Brief:

• Warner Bros. is promoting the release of the animated feature "Scoob!" with a dance challenge on viral video app TikTok, per an announcement. The studio plans to release the movie, which is based on the classic cartoon series "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?," straight to digital video later this month.
• Warner collaborated with Jalaiah Harmon, the 14-year-old girl who became an overnight sensation on TikTok with her "Renegade" dance, on the #ScoobDance challenge that shows her dancing with cartoon dog Scooby Doo. The soundtrack for the #ScoobDance video was written by creative agency Movers+Shakers, which also wrote the music for E.l.f. Cosmetics' #eyeslipsface video that became a viral hit.​
• Warner, whose parent company is AT&T, is releasing "Scoob!" for two-day rental from participating video-on-demand (VOD) services for $19.99, or fans can buy it for $24.99 starting May 15, per the announcement.

Insight:

Warner's #ScoobDance challenge is off to a strong start, already inspiring TikTok users to create thousands of videos that racked up a collective total of more than 880 million views by press time. The campaign highlights the viral power of TikTok to raise awareness as its users watch other people's videos, create their own and challenge their friends and followers to participate. Warner isn't offering prizes for people who participate, making the total views even more notable.

TikTok's audience tends to skew young, with an estimated 41% of users in the 16-24 age group, according to Global Web Index. That appeal among younger audiences makes the platform more effective for promoting an animated feature like "Scoob!" that targets families with kids.

The campaign comes as movie studios adjust their marketing strategies to reach homebound consumers who have been prevented from going out to the movies during the pandemic. While studios have delayed the release of big-budget films until later in the year, when it's more likely theaters will be reopened, they also are distributing movies through video-on-demand channels.

As Universal Pictures demonstrated last month by racking up $100 million in on-demand sales in three weeks for "Trolls World Tour," families are hungry for fresh kids entertainment during lockdowns. Warner may see similar revenue from next week's on-demand release for "Scoob!" Prior to its release, Universal also used mobile channels to promote the film, launching an AR Lens on Snapchat and releasing custom mixtapes on Pandora.

Warner is the latest advertiser to run a campaign on TikTok, whose lifetime global downloads hit 2 billion in Q1 as people boosted their mobile usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, researcher Sensor Tower estimated. The NFL last month worked with TikTok on its #GoingPro hashtag challenge to coincide with its yearly Draft Day event, an effort that has spurred 3.5 billion views and counting. Brands such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, E.l.f. Cosmetics, Ralph Lauren and Walmart also have run hashtag challenges to engage consumers.