Case study
Warner Bros. brings you to Gotham in an immersive campaign for The Batman
What is advertainment?
Advertainment is a combination of advertising and entertainment. It seamlessly integrates ads into entertainment content to create an organic and immersive experience. That’s exactly what Warner Bros. envisioned to help increase awareness of the 2022 movie The Batman. Big superheroes need big campaigns, of course. So, Warner Bros. partnered with Amazon Ads and IMDb entertainment advertising to create an interactive, eye-catching campaign in the UK.
Warner Bros. created an immersive campaign
Warner Bros. had previously used the premium title page (PTP) on IMDb for The Suicide Squad in 2021, but for The Batman, they wanted to bring customers even further into Gotham, with an immersive ad experience. By using the PTP customizable placement type, they were able to integrate interactive and creative design elements. It also gave them the perfect place to hide “Easter eggs,” also known as hidden messages, images, or features related to the film that could surprise and delight fans who discover them.
IMDb Mobile Premium Title Page with character gallery, main screen, hidden messages and faux-chat experience
“There was a nice blend of an Easter egg, but also an added element of gamification. Those two things are so prominent in the way you engage with entertainment these days, whether it’s post-credits scenes or Easter eggs in the gaming world, so it’s really effective in taking your ad experience to another level.”
— Henry Reed, senior digital marketing manager, Warner Bros.
A seamless advertainment experience
When viewers first arrived on the page for The Batman on IMDb, an intro video appeared that then took them to the main PTP. From there, they could interact with a bat symbol shown on the screen and explore other elements, such as a faux-chat experience with the supervillain the Riddler. If visitors successfully answered his riddles, they received a reward of new images from the movie.
IMDb Desktop Premium Title Page experience
The benefits of advertainment
The campaign for The Batman was a success for Warner Bros., resulting in an observed click-through rate higher than those for other titles with PTP activations, including Dune (2021) and King Richard (2021). But it wasn’t just about numbers for Warner Bros.; it was also about brand recognition. They received many anecdotal compliments from site visitors as well as positive press coverage, which exemplifies how advertainment can bring added value and new experiences to audiences.
“Deeper discovery is often driven by increased interactivity, because we’re not just looking to drive awareness of a title, we also need to pivot that awareness to intent. Let’s face it, a lot of the time audiences know that we know how to cut a great trailer, so it’s often the more nontraditional, behind-the-scenes content that we surface to influence audiences. And connecting to relevant audiences across IMDb and Amazon is key to success.”
— Luisa Cotrozzi, director, film marketing, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. showed that trying new formats or content can help elevate campaigns, especially for well-known titles or brands. Advertainment is one way that advertisers can help create creative, fresh new campaigns to engage their audiences.
Ready to learn how your brand can benefit from advertainment?