With that in mind, the marketing team clued in on elements that would get themselves and fans excited about coming back to the franchise, including the title character, Auli’i Cravalho’s Moana, teaming up with Dwayne Johnson’s Maui once again. In fact, their reunion was the finale of the first-look teaser for the Moana sequel, which Disney dropped at the end of May.
The teaser quickly set a record for the biggest animated trailer launch in Disney history, receiving 178 million views in 24 hours.
“Anytime you have a trailer that overperforms from a views standpoint, it feels great,” Morrison said. “Trailers are so important in that it’s still probably the No. 1 reason why people say they go to see a movie.”
Beyond the performance, Morrison said the audience’s reaction and sentiment are even “more important,” showcasing what elements the company should focus on or reaffirming the marketing’s direction.
“It’s exciting to have a trailer that breaks records, and we’ve been lucky to have a few of them. But it’s also really exciting to see the reaction to that trailer,” Morrison said. “It gives you a sense of, ‘Where am I going next in terms of how people are receiving and what we’ve already put out? Where am I going next to make sure that we keep that excitement and the momentum going?’”
Going beyond traditional advertising
According to iSpot research via Deadline, U.S. TV spend for Moana 2 reached $20.5 million. And although that’s a significant investment, it falls short of the TV expenses for Gladiator II and Wicked ($34 million and $26 million, respectively). The budgeting shows how Disney looked beyond traditional formats for marketing Moana to a 2024 audience.
“It is important for us to make sure that we have a really robust broadcast program, but that we’re also extending in ways that creatively are creating attention,” Morrison said.
Morrison credited Evelyn Livermore, vp, integrated marketing and synergy, for leading the way on several of Moana 2’s big collaborations and integrations, including a custom weeklong sponsorship during the Paris Summer Olympic Games, taking advantage of the 23.5 billion streaming minutes NBCUniversal racked up during the summer games. The integration included broadcast spots, toolkit overlays, lower thirds, and customized creative that connected Moana 2 to Olympic highlights. As a first, the company noted that the sponsorship extended into the NBCU digital platforms, including social and Peacock.
“Being part of the Olympics is wonderful, but having it extended so that we’re having these great takeovers and integrated toolkit moments means that people are probably stopping and paying more attention,” Morrison said.
In addition to the Olympics creative, the campaign also included Moana-themed set takeovers across various live programming such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The View, Live With Kelly & Mark, and ESPN SportsCenter.