Executive Summary for Top Gun: Maverick
The social media marketing campaign for Top Gun: Maverick will focus on the three major social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The campaign will be very visually appealing and promote the movie to the correct target audience. The goals will align with the content. The content will also tightly align with the different phases of the campaign to make it more successful. The campaign will be created with the different phases in mind to give the audience the right information at the appropriate time. The campaign will be measured and analyzed throughout to ensure the best final results for the movie and the campaign.
For this campaign to succeed it needs to have a SMART goal attached to it to monitor success. A SMART goal is an acronym used to guide goal setting, it stands for, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021). For this campaign a specific goal is to direct content viewers to the movie website. This is actually a very unique goal because in most cases you do not want people leaving the platform they are on and you want to appreciate them where they are, with the exception being Pinterest, but with this goal the object of the content is to get them to the website that is promoting the movie. While social media can do a lot to get people excited and give them reminders of the upcoming movie, the website is where all the details are. Full length videos, a written synopsis, and there is even a feature that allows you to put a reminder in your calendar for the movie release. To measure this the social media campaign is extremely important in achieving this goal because without social media many of the viewers may have never know the movie has its own website, which is unique in itself. To measure this there should be a 30% increase in the number of clicks the link in the profile or the link in the post received. To make this achievable the link to the website will be highly promoted and very visible. This is relevant because there is so much information on the website that will benefit the viewer and get them excited for the movie. Lastly, to make this goal timely it should be achieved during the duration of the pre-event, which is three months.
Campaign
This social media campaign for Top Gun: Maverick will utilize the big three social platforms, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. With over five billion combined users across these three platforms the opportunity for reach is massive. While more niche social media platforms have a captive audience for a certain subject or reason, Top Gun: Maverick aims to reach a broad audience, in hopes of reaching people who might not consider this their niche. Instagram is a great choice for this campaign because it is so visual. With Top Gun: Maverick being a big block buster movie there are plenty of high-quality clips and stills from the movie that can be used to appeal to the Instagram audience. Facebook is also a great option for this campaign because this is where the original Top Gun fans are most likely going to be. The original Top Gun premiered in 1986 and Facebook has an older demographic of people compared to Instagram and Twitter. Using Twitter can also be a great tool in this campaign, but it should be used a little differently than the other platforms. One social media campaign that was very successful was the Twitter campaign for Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. During this campaign, Twitter was used to send out tweets from Ron Burgandy, the fictional anchorman himself (Ashraf, 2016). For Top Gun: Maverick, Maverick will be the one tweeting. Like the Anchorman 2 campaign, it will hopefully promote engagement by allowing people to “talk to” a beloved character.
The target market for this movie is very broad. It appeals to the older generation who saw the original in 1986, or in the years following its release as they got older and heard the hype surrounding the film. Facebook is a great place to advertise to the films original audience who are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. The target audience on Instagram should be mainly males. The theming and story are targeted mainly towards males between the ages of 30 to 50. By targeting the story of the movie to the male audience on this platform with an emphasis that Tom Cruise is the lead in the movie, husbands may be able to convince their wives to go see the movie as well. Twitter is going to appeal to the male audience as well. Since it is Maverick speaking through tweets it will resonate with the 30 to 50 age range that Instagram is also targeting.
The tone of voice for Facebook and Instagram should be serious. It is an action movie with many intense scenes throughout so the voice on social media should reflect this. The voice should be informational and straight forward. Some of the posts will also have a heroic feel to them as well. This movie can promote pride in people so making them feel that through the campaign before they even see the movie. While the voice on Twitter will have a similar serious tone to it sometimes, the tweets will be coming directly from the voice of Maverick so they will also push the limits in some cases. While he has that heroic, serious feel can also have that cocky tone as well. Maverick has gotten older since the first movie so he has matured some, but fans of the original film will love to see some of his original voice come through.
This campaign will use three to five hashtags per post on Instagram, one to two on Twitter, and then one consistent one on Facebook as best practices (Blitch, 2022). Instagram should utilize hashtags such as #topgunmaverick, #TopGun, and #maverick on all posts. They should then use others on specific occasions that are specific to the post. For example, a post on release day should include #topgunmaverickpremier. Twitter hashtags should include #TopGun and #topgunmaverick. The one hashtag that should be used on Facebook for this campaign is #topgunmaverick.
One partnership that I believe would be a good pairing Top Gun: Maverick pairing up with Mission BBQ. Mission BBQ is a restaurant that is in eighteen states across the Midwest and East Coast, it has over a hundred locations (MISSION BBQ, 2022). The theming of the store is very patriotic with different branches of the military being represented, including the Navy, as well as police and fire rescue. While the social media platforms take a broader approach, this pairing is a little bit more niche with it only being in certain states, but the target audience of Mission BBQ and the movie align perfectly. Mission BBQ has 34.4k followers on Instagram, 11.5k on Twitter, and 145,348 followers on Facebook. They have a good following and have the appropriate audience. They could create a specialty sandwich called The Maverick to help promote the movie.
Examples of Content for the Campaign:
Instagram Post for During the Event:
topgunmovie Maverick is finally back in action. See him in theaters today!
Are you seeing Top Gun: Maverick today or this weekend?
#topgunmaverick #TopGun #maverick #topgunmaverickpremiere
Facebook Post for During the Event:
Still a classic to this day. We have loved hearing your thoughts on Top Gun: Maverick, keep sending them in for a chance for your thoughts to be featured here!
Comment below if you went to see the movie opening weekend.
#topgunmaverick
Twitter Tweet for Pre-Event Phase:
References
Ashraf, S. (2016, August 9). 5 superb examples of social media campaigns for blockbuster movies. Locowise Blog. Retrieved from https://locowise.com/blog/5-superb-examples-of-social-media-campaigns-for-blockbuster-movies
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, November 2). Smart goals: Definition and examples. Indeed Career Guide. Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/smart-goals
Blitch, K. (2022). Lectures Spring 2022.
MISSION BBQ. (2022, February 22). Mission BBQ. Retrieved from https://mission-bbq.com/locations-and-menu/
