What Marvel Taught Us About Targeted Creative Technology

February 12, 2015

What if I told you the success of a digital experience didn’t always have to be traditionally measured? Where a creative technology interaction is the strategy itself, much like Target using design as the strategy? There’s occasional merit to the notion. However, on those occasions, brands see a front-and-center technological digital experience as the core idea, coming directly out of the brand DNA.

Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. experiential activation at Times Square’s Discovery Center, Marvel made a statement of technology as art installation by bringing the film to life. Marvel is all about technology in every Avengers-related film, using effects like holographic images, hand scanners and visually stunning touch screens. What makes Avengers films so unique is the seemingly implausible nature of their technologies. The Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. consumer experience made the concept more “plausible,” giving hundreds of thousands of fans a first-of-its-kind experience.

Looking back on the exhibit, a key takeaway wasn’t the volume of visitors or the number of social media shares (actually, there weren’t social media components) it was the environmental design, visionary approach and integration of complex technologies in a consumer-centric format. Using a technology like LEAP motion robotics, retinal tracking or E.E.G. brain scanning is cutting-edge on a singular level, but to incorporate all three and more into one unified experience is a monumental marketing push for Marvel’s broad demographics – and the media.

When the brand platform is appropriate, such as the case with the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N., key performance indicators aren’t necessarily data driven. Using creative technology to give an action-based brand an uncommon experience is the statement.

Now that said, the Avengers activation did have very robust numbers based on the experiential creative technology strategy, particularly in earned media. Over 30 million consumer impressions were attained, with a throughput of 1,500 consumers per day from June through August 2014.

In the end, all savvy marketers are data-driven. That’s laughably obvious. However, there are occasions where “environmental strategies” trump the numbers. When brand appropriate, the true single-minded idea lies in the vision and artistic expression an experience embodies.

That was a valuable lesson. If a core brand platform is steeped in technological vision, trust that reimagined technology will reach consumers in a targeted, immersive and disruptive way.

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