Rollout Roundup: Breaking Down the Best Rollouts of the Week - 11.22.24
Breaking down the marketing of pop culture's biggest moment of the year: Wicked.
Welcome back to Rollout Roundup, where I break down the best (and worst) marketing rollout moves of the week. If you’re new here, thanks for reading! My name is Olivia, and I own an entertainment marketing company called Amethyst Collab, where I work with artists and entertainers on creative rollout strategies with a focus on digital marketing. This week’s Rollout Roundup will be a special edition, covering the release of pop culture’s biggest moment of the year: Wicked. Let’s dive in!
Strengths: A true, impactful moment was created. With Wicked having one of the biggest names in entertainment already, the movie had some big shoes to fill. The lead-up promotion was long, with over a month of daily new content from the Wicked team and it’s all star cast members. The premieres in each city had a Wicked-related theme, keeping them from getting repetitive. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have been doing interviews that make headlines for even longer, with a standout interview occurring while giving each other lie detector tests. Overall, the press from this album was both cohesive and unique. The brand deals are abundant, with everyone from Stanley cups to r.e.m. beauty and Target joining in.
Social media strategy for this movie rollout has been over-the-top, as expected to match the anticipation for the year’s biggest movie. The Wicked official account has stayed on theme, but added modernized content in the form of engaging posters, multiple trailers, and more, to engage new and old fans alike. Wicked original music has begun trending on TikTok well before the movie’s release, and fans across platforms are putting their own spin on the vocal powerhouse track “Defying Gravity”.
A huge strength of this press tour is how present the actors have been. Despite being some of the biggest names in music and theater, it’s clear they keep up with what the fans are saying online, and address feedback in a fun or serious way as needed. It’s great to see the cast so leaned in.
Room for improvement: How could I improve on what’s estimated to be a 250 million dollar budget? However, one thing I will say is a lot of the merch and product collaborations read as souvenirs. Using the Barbie movie as an example with the “I Am Kenough” shirts, Wicked hasn’t yet identified what their trademark lines are going to be that transcend the year-long hype of Wicked and become a daily staple in fan’s homes or closets.