How Disney’s Finding Dory used mobile video to win over Indonesia

Background

With every movie release, video trailers are key to bringing audiences to the big screen. Walt Disney Studios wanted to introduce Pixar’s latest animated feature, Finding Dory to audiences in Indonesia by creating a mobile experience that would not only excite children, but their families and Disney enthusiasts alike.

However, with Indonesia experiencing 47 percent stall rate, it was a major setback for the brand reaching and connecting with the target audience. While video is one of the most powerful tools to reach and influence mobile consumers, the effectiveness and efficiency of a campaign falls short once videos are not buffered and viewed all the way through.

Execution

To engage users in a unique and compelling manner, Disney wanted to introduce the movie characters to audiences on mobile.

Together with Opera Mediaworks, the company sought to bring to life the rich and detailed coral reef as well as the backdrop of Finding Dory. Using Opera’s Instant-Play with dynamic end card technology, smartphone users were given the opportunity to interact with the movie’s coral reef in a variety of ways.

Within an app, the Instant-Play HD mobile video plays with zero buffering and crisp HD quality, providing a superior sight, sound and motion experience. The dynamic end card invites users to tilt their devices to explore their 360-degree coral reef and go deeper within hotspots.

At each hotspot, users are invited to meet one of the eight characters in Finding Dory. Purchase intent is captured at the end where users can not only save the date of the movie premier in their phone calendars, but also buy their tickets from a mobile website.

Results

The campaign results showed that users were highly engaged by the creative and immersive experience, recording a 97 percent video completion rate against industry benchmarks.

The mobile campaign ultimately secured Finding Dory the No 2 spot in box office takings in Indonesia and set the record for the highest weekend opener sales for an animated film ever in Indonesia.

Other results include:

• 10.41 percent average overall engagement rate
• Average time spent on the ad: 20 seconds
• 3 percent average add-to-calendar
• 6 post-click engagements per user

Johannes Faradi Bachri, MD at Dentsu Digital Indonesia said: “The results we saw are the highest we’ve ever seen - pretty much a miracle come true. By utilizing the right medium - video and well-designed rich media, you can finally make these kind of dream results a reality.”

Key Opera Mediaworks team members

• Robyn Weatherby, brand marketing coordinator
• Jose Mateos, senior director operations APAC
• Vikas Gulati, managing director APAC
• Nur Laily Lianasyah, director sales, Indonesia