Sony Pictures Entertainment India’s innovative marketing for the Hollywood franchise Underworld Bloodwars makes the industry pause and take notice

Innovate to stand out is the marketing mantra in today’s current cinematic scenario. Nowadays marketing a movie has become as important as filming it. Grabbing the attention of the cine goers beyond the traditional mediums has become the need of the hour. Sony Pictures entertainment India has done just this with their unique and innovative marketing strategy for its next Hollywood release – the action thriller franchise Underworld Blood wars releasing pan India on Dec 2.

The team at Sony spotted unique endeavors to share the vibe of the film with their audiences and opinion leaders.

Starting off with what they call the Bloody Mary shots. Since the film is based on the  eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, the marketing team sent out Bloody Mary shots to key influencers and contest winners on the occasion of Halloween. (image attached)

Taking the real experience one step closer for audiences, they further put up blood soap pouches at various cinemas across the city to bring out that ” shock and awe” reaction and thus build the necessary curiosity amidst movie goers (image attached). In addition, the ushers and the staff selling tickets at the box office in theatres in some key locations have been seen sporting Underworld tattoos on their wrists which showcase the symbols associated with the film like the scratch marks of the vampires (image attached)

When talking about bringing the experience closer to audiences, the digital medium and social media plays a very crucial role. Ensuring they create the social hype and connect, The marketing team also initiated a first of its kind Twitter battle with #Underworldbattle with two teams Team Lycan Vs Team Vampires. The  Idea was to have Sony Liv e.g. #SonyLivLycans pick one side and Sony PIX e.g. #SonyPixVampires to pick the other side and to have their page audience indulge in a twitter fight with each other and to ensure that their team’s hashtag gains maximum traction.

Not only this, to reach its core target audience they had an exclusive showcase at the recently concluded Comic Con in Bangalore of the film’s trailer and special sound bytes of the cast for the visitors. In addition, they also set up a special photo booth with people dressed up as vampires and the entire space dedicated to the film had life size posters of the films characters.

Sony Entertainment Pictures, being a firm believer of making the film a complete experience when marketed, they are also a company who believes in trying to use the medium to make a difference. Through Freecharge, Sony is partnering with major hospitals to help support and fund raise for their blood banks. Under the donation category on the Freecharge App, there are 2 campaigns – Support Lycans & Support Vampires creating an interesting space for contributors to support a worthy cause via a film like this which is as much soul, as it it is hard core action. 

Speaking about the marketing innovations, Divya Pathak, Director – Marketing, Sony Pictures Entertainment India says, “We, at Sony, have always believed in showcasing our films to audiences with interesting subject led innovations that help not only bring alive the film story but also give an experiential interface. For a popular franchise like UNDERWORLD,  the objective was to give more relevance to the latest installment”

Sony Pictures Entertainment India who has been the front runner of innovative marketing has certainly caught the fancy of their audience this time around as well. Underworld Blood Wars 3D will be released pan India on Dec 2 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu by Sony Pictures Entertainment India.

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