The Stranger Things Immersive Watch Party
Client: Netflix
Agency: Sawhorse Productions
Prod: Sawhorse Productions
Nominations:
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Innovation in Emerging Media
The 2023 Producer’s Guild Innovation Award
The Challenge
Recruit a new generation of Stranger Things fans by reaching Gen Alpha where they already spend their time: Roblox.
But this challenge was bigger than bringing an iconic franchise to a new platform. We needed to translate Stranger Things for an audience that expects to participate, not just watch.
The Approach
An immersive screening that transformed the Stranger Things pilot from something you watch into something you play.
At the center of the experience was the episode itself, screening inside a fully explorable 3D recreation of Hawkins. As the story unfolded on screen, timed challenges, hidden clues, & interactive moments came to life, & rewarded players for engaging.
As players battled Demogorgons & helped search for Will Byers, they became not just viewers, but participants in the story itself.
The Result
In its two-week run, the activation generated 3.8M visits, 300K+ hours played, 1.7M+ collectibles awarded, & a 92% player approval rating.
Most importantly, more than 33% of players were new to Stranger Things, proving that immersive experiences can introduce traditional franchises to new audiences.
And the experience traveled well beyond Roblox. Gaming communities are natural engines for earned media, & Stranger Things players created walkthroughs, how-tos, & reaction videos that extended the experience organically across platforms.
The project saw industry recognition too, earning nominations for both the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Innovation in Emerging Media Programming & the Producers Guild Innovation Award.
But wait, there’s more
Wanna see a selection of the significant earned media we gained following this launch? Click here.