PSYCH: THE MOVIE
The little campaign that could
This was not a big campaign in terms of marketing dollars. But it was a testament to what you can do when you have a passionate fan base, great talent and a deep well of inside jokes and references to draw on.
Psych had been one of USA Network longest-running shows, building a devoted audience over the course of eight seasons. Ever since the series finale, psych-os had been clamoring for more Psych and after three long years of waiting and writing angry letters to the network, their dreams of a reunion movie were finally coming true.
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Psych had been one of USA Network longest-running shows, building a devoted audience over the course of eight seasons. Ever since the series finale, psych-os had been clamoring for more Psych and after three long years of waiting and writing angry letters to the network, their dreams of a reunion movie were finally coming true.
But after a three-year hiatus, might Shawn and Gus be a bit rusty when it came to stepping back into their roles?
That was the premise of this pice that we shot to share with fans at a Comic-Con reunion panel. The 5,000 psych-os in the room LOVED it and spread the word - with the video racking up 4MM views in 24 hours on Facebook alone.
That was the premise of this pice that we shot to share with fans at a Comic-Con reunion panel. The 5,000 psych-os in the room LOVED it and spread the word - with the video racking up 4MM views in 24 hours on Facebook alone.
Although the upcoming Psych reunion movie was not destined for the big screen, fans’ excitement for it easily exceeded that of any theatrical blockbuster release.
So we thought a fitting way to reward their patience and further stoke their anticipation was with a theatrical blockbuster-style movie trailer. Fans seemed to appreciate our efforts, with the trailer racking up 3M views on Facebook alone.
So we thought a fitting way to reward their patience and further stoke their anticipation was with a theatrical blockbuster-style movie trailer. Fans seemed to appreciate our efforts, with the trailer racking up 3M views on Facebook alone.
When the movie was announced, Psych fans were ecstatic - but with six months to go until the movie’s airdate, we had to stoke that excitement with a steady stream of sharable social content, including customized messages from Shawn and Gus for ever imaginable holiday along the way... Here's a small selection of the skits (all of which we shot on the same day as the Comic-Con trailer).
Naturally we had lots of BTS interviews and games with the entire cast:
We put the fans to work too, asking them to submit videos to help us create the world's largest (and probably only) virtual pineapple toss. They didn't let us down.The movie beat all expectations and led to a renewed interest in the series, which ended up featuring prominently in NBCU’s initial launch of Peacock, with two additional exclusive movies made for the platform - and more in the pipeline?
Check out more fun stuff I did for Psych here, here and here.