Media: Strategy Analysis - Tapping into the competitive spirit.

 
Brand: Alien vs Predator 
Client: 20th Century Fox 
Brief: Position Alien vs Predator as the must-see film of last October 
Target audience: Young men 
Budget: pounds 1.4 million 
 
AGENCIES 
Media: Adam Cherry at Starcom Mediavest 
Creative: Tea Creative (press), PPC (audio-visual) 
Online: Substance 001 
Outdoor: Poster Publicity Limited 

For the release of Alien vs Predator, 20th Century Fox wanted to position the film as the must-see movie in October. It was released in a very competitive period, so the main strength to draw on was the heritage of the Alien and Predator franchises. However, the film was lacking the pull of big Hollywood stars, it was unlikely to receive critical acclaim and its content was not appealing to a mass audience. This was the first time that the two creatures from the sci-fi genre were coming together head-to-head in an epic battle. The target audience of young men are competitive, so the strategy was to stimulate the male competitive instinct.

EXECUTION

POutdoor Outdoor had a vital role to play as young males are always out and about. Domination at football matches was an ideal way to create stand-out and reach males in a competitive environment. The package included every washroom panel and six-sheet in more than 30 stadia. Six perimeter boards and six jumbotron screens were also included.

Bespoke 'voting six-sheets' were created by JCDecaux, inviting consumers to choose who they think would win. The panels had two buttons on them, enabling consumers to vote for either the Alien or Predator. Once pressed, a sound bite from the chosen character played and an LED screen displayed the number of votes logged for each character.

Underground 12-sheets also ran for two weeks before release, providing strong coverage against the target audience in the London region.

In addition to the voting panels, consumers were prompted via the creative on the six- and 12-sheets to vote by text for who they wanted to win.