Welcome to the first issue of Action Items, the TL;DR for all things marketing in Western Canada. Here, we’ll explore a variety of topics spanning our North American backyard.

We’ll help you stay up to speed with what’s new & now in marketing so you can shine at your next cocktail party, or be the belle of the ball boardroom at your next all-team meeting.

KEY INSIGHTS

• Despite weathering significant losses in the past 3 years, the movie theatre industry isn’t dead. Marketers need to position showings as visceral, immersive experiences to re-capture interest lost during the COVID-19 years.

• FOMO is a powerful marketing tool, especially when considering the nature of our highly segmented media. The ability to unite a common interest across the different factions of the internet is crucial to viral marketing success.

She’s Barbie and he’s… just Oppenheimer. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer simultaneously hit theaters on July 21, causing quite the stir in the Twittersphere.

The two films could not be more different in terms of themes and aesthetic – one, a hot-pink dramedy on toxic masculinity and female camaraderie, and the other a moody historical drama about the invention of a nuclear weapon that reshapes the fabric of society. Despite these seemingly incompatible subject matters, Barbenheimer broke records, opening to the 4th-biggest box office weekend in history.

Barbenheimer’s success at the box office is an unprecedented case study into counterprogramming. It’s no secret that cinemas have seen a significant slow down in theater attendance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue at the North American box office fell by 40% in 2022, and has remained far below historical norms into the first two quarters of 2023.

The release and subsequent cross-promotion of two movies so strikingly different in tone and aesthetic gave previously unengaged movie-goers serious FOMO. The double-feature breathed new excitement into the theater experience, and drew audiences to the big screen for the first time since early 2020. Barbenheimer’s unique nature ultimately created a highly novel, interactive, and memorable experience for show-goers.

Barbenheimer sets a new precedent for media marketers in the wake of the COVID-era economic slump. More now than ever, consumers are very careful about what they spend their time, money, and energy on. As the world returns to this new sense of normal, people crave the unique, interactive experiences that they were deprived of during the isolation years. The ability for marketers to reach each sector of our now very splintered media becomes more important than ever in creating a visceral experience that fosters genuine excitement and FOMO.

Since its debut, Barbenheimer has unexpectedly topped an astonishing $2 billion in global sales, and counting. Turns out this Barbie has long legs.

LOCAL MARKETING ROUNDUP

Destination Canada Invests in Marketing for Canada’s West Coast

Vancouver-based Destination Canada has released plans to invest marketing dollars in promoting the corridor between Canada’s West Coast and Alberta’s prairies.

The new Tourism Corridor Strategy Program aims to promote tourism-dollar spending along the 841-kilometer Highway 3 between Hope and the Albertan border. The program also aims to highlight the connections between Northern B.C. and various Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories.

"We need to simplify the number of B.C. travel options being promoted," Destination BC's vice-president of global marketing, Maya Langeshe, said in February. The decision comes in the wake of a significant decrease in economic activity in B.C.’s tourism sector since 2019. The province’s real GDP decreased by 67.4%, business revenues fell by 65%, and tourism employment plunged by 64.4% between 2019 and 2020.

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‘B ITI H C LU BIA’ – PS&Co Brand Studio Fills in the Blanks in a Campaign for the B.C. Government

If you’ve visited the Government of B.C.’s social media channels recently, you may have noticed something off. The Government of B.C.’s newly updated profile picture was notably and mysteriously missing a few letters.

750 comments and 1,200 reactions later, PS&Co Brand Studio revealed the mystery. The change was part of a campaign they developed for the launch of the B.C. Government’s Demographic Survey, designed to help the government identify gaps in public programs and services and address systemic inequities, especially for racialized people.

PS&Co is being applauded by netizens for its eye-catching campaign. The firm’s skilled ability to bring positive attention to an often polarizing issue is as admirable as it is impressive.

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TOP OF MIND TOPICS

The Writer’s Strike In Hollywood and the Trickle Down Effect for Advertisers

The current writer and actor strikes in Hollywood have implications far past delayed release dates for new seasons of your favorite shows. The labor actions are likely to have a trickle-down effect on the advertisement industry, a sector that’s already struggling to keep up with the ever-evolving nature of the entertainment industry.

On May 2 2023, more than 11,500 employees of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike over an ongoing labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). On July 13, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined WGA members on the picket line, creating Hollywood's first double-strike in 63 years.

The prevalence of streaming platforms and the looming threat of generative AI appear to be at the forefront of the strike, with screenwriters disputing their pay and job security in light of these changes to the entertainment industry.

“While video advertising and subscription revenues are expected to grow by double digits this year and next, the dual strikes could threaten that economy, especially if the standoffs run deep into the fall season,” said Insider Intelligence principal analyst Paul Verna, in emailed comments.

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Will Instagram Threads Kill Twitter?

Facebook-parent Meta officially launched its Twitter (now X) competitor, Threads, and the internet is torn.

On one hand, some netizens appreciate this newfound alternative to Twitter – a platform that’s become increasingly controversial since Elon Musk’s takeover. Threads’ first week on the market saw 100 million sign-ups, and rocketed to the top of the free apps ranking on the Apple Store.

On the other hand, many users are disillusioned with the idea of a new Twitter competitor and the baggage that comes with a Meta-owned platform. Concerns regarding Meta’s data privacy policies have carried over to Threads, and users aren’t optimistic about the app’s transparency in such matters.

Twitter itself has come under consumer scrutiny since Elon Musk’s takeover in October of 2022. The platform has fallen out of consumer favor as Musk continues to introduce unsavory and unprecedented changes, including a total rebrand of the iconic platform.

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WHAT WE’RE READING