'American Reunion' digital marketing campaign: Excited for one last piece?

(Facebook cover, Photo source: American Pie Facebook)

It's been over twelve years since Universal Pictures released American Pie and it became the teen comedy classic that depicted and defined Generation Y. Now the entire gang is back for their high school reunion in American Reunion on April 6.

The box-office hit Pie became a franchise that spawned two sequels, American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003), and four direct-to-video spin-offs.

Reunion's one-sheet pays homage to the original Pie (Photo source: IMP Awards)

With the franchise's rich library of material and built-in fanbase, American Reunion’s remarkably extensive digital marketing campaign aims to engage fans with a slice of nostalgia in different ways while replicating the brand's gross-out humor to entice newcomers.

Did the campaign succeed in getting fans salivating for more Pie? Let’s take a look and see if the strategies made this a Reunion worth waiting for.


1. GIF Creator

Selecting three GIFs from a gallery of cast member bobble-heads doing funky dance moves, one can create, name, and share their GIF creation on Reunion’s official website.

On Target: Like “creating a music video” by mixing and matching different clips, this GIF creator doesn’t require hard work or thinking - just the click of the mouse on sequences one likes.

With the exaggerated, comical facial expressions on each of their large heads, the cast resembles caricatures; having them dance remind fans that the gang’s fun, kooky, and lovable. These are the people they fell in love with during their first serving of Pie and now want to revisit.

A separate page offers easy to download icons for Twitter, AIM, etc.

Click an icon and to immediately download

For those who have not seen a Pie flick, these GIFs are an amusing diversion.


Missed Opportunity?: Though easy to use, the GIF creator is not practical; it is doubtful many will change their Twitter or buddy icon to feature Reunion unless they are diehard fans.

One can share their creation on Twitter and Facebook or copy the link, but the impersonal sequence is just that – a kitschy bobble-head figure doing three dance routines. Allowing fans to transpose their faces on a bobble-head figure and dance with the cast could change that.

Instead of watching, dance with the cast

Having the option to send a GIF creation as a greeting card will inspire people to share it in a more usable fashion. Snippets of songs can be used, which simultaneously promotes the soundtrack.

A can't-miss event

One can be a RSVP greeting card where friends can send and ask each other to save the date to watch Reunion together; a link to purchase presale tickets can be included on the bottom.


2. For Better Or Worse photos

After logging into Facebook, one can launch an app to upload and vote on pictures of users in high school versus now, comparing if they look better or worse.

On Target: Looking back at the cast and seeing how they’ve all grown up reminds users this isn’t just another Pie sequel, it’s the reunion and arguably the closing chapter.

Asking the audience who grew up with them to look back at themselves taps into the feel-good of nostalgia; things were simpler in the past, when they saw the first film. Hopefully, watching the Reunion will take them back and recapture those feelings.

Even if one has never seen Pie, the rated-R film's target demographic has mostly likely graduated high school so they have before and after pictures to participate.


Missed Opportunity?: The comparisons do not make a statement on personal growth for better or worse, only on the superficiality of one’s appearance.

Simply tweaking the app to allow participants to write a caption on their photos can easily amend that.

The key to creating a “Now and Then”-type comparison is having relatable content, much in the same vein as the college student meme that portrayed him as a freshman and senior. Everyone shares the experience of growing up and finding out things don't always turn out according to plan.

"College Senior" meme (Photo source: Mashable)

Wickedly funny and cynical like Pie’s humor, these memes can show the audience grew up and changed (or not) like the characters. Each can be featured in a Facebook gallery to be liked and shared; though unnecessary in this context, users can vote who was most and least changed.


3. Memes

Low-cost, simple, and effective, the film's Facebook page has shared official Pie memes that garner thousands of "Likes" and hundreds of "Shares" and comments.

On Target: Holiday-themed memes gave fans viable reason to share on their friends' timelines or walls. And any holiday was an excuse to share a meme, including Super Bowl Sunday, Pi Day, International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, and Be Nasty Day.

The Valentine's Day "flute" memes attracted over 700 "Shares" and 10,000 "Likes"...

Missed Opportunity?: ...but the other Valentine's memes aimed at singletons managed to have over 1,500 "Shares" and 15,000 "Likes."

Seemed more fans related to and liked the advantage of being single, solo, and happy, proving the most successful memes are based on "shared experiences."

The target audience is familiar with these popular college memes, such as Boston University's, and their format.

Boston University meme (Photo source: Mashable)

Using them as a template for Jim, Stifler, Jim’s Dad, and other characters by taking pictures from the four movies and focusing on themes people can identify with can put a clever spin on the memes and prompt more users to share them with friends.


4. My Reunion Board

On Pie’s Facebook, one can upload photos and notes to create a “My Reunion Corkboard” to add to their Facebook albums.

On Target: Friends become aware of Reunion after they are tagged in this cute digital scrapbook page.

Missed Opportunity?: Photos and notes touch only the surface for a trip down memory lane. How about including videos and music?

Using a tool like Pinterest and a Reunion hashtag, one can collect a scrapbooking board filled with photos, videos, and music of their memories of the 90’s and 00’s, which will create a rich emotional connection to the film.

(Screencap from Pinterest)

Friends will definitely want to check out that piece of nostalgia and replay music videos that trigger a memory, which is one of the reasons old music videos reach millions of views on YouTube.

Music video for Angela Ammons's "Always Getting Over You" from American Pie 2

Additionally, the “soundtrack of Pie's life” can be shared on Spotify and include memorable songs from the previous films (Blink-182, Michelle Branch, Angela Ammons) that lead up to the present Reunion soundtrack.


5. Greatest Moments

Rewatch the best Pie moments edited together on YouTube under such banners as “Hottest MILF Moments,” “Most Outrageous Sexual Moments,” and “Jim's Most Embarrassing Moments.”

On Target: These easy-to-consume capsules remind viewers of the most memorable and funny parts of each Pie.

By watching these, one doesn’t have to rewatch all the movies before Reunion, but may be encouraged to after revisiting these best bits.

Pie's Most Outrageous Sexual Moments with an intro from Seann William Scott

Preceded with a forward by a cast member and ending with appropriate footage from Reunion, the clips tease and hook viewers into wanting to see more of the new film.


Missed Opportunity?: This is an excellent way to bridge Pie fans to Reunion.

A small suggestion would be to find creative ways to have fans share the videos; for example, encourage people to wish their friends a Happy St. Patty’s Day by sharing a video of appropriate debauchery.


6. MILF Hall of Fame

Inspired by a reference in Pie to describe Stifler’s mom, moms (or those who know one) can upload a photo from Facebook into a MILF gallery on Break.com and based on the public votes, those with 20 ratings of a 3 out of 5 average on the “Stiffy Meter” are inducted into the MILF Hall of Fame and qualify to win a iPad 2.

On Target: Bringing to life the “MILF” term Pie immortalized in pop culture slang, the contest is raunchy and outrageous like the Pie brand.

The sensational and humorous contest will get people chatting and sharing pics of themselves or their mom for votes.


Missed Opportunity?: While calling the bodacious Jennifer Coolidge who plays Stifler’s mom a MILF is all in jest, it is somewhat different to call one’s self or mom the same thing in real life.

Depending on the audience and how one takes it, calling a mom a MILF can be a compliment or insult. On top of that, having the public and friends rate one’s mom like a beauty pageant can sting and humiliate further.

This contest has to tread carefully to make sure the people submitting and in the photos are in on the joke. Thus far, there are less than 15 entries, excluding many duplicates.


7. Stifler’s Beer Pong

Challenge “four chicks” in the official site's game Stifler's Beer Pong. The more you have to drink, the more impaired your vision.

On Target: Amusing casual game. The attractively drawn females and drunk behavior are in line with the brand.


Missed Opportunity?: For four rounds of the same game, it becomes repetitive. It would also make an excellent app game for a smartphone or tablet using the touchscreen.


8. Pie In The Face - interactive trailer

(Photo source: American Pie Facebook)

Fans can embed themselves and their friends in a Reunion trailer called "Pie In The Face," similar to what Bridesmaids did.

On Target: It’s comical and gives friends a reason to watch because they "star" in it. Each person’s face is used within the context of the film’s characters.


Missed Opportunity?: The liberal use of the embedded faces' static shots in the trailer begin to look creepy and detract one from enjoying the actual Reunion footage.

Unless one was a huge fan, it is doubtful many people will spend time uploading pictures of six of their friends and themselves to share it, but it’s a great option to have in addition to the Greatest Moments YouTube clips.


9. TOUT – Real time video responses

On video social-network site TOUT, fans can respond with 15-second videos to the trailer and Thomas Ian Nicholas in real time with their phone cameras and webcams.

On Target: Instant gratification responses and involvement.


Missed Opportunity?: It doesn't look like TOUT has caught on; there are only 11 replies to Reunion’s trailer and Nicholas’s response was uploaded four months ago. Perhaps this is why the feature is no longer prominently displayed on Reunion’s official website.

A video live chat is not a bad idea, and using a tool like uStream before the premiere would be a great marketing tool, given Pie’s infamous voyeuristic webcam scene involving Jim and Nadia.

In an ode to the franchise, the filmmakers and cast members (perhaps Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, and Shannon Elizabeth) can host a video chat to answer questions and introduce the making of Reunion.

Jim dancing for Nadia on video chat in Pie (Photo source: Culture.com)

An interactive portion can be included as an incentive to tune in live. For example, fans are asked a poll question such as 'Who would you like to see dance?' and the hashtag answer (#PieDanceJim, #PieDanceStifler, #PieDanceNadia) that trends the highest on Twitter wins and happens live.