Defying Marketing Gravity: The Wicked Phenomenon
Inside Universal's Record-Breaking Cultural Phenomenon
Marketing campaigns rarely make history. Yet Universal Pictures just spent more money promoting a movie than any studio before them – a cool $350 million– to take us back to Oz with Wicked. That's more than Spider-Man: No Way Home ($200 million), Avatar: The Way of Water ($300 million), and even the ubiquitous 2023 cultural phenomenon Barbie spent getting the word out.
Bold move? Maybe. But the numbers tell us they knew exactly what they were doing.
The Cost of Magic: Breaking Down the Numbers
Let's talk about the results: 2 billion shopper interactions. 25 billion global impressions. Opening weekend brought in $112.5 million domestically and $162.5 million worldwide – the biggest debut ever for a Broadway musical adaptation.
Within seven days, Wicked’s marketing team was seeing a 46% return on investment. For context, that's miles ahead of previous musical adaptations like Les Misérables ($120 million) and The Greatest Showman ($150 million) in terms of both marketing investment and returns.
Building Better Broomsticks: Partnership Power
Universal knew the scope of Wicked’s marketing efforts would be gigantic, and that high-powered brand partnership would be crucial in expanding its reach. Thus, Wicked started its record-breaking campaign with something different – a "Wicked Fair" that immersed brand reps in the movie’s world and invited them into the vision. Picture brand executives wandering through actual London film sets, touching the walls of Emerald City and peeking into Shiz University classrooms. Nearly 450 brands signed up, and the results speak volumes. Starbucks' "Pink and Green" drinks boosted seasonal sales by 22%. Target's merchandise line? Gone in two weeks, with $10 million in revenue.
Lexus went all in, creating a custom green-themed car campaign featuring our favorite witches road-tripping through Oz. The result? Test drives jumped 15% during the campaign. Amazon Prime Members got in early too, contributing $2.5 million in ticket sales before the general release.
Digital Spellcraft: Social Media Sorcery
Wicked’s digital game also went beyond typical movie marketing. In the weeks before opening weekend, five million Amazon Alexa devices started speaking in character voices. Amazon's dedicated store hit 18% conversion rates, crushing the platform's usual 12%. Their Seattle spheres transformed into a live, immersive Emerald City activation event, drawing 200,000 visitors in the first month.
But the real magic happened on social media. Shiz University's accounts doubled typical entertainment engagement rates, hitting 12% when 5-6% is considered solid. They turned course selection into viral content – "Potion Mixing 101 or Advanced Flying Techniques?" became water cooler talk.
The #TeamGlinda versus #TeamElphaba battle was pure genius, racking up 97 million mentions. Those hashtags generated 500 million TikTok views, with Europe pledging allegiance to Glinda while North America backed Elphaba. Behind-the-scenes content across YouTube and Instagram pulled in 150 million views, with one Grande-Erivo duet rehearsal video hitting a staggering 40 million views in just 72 hours – a pace that even surprised Universal's digital team.
No Witch Left Behind: Fan Engagement at Scale
The campaign tapped into something fundamental – people don't want to watch from the sidelines. They want in on the action. Women made up 65% of engagement, with 18-34 year olds driving 70% of social media activity. The international appeal was also undeniable – 40% of digital engagement came from global audiences, showing Wicked's universal charm transcended borders.
Opening weekend saw people showing up in groups – 80% of tickets were bought in threes or more, echoing the communal viewing experience that defined other 2024 blockbusters. Fans documented their pre- and post-viewing reactions across social media (often weeping into their cameras as the credits rolled), turning individual experiences into shared moments. Even movie snacks got the treatment, with emerald-green popcorn flying out of concession stands at triple the rate of regular popcorn. Merchandise similarly flew off shelves, hitting $25 million in week one. Replica wands, limited-edition dolls – fans couldn't get enough. The Twitch premiere stream pulled 2.8 million viewers, turning opening night into a global party.
When the Spell Breaks: Managing Marketing Fatigue
And yet, not everything was emerald cities and pink bubbles. Some fans started feeling the fatigue. One viral post captured it perfectly: "As a massive 'Wicked' and Ari fan, I'm scared to admit that the overmarketing of this movie has given me the ick. Why is 'Wicked' collabing with literally every single brand?"
The campaign also surfaced an interesting cultural clash. Broadway's 'Wicked' thrived on audience participation – singing along was part of the experience. But movie theaters faced a different challenge. As devoted fans brought that Broadway energy to cinemas, theaters had to navigate between maintaining traditional movie-watching etiquette and accommodating fans' natural enthusiasm. One TikTok user even posted a harried PSA over a video shot in a cinema restroom: “Do not show up to AMC wearing face paint. They will not let you in.”
In the end, many venues posted"no singing" policies, highlighting how even successful marketing can create unexpected operational challenges when bridging different entertainment worlds.
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Marketing Insights That Defy Gravity
So what made this uber-successful campaign work? Marketers with sky-high goals would do well to pay attention to a few of Universal’s clever moves::
Distributing assets strategically:: The Wicked team cast a wide net, and it paid off. In the end, the campaign balanced its allocation across digital platforms (40%), partnerships (30%), traditional advertising (20%), and experiential marketing (10%).. That kind of diversified channel strategy made the brand feel nearly inescapable.
Focusing on Community-Driven Engagement: Scores of viral videos, a hashtag rivalry that garnered tens of millsions and Shiz University's exceptional engagement rates were all genius strokes of immersive world-building. They each transformed passive viewers into active participants, allowing audience to feel a part of the magic weeks before Wicked premiered.
Generating Global Appeal: With international audiences accounting for 40% of digital engagement, Wicked’s team successfully resonated with audience across cultures.
Creating Data-Driven Experiences: From Amazon's sphere activation to themed concessions, every touchpoint was designed to create memorable, shareable moments.
What's clear is that Wicked has permanently altered the landscape of movie marketing. By transforming a film launch into a cultural movement, Universal didn't just market a movie – they created a moment. And in doing so, they've given every future blockbuster a new playbook to study.
I’d say that’s worth holding space for ;)
Cheers,
Gina
P.S. Adding this because it’s so damn cute.
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