- Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are leaning into gamification on Roblox to advertise “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which hits theaters March 29, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The studios teamed with developer The Gang to create Roblox’s first “immersive trailer.” Players who stop to look at a conventional teaser for the upcoming blockbuster in the web game might be pulled right into a virtual recreation of the film’s Hollow Earth environment by Kong to take part in challenges and collect crystal tokens.
- Once the gauntlet is accomplished, fans can socialize, claim pictures with snapshots from their experience and access the total movie trailer. The crystals they earned can be put toward limited-edition “Godzilla x Kong” digital items that may land on Roblox in the approaching weeks.
Movie studios for years have been leveraging popular platforms like Roblox and Fortnite to advertise their movies, dropping trailers — and, in some cases, full movies — that will be watched virtually. They view gaming as a very important bridge to attach with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, young audiences which have largely spurned traditional media. Virtual experiences of this stripe also are likely to be related to the metaverse, a term that has lost much of its steam but stays valued by some marketers for its potential to bridge online interactions with real-world results, on this case, the hope of driving ticket sales.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, working with assistance from gaming specialist The Gang, aim to take the in-game trailer concept to the following level and higher leverage the interactive capabilities of the channel with the activation dubbed “Godzilla x Kong Obby” (Obby is Roblox shorthand for obstacle course).
“It’s been unbelievable working with The Gang on the ‘Godzilla x Kong Obby,’ an activation that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible within the immersive media space,” said Cameron Curtis, executive vice chairman of worldwide digital marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures, in a press statement.
“Godzilla x Kong Obby” functions similarly to a “4D” amusement park viewing experience. Players who park themselves for a traditional trailer for “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” might be swept right into a Roblox facsimile of the Hollow Earth, a jungle-like subterranean realm teeming with oversized monsters. There, they’ll race to finish Roblox obstacle course challenges accompanied by Suko, the Mini-Kong, a personality introduced in the newest installment within the Monsterverse franchise. The final stretch is a sprint through a cave as Godzilla and Kong prepare to battle the Scar King, the movie’s simian antagonist.
To encourage participation, “Godzilla x Kong Obby” dishes out collectibles that will be redeemed for exclusive Roblox gear, including Godzilla’s tail and head and Kong’s head and axe. The Gang, a developer focused on user-generated content, believes the trouble could help set the usual for future immersive movie campaigns.
Studios are coming off a 12 months that saw production halted and schedules rejiggered resulting from dual writers and actors strikes. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” arrives during a dry stretch on the box office, with “Dune: Part Two” —also a Warner release — among the many only certified hits of 2024 thus far.
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