Amazon delivers giant 'Jurassic World' box in cross-channel marketing stunt

Dive Brief:

On May 30, Amazon delivered a 40-foot long box — the e-commerce retailer's largest delivery ever — with air holes and the "Jurassic World" logo to The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles, according to a press release. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, stars of the upcoming "Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom" film, will unveil the contents of the box on June 2. A Jeep Wrangler motorcade accompanied the truck making the delivery.
A shipping label made out to the film’s main characters played by Pratt and Howard is affixed to the box and features a SmileCode that can be scanned using Amazon’s app to opens a landing page with a video and discounted tickets for the film, which opens June 22. The box also features the hashtag #AmazonFindsAWay, directing curious consumers to social media to follow the mystery of what's inside the box and get tickets for the film. Tool of North America helped design and create the campaign, including writing the concept for the unboxing event and transportation of the box from the port of Los Angeles.
Visitors can also use Amazon’s voice assistant to get clues about what's inside the box by asking, “Alexa, ask Jurassic World what’s in the box?” Doing so unlocks a multi-part interactive experience featuring dinosaur sounds.

Dive Insight:

The marketing stunt is interesting because of how it brings together several brands — Amazon, Jeep and Universal Pictures' Jurassic World franchise — showing how the company can leverage its increasingly broad range of services to develop creative campaigns merging experiential marketing, voice assistants, video, e-commerce and social media. It is this kind of reach that is positioning Amazon as a quickly growing advertising platform.

Creative outdoor experiences like the Jurassic World-themed Amazon delivery are a trend many marketers are experimenting with as they look for new, creative ways to generate buzz beyond traditional advertising formats, like TV spots. Last summer, a number of marketers unveiled unique outdoor activations and, as the weather turns nice, more such experiences are likely to roll out, as the experience factor encourages consumers to snap selfies and other photos to post on social media, helping brands expand a campaign’s reach.

Such marketing tactics are popular with film studios. Disney’s promotion for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” included digital billboards showing real-time tweets from fans. A few days before the film release, nearly 2 million tweets had been sent. These types of events are most popular among younger audiences, who say they regularly experience FOMO (or “fear of missing out) and appreciate having authentic interaction brands.

Amazon has used the delivery of a giant box in past promotions. In 2013, the e-commerce giant partnered with Nissan to deliver three new Versa Note hatchbacks in a box to car buyers who made their purchase on Amazon.