Moana 2 also received a themed performance during Dancing With the Stars’ Disney Night that featured new song “We’re Back” from the film; the movie had a Holiday Wars Moana-themed episode/integration; and there were various custom spots and creative, including a popular promo featuring Dwayne Johnson and former National Football League star Troy Polamalu.

Being part of a cultural conversation

Unlike the marketing for the original Moana, which introduces the characters for the first time, Morrison said promoting a sequel brought a new strategy and a global opportunity that differed from market to market.

“The biggest thing—and talking to the teams as we were putting our campaigns together—was making sure that we felt like we were in the cultural zeitgeist,” Morrison said.

Among the highlights, the film illuminated images on Capri’s cliffs in Italy in early November and created a hero video during a one-night-only event that was amplified on social media; for Australia, Disney had a Macquarie Centre takeover in October and continued a Melbourne Central bespoke mural shared with Disney’s Mufasa; and in the U.K., there was a drone show on the River Thames ahead of the film’s release.

Throughout the campaign, the marketing focused on honoring the Polynesian culture showcased in the film, and that led to another first for the company: hosting the global premiere and press junket at the Aulani resort in Hawaii that included a fully immersive photo and press line at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute.

For Morrison, the ask to move to premiere to Hawaii was a big swing, and it showed how the company and the talent were fully behind the plan to connect with the fans.

“When not only our company said, ‘Yeah, we could do that. Let’s do it,’ but also Dwayne, Auli’i, and the talent,” Morrison said. “That was probably our biggest moment, where we said, ‘Hey, can we do this?’ And when we got a, ‘Yes.’”