CONCEPT: #FindWill
TYPE: Activation

Boom Howdy’s ‘Stranger Things’ Brand Activation is a Hit with Fans at San Diego Comic-Con!

Normally our Boom Howdy team covers breaking entertainment news and events at San Diego Comic-Con. Bringing our readers the latest and greatest about everything pop-culture is a blast. But this year it was time to do something different. Before we knew it we were part of San Diego Comic-Con 2016.

It started with a simple idea. Let’s share our fandom for the Netflix Original Series Stranger Things and create a brand activation experience celebrating our website and a bit of nostalgia. We formed our own search party for Will.

Two days before the biggest pop-culture event of the year, and only a week after the series was released on Netflix, an idea popped into my head to help bring some buzz to our website and celebrate one of my favorite series of the year, Netflix Original ‘Stranger Things.’ Before we get into the idea let’s learn more about the premise…

“It’s a thrilling Netflix Original drama, starring award-winning actress Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, who lives in a small Indiana town in 1983. When Will, Joyce’s 12-year-old son, goes missing she launches a terrifying investigation into his disappearance with local authorities. As they search for answers, they unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries involving secret government experiments, unnerving supernatural forces, and a very unusual little girl.”

KC
Brand Activation Idea

How did we create an experience that rabid fans of the series could embrace? With a scavenger hunt that ended with a new piece of unique swag, of course.

We took the nostalgia of the 80’s era of Stranger Things and mashed it up with a product we created called Rotten Rentals. They are vintage VHS clam shells filled to the brim with trading cards, mini-monster figures, buttons, stickers and an 11×17 folded poster from Stranger Things. Think of them like a mini Loot Crate, but instead of throwing away the box it’s part of the fun. Each VHS case featured artwork of our favorite old and new releases.

After the general idea was in place we spent the next 24 hours to executing it. Boom Howdy and Rotten Rentals agreed on the hashtag #StrangeHunt for fans to follow along, and a VHS design was created based off of ‘Stranger Things’  promotional artwork.

As Will Byers goes missing in the show, it became a natural part of the scavenger hunt. We would set out to #FindWill by giving clues to players throughout the day. They would hope to find Will, ultimately finding the VHS Pack full of vintage goodness.

Our team arrived at Comic-Con on Wednesday and started hanging up “Missing” posters that featured Will Byers’ photo, a description, and instructions on how to join the hunt and win a prize in the process. Word spread like wildfire. The next day most of our posters had been taken down, but fans had caught wind of the scavenger hunt and were eager for clues.

Each day we provided 3 – 4 clues for each VHS pack we were giving away. The clues would hint toward references in the show, with each becoming more and more obvious where the VHS (and Will) was hidden.

KC
Rotten Rentals Hunt

We teamed up with vendors on the exhibit floor and random locations outside the convention center to hide our prizes. We tweeted out an edited teaser to build anticipation to go along with the “Missing” posters of Will that were the night before. Things were about to get Strange at Comic-Con!

K
What did the cast think?

Once our scavengers figured out Will’s location, they ran to be the first one there. Most tried more than once to snag some sweet retro swag. The clues couldn’t come fast enough! Actors of the show chimed in and re-tweeted our clues. Some went as far to tweet as their characters!

KC
Fan Reaction

All of the sudden our small idea was became a hot event amongst fans at Comic-Con. They waited each morning for the next hunt to begin. We held “search parties” between 9:00-11:00 each morning, allowing  fans that couldn’t get into the Con to participate. Our favorite thing about the event was hiding near-by and waiting for fans to show up and try to find the VHS pack. After our first couple of hunts we had fans showing up in large groups, and in some cases competing to be the first to grab some swag from their favorite 2016 series!

These are just a few of the hundreds of responses we received from fans trying to help us #FindWill!

KC