The movie adaptation of novelist John Green?s "The Fault in Our Stars" utilized marketing firm theAmplify and its SharedRank Algorithm to determine that more than 16 million Instagram users interacted about the film. 

As prevalent as social campaigns are these days, it is often wondered what kinds of numbers back up these efforts. The use of targeted influencers drove the conversation, likely helping the film reach $170 million in ticket sales. 

?Our collaboration with 'The Fault in our Stars' was a very small campaign in relation to our other campaigns and overall platform capabilities,? said Justin Rezvani, CEO of theAmplify, Los Angeles. ?While we can?t release specific details, we can say that a recent theatrical campaign with a large movie studio garnered more than one million engagements in likes and comments on Instagram in thirty-six hours.? 

?In order to achieve that type of volume of engagement, we harnessed the power of dozens of influencers across focused affinity categories,? he said. ?Driving more than one million engagements has been one of our most successful campaigns to date, but as our targeting with SharedRank advances, our efficiencies with engagement rates increase.?

Marketing firm theAmplify used its SharedRank Algorithm to determine the results for "The Fault in our Stars"

Targeting the right audience
TheAmplify used SharedRank to provide strategic analytics and advanced audience targeting to select five key influencers to attend the premiere and share their experiences. 

These influencers were found through theAmplify?s established network of contacts and also through mobile application reach!, connecting movie enthusiasts, among many other categories, to get paid for providing assessment content.

The reach! app is available for download on iOS for $100 and on Android currently for free.

Through this system, theAmplify aimed to close the gap between moviegoers and the film and encourage emotional connections through imagery. A combination of comments and likes contributed to the 350,000 engagements. 

?Creating mobile experiences that lead users to click externally and purchase products will be the key for brands to capitalize on this feature,? Mr. Rezvani said. ?The data proves Instagram users are the most engaged audience on mobile.

?When you define a call to action correctly and capitalize on engagements, you have created a product purchasing funnel that is a streamlined mobile centric solution,? he said.

Engaging with film
During the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, an out-of-home promotional campaign using near-field communication technology saw fans seeking free tickets tap promotional posters 8,195 times with 1,156 unique mobile devices.

Between April 14 and 17, mobile marketing firm Tamoco embedded HID Global?s Trusted Tags into promotional posters on display at participating ?Film for All Friday? retailers. Fans who tapped the posters with an NFC-enabled device received free tickets (see story).

Instagram remains a favorite platform among brands for engaging with audiences and driving awareness of a new offer. For example, retailers that focus on fair trade products such as The Little Market and TOMS are successfully harnessing Instagram to communicate an emotional message and engage mobile users.

By establishing an emotional connection through images, these marketers are able to deepen their relationship with consumers and bring them into the purchase funnel. Fair trade retailers hold an advantage on the platform by conveying to the consumer the authenticity and realism behind the making of the products (see story).

Strategists at theAmplify plan to expand their knowledge of native advertising with Instagram to better assist clients.

?The next steps for our firm entail driving success for more brands and meeting their marketing objectives in non-intrusive experiences on Instagram,? Mr. Rezvani said. ?As our platform increases, our learning grows and we become greater experts within the space.?

?We are looking to translate that expertise back to our clients. Additionally, we are releasing a few products in the next few weeks that will also help our brands create increased efficiency in regards to analytics and workflow for Instagram.?

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon, editorial assistant for Mobile Marketer, New York