In 2020, we teamed up with Picturehouse to launch their new film, Fatima, the historical drama of the Virgin Mary’s appearances to three children in Fátima, Portugal, over a hundred years ago.
We developed social content to inspire, connect and elevate the film’s key themes. It was a social campaign of biblical proportions, with more than 200 pieces of content reaching 14 million people, all eager to see the movie.
But one month before the movie's release, the world and Fatima were put on pause due to COVID-19. We had to pivot to keep interest and engagement up for another four months.
For the first time in a hundred years, the faithful from around the world couldn’t make a pilgrimage to the Shrine at Fátima. So we created “Together In Spirit,” a virtual pilgrimage transporting people to the shrine. At a time when everyone felt isolated, our broadcast united the world with a message of hope, and in the process became the best-performing Facebook Premiere event in motion picture history.
When the movie was finally released, we had created another pilgrimage, as our faithful flocked to screenings across the country, making Fatima one of the top 10 films of the year.
The campaign videos got more than 27 million views, and Fatima’s message of hope, love and peace was enjoyed by people across the world and created a much needed reprieve from the events of 2020.
Some would call it a miracle. But we’d just say, it’s smart marketing.
Contributors: