FRIDAY 13th…
Deadlines creeping up on the accounts team
It’s not every day it’s Friday 13th, in fact it only rolls around on average once every 212 days! To mark this spooky day we have are sharing some of our top horror film marketing tips, tricks and treats (wrong day?) learnt over the years.
Our work on Insidious: The Red Door turned into our most (not anymore but at the time) successful organic campaign yet on TikTok. It showed just how huge and engaged the horror audience is on the platform. The “Your Seat My Seat” trend alone hit 10.7M views, and native-style, trending content kept outperforming. For the first time, we fully committed to using trending sounds, CapCut overlays and popular hashtags across the board and it proved how essential these are to a smart, ongoing TikTok strategy.
Harriet Gill – Senior Account Director
As a designer we can all get a bit caught up on the visual aesthetic, especially on social which for so long has been a sound off world. However, TikTok has renewed the use of sound and this is doubly important with horror, where sound creates atmosphere and builds tension. Working on 28 Years Later has been incredible, and the Kipling poem in the trailer has been a great asset – one we used in a countdown asset that has gone on to become the most engaged organic asset for 28 Years Later on TikTo). The sense of increasing rhythm in the audio adds a real urgency and intensity to the countdown!
Harry Springford - Designer
Blood. Guts. Exploding heads. Just 3 of the things that contribute to horror being one of my favourite genres, but also 3 things on the naughty list at the social channels when it comes to promoting content via ads. With this in mind, my top tip is to take a leaf out of Spielberg’s book when it came to making Jaws and show less. Even if you love the gore of horror, it’s the suspense and build up that makes this great, so make sure your content leaves them wanting to see more (and with a link to buy a ticket to see it in the cinema).
Joe Orton – Performance Director
We worked on Presence, directed by Steven Soderbergh and released in to cinemas in January 2025 by Picturehouse. Our task was to develop social media spots as part of the core marketing campaign leading up to the film’s release. We explored the film’s central themes, particularly the concept of "presence" and the psychological depth of its characters. Emphasis was placed on highlighting the suspense, storyline, and horror elements to position Presence as a must-see horror film to kick off the year.
Becs Cole – Managing Director
