The recent rousing triumph of “Deadpool & Wolverine” is a timely reminder that movie marketing is increasingly high stakes and high ambition for Hollywood, particularly for summer and holiday releases.
Huge legacy franchise films such as “Jurassic World,” “Avatar” and the upcoming, much-anticipated film adaptation “Wicked” are 10-figure businesses in and of themselves, becoming “evergreen IP” set to compete for revenue well beyond box office sales and streaming views.
As such, they require a long-term strategy and consistent brand stewardship over their emotional relationships with audiences — much like any other lifestyle product. From dinosaurs and dolls to this year’s gravity-defying witches, megahit franchises are effectively modern, multi-category aspirational brands.
They are rich in cultural currency and have an opportunity — if not an obligation — to consider the social impact of their global imprint and legacy alongside their financial success, particularly for kids and families. By cultivating more meaningful relationships with their audiences, blockbusters can stand for something more impactful than entertainment, and they can forge that purposefully.
While the cultural influence of a film’s storytelling — such as inspiring positive perceptions and challenging rigid societal assumptions — may have sufficed as “purpose” in the past, today’s consumers live in a perpetual polycrisis and desire more direct social connection from mega-brands.
A 2024 Ipsos survey found that 70% of consumers tend to buy brands that reflect their values, with Cone Communications several years earlier revealing that 87% of Americans purchase products because a company advocated for an issue they care about.
This is especially true for Gen Zers, who are notably vocal about social issues and represent the age demographic franchises needed for sustained loyalty to sequels. “Jurassic World Rebirth,” for example, the seventh film in the “Jurassic Park” canon, drops next summer, some 32 years and an entire generation after the first.
Philanthropic behavior by brands, while once seen as a loss leader or the cost of doing business, in 2024 is a strategic driver of both cultural relevance and profitability and a welcome tool for an industry facing financial challenges.
So, how can movie execs adopt purposeful marketing, both to elevate the connection their releases have with consumers and to bolster ROI? Below are some guidelines based on the work of Accompany Creative — a leader in the purpose-led marketing movement — in the film, luxury, fashion and beauty categories.
Grab the Low-Hanging Fruit
Movie franchises are ripe for mission-led marketing innovation. They contain highly layered emotional worlds with built-in moral codes, well-established iconography and fleshed-out characters — in other words, a brand marketer’s dream. Yet Hollywood at large has invested very little in marketing extensions that center on social impact or have a sustainability focus.
The behemoth that was last summer’s Barbie had some 165 marketing partnerships, and while the film focused on positive social commentary, most were not purpose-led. Although the Barbie Dream Gap Project, a girls’ empowerment initiative that included a donation to Save the Children and aligned it with Warner Bros. Discovery and Mattel’s Airbnb Dream House activation, in terms of messaging it was more a “nice-to-have” and missed the opportunity to be a truly integrated element.
The film’s take on women’s empowerment, sisterhood and breaking gender stereotypes easily could have extended to like-minded brands and nonprofits for a pink-hued program that packed a punch. Smart studio marketers have an opportunity to stretch their franchises into the needs of the real world and maintain authority across cultural conversations.
Match the Movie’s Moral Mood
Authentic cause marketing requires cultural permission to leverage its meaning for commercial gain as well as a company’s conviction to put its money where its mouth is. And it’s a fine line, as movie marketers who don’t tailor their purpose programming to the topics and tone of the film risk appearing overreaching, exploitative or disingenuous.
Film narratives often touch multiple cause-related themes, and many social issues are intersectional, raising questions of mission focus and hierarchy within purpose marketing. “Avatar: The Way of Water” staked a claim for ocean conservation through a Disney partnership with the Nature Conservancy, although an integrated impact program focused on Indigenous communities would have also resonated.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” might focus on fighting corporate greed in genetic modification, promoting women’s leadership in STEM or, more broadly, supporting biodiversity.
To better hone their efforts, marketers should develop a SWOT-style, or opportunity, analysis that overlays their audience’s aspirations with the cultural temperature of a given cause. Ideally, brand stewards would prioritize a cause linked to the overall franchise rather than just one film, so the purpose-led investment can evolve over the course of the series.
Matching the level of earnestness embodied by a film also insulates marketers from purpose-washing backlash and skepticism. For example, films such as “Avatar” and “Barbie” have that activist spirit, allowing for a more full-throated social impact stance for their respective causes, whereas emphasizing its action/adventure scenes, “Jurassic World” might dial down its tone to be more advocate than activist.
The level of a film’s commitment to social impact can be calibrated through donation amounts, participation of celebrity talent and awareness-building content programs that inspire audiences into action.
Integrate Purpose Across the Portfolio
To build the long-term health of an evergreen film franchise, a purpose-led strategy can integrate with licensed categories and brand partnerships. Consumer products have both tangible and experiential aspects that allow for positive social impact narratives to last beyond a film’s two hours.
Well-thought-out toys, apparel and decor stay rooted in a consumer’s memory and integrate into lives and relationships in personal ways, even across generations.
Universal, the studio behind the eagerly awaited “Wicked” has already announced its initial list of partnerships across fashion, beauty, toys, food and beverage and big-box retail. While some of those deals are purpose-led, such as Lush cosmetics, Lingua Franca and Bombas, it’s not yet clear how the franchise will build synergy through a cohesive, mission-driven lens to truly make the marketing feel like a “movement.”
Purpose-led marketing stands poised for a breakthrough, and the blockbusters that seize this opportunity will lead Hollywood’s future — and even redefine its cinematic influence.
Jason Keehn is the founder of Accompany Creative, a NYC-based mission-led agency and winner of Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year in the purpose-led category.
