Daily Archives: August 12, 2016

This Story Has a 97.6% Chance of Success

Maybe the only cultural phenomenon that can compete with the summer Olympics in Rio is, you guessed it, intergalactic space battles.

That’s why NBC and Lucasfilm Ltd. timed the release of the official trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to premiere during prime time Olympics coverage last night. In a wise tactical move, the trailer was teased all week for this Thursday, but never given an exact time. Promos throughout the week cleverly combined Olympians and their special moments and gold medal triumphs throughout this first week’s competition with the trailer music and quick dramatic cuts from the initial Rogue One teaser trailer for a uniquely inspirational and entertaining cross-promotion. Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you develop and execute a successful television marketing strategy that seamlessly transitions into the digital sphere of instant viral video status.

12 Hours Later: Nearly 3.5 million views on the Star Wars YouTube channel and 60,600 Retweets and 63,600 Likes on the Star Wars Twitter account.

During a week that’s resulted in many, many complaints from American viewers of NBC’s Olympics coverage, fans of the beloved franchise (and even non-Star Wars fans) were treated to a movie preview with exciting settings, thrilling action sequences, a strong heroine and a catch-your-breath moment of nostalgia.

Rogue One won’t arrive in theaters until December, but this Star Wars story could very well be given the Olympics treatment:

Individual high points for various elements of the film, as well as applause heard all-around your cinema as the credits roll.

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