01The brothers
Arthur and Orm.
The friction between the brothers tied the spectacle to a story people could follow.
Then the release
← All work05 · Film · 2023
Aquaman
and the
Lost Kingdom
International copy for a film full of places, creatures, and two brothers who don’t get along. Each post needed to give viewers a reason to watch.
35%
APAC online-ticket
conversion lift
conversion lift
Client
Warner Bros. Pictures
Role
International digital media
Discipline
International social and short-form copy
Year
2023
Sc. 05A · The briefA large world in a small frame
The idea
The sentences still have to be written for each market
I worked on the international digital copy and short videos for the release. Each piece needed a starting point: Arthur and Orm, the threat they faced, a joke, or a glimpse of the kingdom below the surface.
On a phone, the opening image and line had to make sense together before someone scrolled past the release details.
I adapted that writing for different formats and markets, keeping the characters, relationships, and release information clear as the space for copy changed.
// The two-day cycle
A mistranslated character name travels just as fast as a good line
Approved copy went out to each market, came back adapted, and was checked for names, meaning, and pace before publication. The cycle took two days, so those checks had to be part of the schedule.
Sc. 05B · The workInternational social · Localization · Short-form video
A big world,
a small frame.
The first question for each post or video was what to show the viewer before adding the release information.
What to notice first
Three ways to open an asset
02The threat
What he is up against.
Some videos opened with the danger facing Arthur, so viewers could understand the stakes before reading the caption.
Then the release
03The world below
The scale below the surface.
Some opened on the size of the kingdom and let the image make the first point.
Then the release
01Character
The relationship that held the
story together
Arthur and Orm gave the campaign a relationship to come back to. Across different pieces of creative the emphasis could shift while the characters and their stakes stayed recognizable.
Local teams could change the phrasing and emphasis for their markets. Character names, relationships, and the meaning of the original copy still needed to be right.
What it delivered
2-day
adaptation cycle for approved copy variants in each local market
02Short-form
Making the release information useful
The opening frame and caption needed to work together quickly. I wrote them to give viewers something specific to watch for, followed by useful release information.
Release and ticketing information then followed from whatever part of the film the asset had just introduced.
What it delivered
20M+
combined views on three vertical videos, all among the campaign’s five best organic posts
03Final weeks
Testing the opening
In the final weeks before the premiere, I wrote opening and caption variants for A/B tests that set emotional copy against spectacle-led copy. The strongest variants went into release week.
What it delivered
−18%
cost per engagement in the final weeks before the premiere
04APAC
Localized for the market
Localized ads carried the campaign into APAC markets, with names, relationships and meaning checked in every version before it published.
What it delivered
+35%
online-ticket conversion in APAC over the previous film
One release, every market.
Release patternMaster message
Agree on the story each market needs to keep
Market adaptation
Review local phrasing
Check phrasing and character names for each market.
Final push
Use the strongest copy in release week
Below the surface
Stills from the campaign
Sc. 05C · By the numbersRelease window
What the audience did next.
35%
APAC ticket conversion
Increase in online-ticket conversion in APAC over the previous film.
Combined views
20M+
Across three leading vertical-video assets
Sign-ups and registrations
150K+
From interactive content, 40% over target
Cost per engagement
−18%
A/B-tested ad copy, final weeks before the premiere
Sc. 05D · Inside the caseFeaturette and stills
Watch
Filmed for IMAX
Production credits
EngagementInternational digital media
DisciplinesInternational social · Localization · Short-form video
CollaboratorsInternational campaign teams
Year2023
Next · Sc. 06 · Film · 2023
Barbie
Warner Bros. Pictures