Killer App: Creo catches fire for Mockingjay Part 2 graphics

The final film in the wildly successful series based on The Hunger Games books – Mockingjay Part 2 – took more than $650m (£459m) at the box office, so it was imperative that the launch of the DVD of the film was just as successful. Creo, based in London with production in Aylesford, was tasked with this high-profile project.

What did the job entail?

For the launch of Mockingjay Part 2, the intention was to create ‘theatre and excitement’ alongside stock holding POS to ensure the film achieved stand-out and buy-in from key retailers. To achieve this, Creo produced bespoke items such as a photo opportunity standee and event pallets. Lug-ons were added to the standard units to create depth. A suite of 20 items was created across different retailer templates, including HMV and major supermarkets. In addition, a complete ‘creative takeover’ in the entertainment aisle for 338 Tesco stores involved producing the POS items for each store to provide a Mockingjay look and feel to the entire aisle, moving away from Tesco corporate branding.

How was it produced?

The whole campaign comprised around 8,000 individual pieces. The majority of the campaign was digitally printed on Creo’s Agfa M-Press Tiger and Leopard wide-format printers, with some higher run items litho printed. The shelves for the event pallet, bumper units and half pallets were screen printed.

For the Tesco creative takeover, 45 artworks were worked up, printed digitally and die-cut into 5,028 items in total. These were all co-packed into 338 kit outers with different quantities of each item, specific to each store.

What challenges were overcome?

The timeline for the Tesco takeover was challenging: from cost approval to final delivery, the job was designed, artworked, produced, packed and delivered direct to store in eight days.

“In addition, to utilise the main key art image of Katniss using her bow and arrow as a focus for the event pallet and photo op standee, we had to re-inforce the bow and arrow with clear acetate which was applied to the reverse of the main image. This helped to strengthen and support the bow and arrow but we also purposely shaped the acetate to the exact shape of the bow string so the eye naturally follows the edge of the acetate from the bow string on her face,” explained Creo marketing director Joy Lees.

What was the feedback?

Lees said feedback from entertainment company Lionsgate in the UK and Los Angeles has been highly positive about the in-store campaign, and the film has remained at the number one slot in the DVD charts since its release on 21 March. “Compliance was high across all retailers and we worked closely in conjunction with Lionsgate’s merchandisers Expd8 to ensure this all went smoothly,” she added.

Rob Wilson, marketing manager of entertainment at Tesco, said: “Great feedback from stores, good use of assets and looked impactful in-store once implemented.”