SOCIAL
Stranger Things:
Codebreaker Challenge
1985 IS CALLING
THE ASK
Use the anticipation for Stranger Things Season 3 to tout one of our most appealing customer benefits — Netflix on Us.
THE IDEA
Stranger Things is steeped in intrigue, nostalgia and mystery and thrives on seducing fans with a complex storyline waiting to be unraveled. We decided to do the same thing, with a puzzle for fans to scrutinize, decipher and decode.
Rabid fandom is an untapped wellspring of creativity.
Shows like Lost, Westworld and Game of Thrones encourage eagle-eyed fans to pour over every minute detail of the show in hopes of being the first to figure it out. It’s central to Stranger Things’ success and tapping into just an ounce of that would give us a successful campaign as well.
Sworn to secrecy
Our partnership with Netflix allowed us to use Priah Ferguson to kick off the challenge. What it didn’t give us though were any details of the new season’s storyline, they were very tight-lipped about those. A few conversations with lawyers, a couple NDA’s, and a pinky promise later, we got a single conversation with our Netflix rep on Priah’s plot line for the first episode. And that’s all we could use to craft our narrative.
1985iscalling.com
Once we launched, our Instagram and Twitter handles were quickly overrun. Fans that figured out the puzzle didn’t just post the answers, instead they helped teach other fans how to break the cipher. Within the weekend, it became one of our top posts for the year by engagement. We worked with our web team to develop an interactive “Talkie” with three channels for fans to play with: one with unique Erica quotes, another you could use to talk with friends, and a third with Season 3 Easter eggs.
Influencer Support
We sent some phone cases to influencers to help build hype around the giveaway. Getting further support from the likes of DJ Khaled, ZEDD, Nick Cannon, Rita Ora, Emmanuelle Chriqui and more.