How does a new film attract the attention of moviegoers when it's competing with a franchise that garnered more than one BILLION dollars at the box office? Lionsgate Films had to contend with just
that when they released their murder mystery "Knives Out" on the same Thanksgiving weekend as "Frozen 2". Not only that, they're also both family-friendly films competing for much of the same
audience. Their solution? A "gamified transmedia" experience. In partnership with AvatarLabs, Lionsgate created puzzles for fans to solve using the "Knives Out" marketing materials; including its
trailer, posters and red carpet events. Each puzzle was coordinated with the film's paid creative, where participants could find clues to the mysteries. Each solved mystery earned entry into the
$250,000 grand prize sweepstakes. To kick off the promotion they scripted a custom shot trailer with talent, created an Instagram story and launched an interactive campaign hub that drove fans to
every element of the larger marketing campaign. For maximum impact, they ran instant-win prizes to further incentivize people to enter. They offered an array of puzzles and difficulty levels to
engage with a broader audience through a variety of touch points and platforms, while also leveraging publicity opportunities for cast participation.