CASE STUDY: Adapting movie posters for a digital audience

Background 

CJ Entertainment is South Korea's largest film distributor. Much of its considerable marketing budget has traditionally been spent on massive poster campaigns targeted at young moviegoers. But the posters were having little if any effect on the choices of the smartphone generation. 

Aim

To re-engage mobile users and promote The Berlin File, without being forced to scrap expensive posters.

Execution

Cheil installed Wi-Fi defices on existing poster billboards and ensured that the new campaign was hassle free. Unlike advertisements with QR codes that required the consumer to first download a mobile app and then scan the code, the Wi-Fi poster connected the poster to the mobile device by simply appearing on the Wi-Fi network menu. The name of the Wi-Fi network matched the film’s title, and tapping that name opened a pop-up with links to Full HD trailers, promotional events and the ability to buy tickets online immediately. The campaign ran from 5 January to 28 February. 

Results

The posters succeeded in increasing the film's official website traffic by 29 per cent. Users accessing the website via the posters spent five times longer exploring the site than other site visitors. Each access point recorded the tally of wireless connections made, how many of them led to page views, and how many resulted in ticket sales.