Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: Venom - Let There Be Carnage

Prior to the at-home launch of their latest instalment in the Venom series, Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (UNISPHE) enlisted Venatus, via media agency Slingshot Media, to launch a captivating campaign to promote the superhero movie.

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Target Audience

Inventory / Network

As Venom: Let There Be Carnage is rated mature in Australian markets, UNISPHE sought audiences aged between 18-34, who were also Marvel, comic or movie fans. With Nielsen data showing Venatus’ audiences are twice as likely to be movie renters, digital or DVD purchasers, the campaign could easily reach its target.

18+

Australia

Strategy

UNISPHE aimed to get their audience on a ‘comic combat’, driving traffic to their site and encouraging conversions. As engagement was key to the campaign, both premium expandable and microstitial takeovers were chosen for their typically high click-through-rate (CTR) benchmarks, alongside a mobile minigame (MRAID) to encourage involvement and target audiences on the go.

Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: Venom - Let There Be Carnage

Creative

Ad Formats

The premium-expandable and microstitial takeovers both featured the movie trailer, with users able to hover over the video to expand the trailer and enable sound, or click through to either rent or purchase the movie. The MRAID featured a minigame which saw users taking control of a cartoon Venom to collect movie snacks and avoid being caught by Carnage. After completing the game, users were invited to watch the trailer and click-through to rent or buy the film.

Premium Expandable Takeover preview

MRAID (minigame) preview

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Delivery

The campaign was served across a selection of Venatus’ entertainment and gaming inventory, most popular with the 18-34 demographic - whilst the MRAID was served across EA and Rovio apps, to target the key demographic out of home. With a two day gap between MRAID bookings, one app publisher left the Venom campaign running as it resonated well with audiences, resulting in a 20% overdelivery and 115,000 additional impressions for UNISPHE.

Results

Beyond all benchmarks

Both the Premium Expandable and Microstitial takeover formats exceeded benchmarks, achieving a CTR of 2.29% and 2.14% respectively, whilst the MRAID accomplished an engagement rate of 27%, with an average game play-time of 29 seconds.

27%

Engagement rate

29 seconds

Average MRAID play-time

"Venatus was a perfect alignment for the Venom: Let there be Carnage Home Entertainment release. Their bespoke creative turned our media into a battlefield encouraging users to take part in a comic combat and decide on their favourite anti-hero Venom vs Carnage! Together with a microsite, expandable takeover and mini game we effectively reached a gaming audience in an environment where they play and saw some fantastic results off the back of it."

Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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