A content led marketing approach for the Australian cinema release of natural disaster movie Into The Storm has received a huge response, garnering over 3 million views in just over a week and publication on websites worldwide.

Few audiences are more adept at filtering out marketing messages than the youthful movie goers Roadshow Films wanted to attract to Into The Storm. With this in mind they partnered with independent production company The Woolshed and Terry Tufferson (creator of the recent YouTube phenomenon ‘Man Fights Off Great White Shark’) to develop a piece of content that took the storm off the silver screen and into Australia’s red centre.

Whether it’s on TV, offline or online, ‘tornado selfie’ has received coverage around the world. Roadshow Films Deputy Marketing Director Rob Moore commented, “When you’re marketing to a youth audience the size of your budget is nothing next to your ability to inspire conversation. With our partners at The Woolshed we’ve been able connect with, and entertain our audience in a way that just wouldn’t have been possible with paid media alone.”

Having torn up the Outback, Roadshow Films decided to bring the storm to an inner city location with an Australian first for the final phase of the campaign. Partnering with UK based digital out of home specialists Grand Visual and media owner JCDecaux Australia, they turned an unsuspecting piece of street furniture into the eye of an unexpected storm using augmented reality technology. 

The advertising panel was transformed into a window through which pedestrians could watch a storm unfold, replete with thunder striking local buildings, and cars crashing down to earth having been sucked up by the storm.“Using augmented reality to pull a city street corner into the eye of a tornado creates a level of engagement that static outdoor media can’t match” says Ric Albert, Grand Visual’s Digital Director, “it becomes a talking point, and gives people a taste of the experience that Into The Storm brings to the cinema.”

Moore further commented “Roadshow Films prides itself on working with world class talent no matter where they’re from in the world. We watched Grand Visual break new ground in outdoor advertising from their London office and now they’re helping us (appear to) break ground in Sydney’s streets! That said, without the passion and energy of our media partner, JCDecaux Australia, this project wouldn’t have been possible and they rightly share in our success.”

Steve O’Connor, CEO, JCDecaux Australia said “The Into The Storm campaign is a perfect example of where we sit as a business, out-of-the-box technology coupled with unique audience engagement opportunities”. “It’s fantastic to see advertisers using JCDecaux assets as creative canvases that bring big ideas to life both on and offline” O’Connor continued.