HEFG Releasing · 2021
The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2, a digital-first film marketing campaign for a comedy sequel
For the June 11, 2021 release of The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2, starring Mike Epps and Katt Williams, AONE Creative ran the integrated marketing campaign, from strategy and content to paid media across digital, social, TV and radio, and built the official site; Darrick Angelone was an associate producer. The campaign generated more than 100 million impressions, and the film opened to $1.0 million in the US and Canada and topped the specialty box office.
- The House Next Door
- Meet the Blacks 2
- HEFG Releasing
- 100M+ impressions
- Four platforms
- 2021
- The House Next Door
- Meet the Blacks 2
- HEFG Releasing
- 100M+ impressions
- Four platforms
- 2021
- The House Next Door
- Meet the Blacks 2
- HEFG Releasing
- 100M+ impressions
- Four platforms
- 2021
The brief
A sequel, opening in a pandemic year
Five years after Meet the Blacks, the sequel opened while many theaters were still closed or running at reduced capacity. The plan had to build the audience online.
With Variance Films handling theatrical distribution and PaperAirplane Media the in-theater marketing, AONE Creative managed the campaign from strategy through reporting: the digital marketing strategy, release content and paid social across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, the paid digital buy and retargeting, television with Starcom, radio placed directly with iHeartRadio, the influencer program, creative trafficking to every platform and campaign reporting to Variance Films. AONE Creative also built the official site, delivered through Hyper Engine. The Meet the Blacks case study
What we did
Strategy, paid media, content and the site
- Strategy
Campaign strategy
Built the release’s digital marketing strategy, from audience and channel mix to messaging and timing around opening weekend.
- Content
Release content
Developed and published release content for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, with messaging tailored to each platform’s audience.
- Paid
Paid digital and social
Planned and bought all paid digital and social media, optimized for reach, video views, clicks and engagement. More on media buying
- TV
Television
Placed traditional TV advertising for the release in partnership with Starcom.
- Radio
Radio
Handled the radio ad buys, working directly with iHeartRadio.
- Retargeting
Retargeting
Re-engaged audiences the campaign had already reached through retargeting.
- Influencers
Influencer marketing
Managed the influencer program, handling talent integrations and liaison with each partner.
- Growth
Audience building
Grew the franchise’s Instagram following 32.5% during the campaign.
- Delivery
Creative trafficking
Trafficked and delivered every campaign creative to each platform’s specifications.
- In theaters
In-theater marketing
Coordinated with PaperAirplane Media on the in-theater marketing campaign with exhibitors.
- Reporting
Reporting and analytics
Delivered campaign analytics and reporting directly to the theatrical distributor, Variance Films.
- Site
The official site
Designed and built the film’s official site, now kept as an archive.
Results
Reach, engagement and the box office
- 100M+Impressions across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
- 31M+Impressions from the paid campaigns
- 9.8MVideo views from the paid campaigns
- About 721,000 clicks from the paid campaigns
- Facebook pages: 32.9 million impressions, about 1.45 million engagements and 333,797 post link clicks
- Instagram: 18,786,751 impressions, 120,570 engagements and 32.5% follower growth
- Top posts reached up to 3.9 million impressions each
- Opening weekend: $1.0 million in the US and Canada, in 420 theaters
- Box office: $2.9 million in the US and Canada
- Topped the specialty box office on its opening weekend (Deadline)
Campaign figures: AONE Creative campaign reporting. Box office: The Numbers (US and Canada). Specialty ranking: Deadline, June 2021.
On screen
Mike Epps and Katt Williams
Mike Epps and Katt Williams lead the cast of the comedy sequel, directed by Deon Taylor.
What it taught us
Digital first, when theaters cannot be
With theaters only partly open, the audience had to be built online. Each platform carried its own content, and paid media went behind what was already working. We plan releases the same way today, and AI automation now takes the repeat work, from resizing assets for each platform to the weekly reports.
Start with AI
Put AI to work on your next release
An AI Readiness Audit maps your marketing workflows and ends with a plan you can act on, whether or not you hire us to build it. Snapshot $1,500 or Blueprint $4,500.
Film releases
Bringing back a franchise?
The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 passed 100 million impressions with a digital-first campaign. Tell us the title and the date, and we will plan a campaign that brings back the fans and finds new ones.