Freeman Bell

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Contents: 1. Guardians Background/universe 2. Guardians Vol. 3: Introduction 3. Pre-launch 4. Launch 5. Post-launch 6. Conclusion

Guardians of the Galaxy Background and Universe

Since its inception in 1969, the Guardians of the Galaxy (hereafter referred to as ​ ​ “Guardians”) franchise has been a consistent and influential addition to the Marvel ​ ​ Universe. The team first appeared in the popular comic book series Marvel-Super ​ Heroes #18 in 1969. Written by Arnold Drake and pencilled by Gene Colan, the comic ​ sold extremely well and was brought back a few years later. After a few more guest appearances in Marvel Super-Heroes, the Guardians were finally given their own comic ​ ​ ​ ​ book series in 1976 entitled Marvel Presents: Guardians of the Galaxy. Originally written ​ ​ ​ ​ by Steve Gerber and later by Roger Stern, the series ran for a little over a year until it was cancelled due to poor sales in 1976. However, the Guardians still made appearances in other Marvel Comics such as Thor Annual and The Avengers ​ ​ ​ throughout the 1970’s until 1980. Guardians then went dormant for nearly decade until ​ ​ the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation took off in popularity. Marvel decided to ​ ​ cash in on the show’s success by reviving their spaced-themed Guardians comics. This ​ ​ new series was highly successful and ran until 1995. In 2008, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning wrote a new Guardians comic series with ​ ​ a completely different timeline and an all new lineup of characters. This new team originates from the Annihilation: Conquest comics and is the same team that we have ​ ​ seen in the first two Guardians films: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and ​ ​ Groot. The comic ran for two years and was cancelled in 2010. Another comic series,

Guardians 3000, was created in 2015 following the success of the first film and features ​ the original team from 1969.

The franchise’s first feature film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, was released in ​ ​ 2014 and dominated the box office with $773 million. In the film, Peter Quill aka

Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) steals a mysterious orb from the edge of outer space and becomes the target of a massive manhunt. Quill forms an unlikely, rag-tag team of heroes consisting of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon

(Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel), that are pulled into saving the galaxy. This star-studded lineup also featured John C. Reilly and Benicio Del Toro, which propelled the film to being a fan favorite. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was released in 2017 and ​ ​ saw similar success. It added even more big name stars such as Sylvester Stallone and

Kurt Russell, grossed over $863 million in the box office, and received a nomination for

Best Visual Effects at the 2017 Academy Awards. Both films were written and directed by James Gunn, although the screenplay for the first film was originally written by Nicole

Perlman. As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Guardians also appeared in

Avengers: Infinity War and will appear in the upcoming Avengers 4. ​ ​ ​ The Guardians franchise has expanded to other new media platforms since the ​ ​ success of the films, namely video games. A mobile game entitled Guardians of the ​ Galaxy: The Ultimate Weapon was released post-launch of the first film on iOS, ​ Android, and Windows Phone. The second film followed the same strategy, releasing

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series in the post-launch phase on all major ​ gaming platforms (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android). In addition to these games, Marvel produced an animated TV series that has aired on

Disney XD since 2015. The soundtrack album to the first film, Guardians of the Galaxy: ​ Awesome Mix Vol. 1, was released separately and was quite popular. There is also a ​ Guardians-themed drop tower ride at Disney California Adventure as well as a roller ​ coaster at Epcot that is set to open in 2021)

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3

The third feature film installment of Guardians was announced in 2017 with the ​ ​ release of Vol. 2. There is no official release date yet, although shooting is scheduled to ​ ​ start in early 2019 and the film is expected to hit theaters in 2020. Vol. 3 is likely to see ​ ​ at least the same level of success as the previous two iterations, although the film is clouded in uncertainty at the moment. The ending of Avengers: Infinity War left all major ​ ​ characters dead except for Rocket and Nebula, and the upcoming Avengers 4 will ​ ​ shake the universe up even further. Thus, the characters and plot of Vol. 3 are largely ​ ​ unknown. Additionally, writer and director James Gunn was recently fired from the project by Marvel after offensive tweets surfaced online. A new director is yet to be hired and whether or not Marvel will continue with Gunn’s vision is unknown at this time.

The following transmedia marketing plan for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 aims ​ ​ to overcome the controversy surrounding the film by engaging current audiences through interactive experiences, targeting new audiences, and increasing brand awareness on a large scale through various partnerships with other brands.

Pre-Launch

Collaboration with The Weeknd

A major aspect of this transmedia campaign is a collaborative partnership with

Grammy-winning recording artist The Weeknd that will persist throughout the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch phases. The Weeknd’s 2016 album Starboy went ​ ​ double platinum, making him one of the hottest recording artists in the music industry right now. He has previously partnered with Marvel to create an original comic book series featuring himself as the protagonist. This, combined with the fact that music is a major theme of the Guardians franchise, makes The Weeknd the ideal partner for this ​ ​ campaign.

The first phase of this partnership will come in the form of Vol. 3’s soundtrack ​ ​ album, produced entirely by The Weeknd. The album will be released on all major streaming platforms, as well as in physical forms, one month prior to the film’s release in

2020. Black Panther executed something very similar earlier this year to perfection. ​ ​ Their soundtrack album was produced by Kendrick Lamar and featured The Weeknd, resulting in a number one debut on the US Billboard 200. Vol. 3’s album will also feature ​ ​ Guardians-themed music videos to accompany the songs. The Weeknd’s Starboy brand ​ is internationally famous, fits like a glove with Guardian’s galactic theme, and will bring a ​ ​ tremendous amount of awareness to the film.

Alternate Reality Game

Upon the album’s release, an alternate reality game (ARG) will launch in all major US cities. Commencing with coded messages in the album and music videos, players will be led to a website and accompanying social media accounts. These will lead the players on a scavenger hunt around their city to different record stores where they will collect one song from the album on a vinyl record. The first players in each city to collect all records will be rewarded with tickets to the movie, a DVD boxset of the films, and a signed poster. This unique ARG will engage the audiences and start a conversation about the film across social media platforms.

Snapchat

The final step of the pre-launch phase will consist of a series of Snapchat filters designed to increase exposure of Vol. 3. We will utilize Snapchat’s facial recognition ​ ​ feature to create unique filters where the user’s face will be turned into Rocket and

Groot (and additional characters as the story allows). Groot’s filter will also transform the user’s voice into varying inflections of his iconic saying, “I am Groot.” Furthermore, overlay filters will be available with Vol. 3’s logos and release date. Snapchat’s status as ​ ​ one of the most popular social media platforms will propel Vol. 3’s awareness and help ​ ​ it reach a wider audience. These attention-grabbing filters will continue into the launch phase when the film premieres.

Launch

Live Venues

Kicking off the launch of Vol. 3 will involve a campaign of spontaneous pop-ups ​ ​ in major cities around the world. The pop-ups will consist of a unique Guardians themed ​ ​ merch van with speakers playing the soundtrack album. They will offer limited-time merchandise as well as physical copies of the album in both Vinyl and CD, and will be announced only the day before their appearance. This will increase the exclusivity of the merchandise and will increase buzz on social media. Recently, Childish Gambino went viral when he set up completely unannounced stations in New York and Los Angeles that played his two new singles on speakers next a truck handing out free milkshakes.

The mysterious nature behind these pop-ups sparked a conversation on social media, which Vol. 3’s campaign aims to do as well. ​ ​ Van’s Partnership

Marvel has an existing partnership with Vans to create Marvel-themed socks, shoes, shirts, hats, and backpacks. However, Vol. 3’s campaign will break ground by ​ ​ working with Vans to create Guardians-specific apparel to sell online as well as in the ​ ​ pop-ups. Apart from Vans’ standard lineup of apparel, we will collaborate to create a special edition Star-Lord jacket. Vans has gotten very creative with creating Marvel apparel in the past, and we wish to open the door even further to allow them full artistic freedom. This stylized jacket will be a high demand collector’s item and a perfect product to include at the pop-ups.

The Weeknd Shoe

In addition to the Vans partnership, we will also create a The Weeknd signature shoe with a Guardians theme. The Weeknd teamed up with Puma to release his first ​ ​ signature sneaker, the Parallel, in August of 2017. His next signature shoe will also be made by Puma and will be inspired by Vol. 3 in a more subtle way. Instead of the overt ​ ​ characters, logos, etc. used on the Vans collaboration, this shoe will be more understated and stylish. It will feature a galactic aesthetic and color scheme, complete with a glow in the dark strip around the base, a one-time-only Vol. 3 logo on the bottom, ​ ​ and the Marvel logo on the tongue. Unlike Vans, his shoe will appeal to a more chic

‘sneakerhead’ audience and expose the Guardians brand to a whole new market of ​ ​ consumers. The shoe will be sold for a limited time only upon the film’s release to increase its rarity and particularity.

Post-Launch

Live Venues

Alongside the merchandise pop-ups, film and gaming conventions will be utilized as live venue platforms during the post-launch phase. Conventions such as Comic-Con and SXSW will feature in-costume character appearances and panels with the writers, director, producers, VFX artists, etc. of Vol. 3. This will engage audience members by ​ ​ allowing them to have an interactive experience with cast/crew through asking questions. Writers will discuss different story iterations and their writing process, VFX artists will show concept art, and the director and producers will describe what it took to get the film made. This is a great way to reaffirm fans’ passion for the Guardians ​ franchise and make a lasting impression on them.

The Weeknd Web Series

Earlier this year, The Weeknd teamed up with Marvel to write and create an original comic book entitled Starboy, starring himself. The comic has been generally ​ ​ well received and The Weeknd has said that it is a dream come true to partner with

Marvel. We hope to continue that partnership by merging the Starboy comic with the ​ ​ animated Guardians TV series to create an animated web series. The characters and ​ ​ narrative of Starboy mesh perfectly with those of Guardians, and the mash-up is sure to ​ ​ ​ ​ be a fan favorite. The series will be comprised of 6 episodes and will be available online on YouTube Premium. It has potential to run for an extended period of time and will further merge the audiences of The Weeknd and Marvel comics. By distributing the series on YouTube as opposed to TV, we are exposing the universe on a platform that

Marvel has largely stayed away from apart from trailers and promotional content.

VR Telltale Game

In traditional Guardians fashion, a video game will be released shortly after Vol. ​ ​ ​ 3’s release. However, this game will be developed specifically for all major VR ​ platforms. It will be the second installment in Telltale’s Guardians game series and will ​ ​ consist of 5 all-new episodes, all in VR. The first Telltale game was quite successful, but to adapt it to a VR format there will need to be some structural changes in the game. Improved graphics and a more open/interactive world are the two most important things that can be improved upon. The first game’s graphics were mediocre at best, and realistic graphics are essential for pulling off a convincing VR experience. Similarly, the first game does not have a particularly open or interactive world, which is one of the biggest selling points of VR: the unique ways in which you can interact with the environment. Demos of the game will be tested throughout its development at different gaming/tech conventions (E3, GDC, PAX, etc.), putting the idea of the game out there and allowing users to give feedback on how to improve it prior to release. Expanding the

Guardians universe to one of the most exciting and cutting edge new media platforms in ​ VR will increase brand awareness and audience engagement.

Fortnite Partnership

The final aspect of the post-launch phase will be a partnership with the viral video game Fortnite, developed by Epic Games. Fortnite has exploded in popularity over the past year, quickly becoming the top game in downloads, revenue, and Twitch presence.

One of the things that Fortnite is known for is creating fun and unique character skins that the players can pay for in-game (which is how Fortnite makes money; it is free to play). Fortnite has previously featured a “Rust Lord” skin that is thought to be inspired by Star-Lord. Additionally, following Avengers: Infinity War’s release, Fortnite partnered ​ ​ with Marvel and created a limited-time game mode where you could play as Thanos.

Following Vol. 3’s release, we will collaborate with Epic Games to feature the 5 main ​ ​ characters (or the “new” team after Vol. 3) as character skins on sale for a limited time. ​ ​ Once the player buys the skin, though, they have access to it forever. Additionally, we will create a limited-time 5 person squad game mode, where players can team up with 4 friends (usually not offered) that each play as a different core Guardians character. ​ ​ Each player will have their own unique powers/abilities and the team will work together in unique ways to take down other players. There are also opportunities for limited-time

Guardians-inspired futuristic weapons to be featured in Fortnite. This partnership will ​ once again increase brand recognition in new audiences and provide them with an interactive, memorable experience.

Conclusion

This multifaceted transmedia campaign is ultimately designed to generate revenue and drive box office numbers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In practice, ​ ​ this campaign will experiment with new media platforms in order to stimulate the current audience’s attention and cultivate new audiences’ interest. Many of these strategies have been proven to be effective in the past for similar franchises and will work together to bring the Guardians franchise to the forefront of Marvel properties. Specifically, the ​ ​ partnership with The Weeknd is unique, innovative, and will hopefully be the beginning of a long-lasting collaborative relationship. By executing this transmedia plan throughout pre-launch, launch, and post-launch, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will undoubtedly ​ ​ overcome any controversy surrounding it to achieve huge box office success and expand the value of the franchise as a whole.