The fourth in Disney's "Descendents" franchise of films, "Descendents: The Rise of Red" is a musical fantasy film focused on Red, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts of "Alice in Wonderland" fame, as she causes waves at Auradon Prep. When the Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, Red must team up with Cinderella's perfectionist daughter Chloe as they travel back in time to try to undo the traumatic event that set the young Queen of Hearts down her villainous path.
To engage with fans and drive tune-in to the Disney Original Movie, Disney Branded Television looked to create exciting, shareable moments on social media that would get viewers buzzing.
The "Descendants" franchise is known not just for its edgy, often funny, and slightly dark characters—it's also a powerhouse of phenomenal musical numbers and features incredible talent in its cast and crew. Disney Branded Television knew that fans of the film franchise love the music and dancing as much as they love the humor and drama essential to the story.
Disney's strategy to excite viewers was to feature the incredible talent in "The Rise of Red." In partnership with the world-famous Millennium Dance Complex dance studio, Disney created behind-the-scenes videos of "The Rise of Red" stars Kylie Cantrall, who plays Red, and Ruby Rose Turner, who plays Bridget, running through their choreography behind the scenes for two of the movie's phenomenal musical numbers—"Life is Sweeter" and "Red." Both songs include high-energy, intense dance choreography, and the videos give fans a sneak peek at what they can expect from "The Rise of Red" and the skill and talent of the movie's stars.
The two social videos give fans a window into the hard work and stunning talent that goes into the creation of "The Rise of Red," while taking them a little closer to the performers creating the characters with a chance to see them out of costume as they prepare for their roles.
Disney Branded Television's behind-the-scenes choreography posts were an impactful addition to its social media campaigns. The "Life is Sweeter" video garnered more than 130,000 views, while the "Red" video earned more than 200,000 views, helping to spread the word of the film to dance fans as well as to the "Descendants" community and new viewers.
The posts helped "Descendants: The Rise of Red" to draw 6.7 million viewers in its first three days on Disney+, and to go on to gather 33 million views over 12 weeks. It was the fifth-most streamed piece of content during the week of its release.
