Disney-Pixar is just one of those brands kids of all ages love dearly and without question. It even withstands not-so-great moments (*cough,* Cars 2, *cough cough*) with flying colors. So beloved is Pixar that it can get away with things other companies would never dream of (like the dialogue-free first 20 minutes of the hit Wall-E).
That said, Pixar knows when it’s taking a risk and markets accordingly. Take this summer’s Brave, for example. The film boasts the brand’s first film heroine, a sassy Scottish tough girl named Merida. For the decidedly dude-centric film empire, her creation is an act of bravery in itself. Marketing Merida to the Toy Story set takes a certain finesse, and here’s how Pixar is handling it:
Thanks to Twitter’s new capacity to relay brilliantly and beautifully handled images, Pixar has been tweeting photos of Merida since late last year. Early on, bigwigs at Pixar clearly thought that the sooner they could establish Merida as a new animated star, the better. Next, the company employed the hashtag #Brave to get film fans chatting about the recently-released trailer. Since the film is a bit of a departure, image- and clip-heavy tweets are the fastest way to get folks excited about the film. Pixar, by the way, is a great example of Twitter marketing in general. The brand tweets clips and quotes from classic films as well as news on upcoming projects like Brave.
In addition, over on Facebook, it appears the movie is already a hit — and it doesn’t even open until June. With over 100,000 fans, Brave on Facebook embraces the film’s international roots by having multi-lingual options for viewing the trailer. The page promises to serve as a hub for contests, ticket buying and fan interaction as the film gets closer to its release date.
While we can’t be sure if little boys will love Merida, we know if any company can get inside their minds, it’s certainly Pixar with its masterful grasp on online marketing.
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