Dive Brief:
- NBCUniversal Television and Streaming is promoting its new "Chucky" series with scary social activations and an appearance last weekend at New York Comic Con, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The show premiered on Oct. 12 on Syfy and USA Network.
- The killer doll is hosting a staring contest on TikTok, which will also be available on Instagram Reels for fans to remix. Other Instagram activations include a custom augmented reality (AR) effect called "Where's Chucky?" and Giphy stickers discoverable through searching #ChuckySeries in Stories. Fans can also access a Twitter hashflag that becomes more sinister from light to dark mode by typing #CHUCKY.
- Attendees at last weekend's New York Comic Con were able to experience "Chucky's I Scream Truck," in which the killer doll made them scream inside the vehicle in order to receive ice cream. Both the in-person experience and social takeover hinge on scare tactics to promote the show's horror-themed content.
Dive Insight:
With a spate of scary activations on social media, NBCU is angling to excite mobile users ahead of its new "Chucky" series. Interactive elements such as a staring contest on TikTok and Instagram Reels seek to drive engagement beyond mere exposure, while a "Where's Chucky?" feature on Instagram leverages AR technology to personalize the marketing experience. The activations also preserve scary themes through jump scares and suspenseful music that could resonate with the character's core fan base.
Deploying scare tactics can be an effective way for horror-themed brands to incite chatter from audiences. Fear has been shown to drive brand loyalty, which marketers have exploited even when their identity isn't directly linked with horror. By launching these tactics through social media, brands can potentially expand their reach and tap into pathways of virality.
Chucky's appearance at New York Comic Con pairs scare tactics with an experiential pop-up. Following the narrative that Chucky killed the driver of a Good Guys ice cream truck (a nod to the doll's manufacturer in the original franchise), vandalized its exterior with choice phrases and crashed it into the convention, attendees were given frozen treats only if they screamed inside the truck. The effort was a collaboration with agency The Many and is a play on the "Ice Cream" jingle— a subversion of a children's theme that is emblematic of Chucky's character.
New York Comic Con attracts passionate fan bases, many of which belong to horror-themed franchises, making the convention a strategic event at which to promote "Chucky." Moreover, the convention's proximity to Halloween lends a timely element that could further boost the show's relevance. Attendees were also treated to an early premiere of the first episode on Oct. 8, as well as a Q&A with the show's creator and one of its actresses.
Rounding out the marketing efforts around "Chucky" is a sponsorship of the Verzuz battle between rappers Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One, which takes place on Oct. 17. Acquired by Triller Network earlier this year, Verzuz is a livestreaming platform with music-focused content and a pedigree of past celebrity performances. The activation could help NBCU expand its reach among mobile users.
