring popular templates were posted on social media incorporating elements and themes from the film to generate engagement. 

Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor shared videos of their own to ramp up excitement.

Further, Maddock films also collaborated with the popular social media character of ‘Ganji Chudail’. This collaboration seamlessly incorporated the horror elements of the film.

Other collaborations included the ones with PVR Cinemas and Paytm Tickets. PVR Cinemas also launched contests to propel engagement and hosted a meet and greet with the cast in Delhi.

Painting the town red

Stree 2’s marketing heavily focused on on-ground initiatives and activations to drive its promotional efforts. The cast travelled to cities across the country to meet fans and attended events in Lucknow, Kolkata, Jaipur, Delhi, and Mumbai. 

Shraddha Kapoor made it to the headlines for wearing a new custom red-themed outfit at every event she attended.

The promotions also went outside the country as activations for the film were seen at the Canada South Asian Festival in Toronto, Canada.

The cast also appeared on the grand finale of Bigg Boss OTT 3 leveraging the show’s popularity.

The cast also went on an interview spree promoting the film on various digital channels and sharing details about its making.

Stree’s return to the cinema was marked by significant promotional efforts. The marketing strategy of the film involved multiple on-ground appearances across India. Along with that, social media was used to tap into the cultural zeitgeist. The exclusive premieres in multiple cities signified the balance between online and on-ground marketing with the dial leaning slightly in the direction of offline efforts.  

marketing strategy Shraddha Kapoor BTS rajkummar rao Tamannaah Bhatia on-ground marketing