Objective

Since 1914, Paramount has been telling horror stories across film and television.

And after a century of slashers, psychological thrillers, and everything between, it was time to show we don't simply make horror stories — we love this entire genre just as much as our fans.

And a century means a *lot* of fans.

In service of that community, we set out to build Paramount Scares — a new home for all things horror.

OUR GOALS:

1. Embrace and grow a thriving community of horror fans, engaging with them 365, across every touchpoint: theatrical new releases, consumer products, events, social and influencers, film festivals, and more.
2. Super-serve fandom and passion — not just through watching and discussing horror, but through consistent touchpoints: content creation, partnership activations, live events, and more.
3. Drive engagement — both for Paramount Scares’ new social handles, but also across the entire Paramount horror ecosystem of IPs.

The results? Scary good.

Original content. Influencer collabs. Film festivals. Even the seat-backs on your next flight.

By carving up the genre and pooling together dozens of fanbases from across the horror space, Paramount Scares has connected with — and created — a community built on passionate fandom, both online and off.

Here’s how it all breaks down…

Strategy

ACTIVATIONS + EVENTS
It’s a horror mantra — never go alone. As a brand, we followed suit, bringing together the community at in-person events and activations that celebrated fandom, screened films, and served up exclusive moments and access:

1. The Chainsaw Awards by Fangoria is one of the preeminent award shows serving the horror space. Exclusively on Shudder, our show segment starred a faux detective named - ahem - Perry Mount.
2. We developed “Boo-ze Bites and Frights” — a unique new event in partnership with Street Food Cinema boasting film screenings, talent Q&As, trivia, photo ops, and giveaways.
3. We collaborated online and off with Bloody Disgusting to kick off a Friday the 13th marathon at the Chicago Music Box Theater–on Friday the 13th!
4. With Fangoria, we supported Theatrical re-releases of 4 fan-favorite films, which included specially-made bonus content pieces — three of which featured horror icon David Dastmalchian.
5. Partnering with American Airlines, we served up scares on every seat-back screen with a Paramount Scares entertainment hub.
6. At Midsummer Scream, the world’s largest horror convention, we delivered photo-ops with Jason from Friday the 13th, giveaways and talent panels — one of which launched our Paranormal Activity podcast.
7. At Fantastic Fest, we held a Paramount Scares trivia night in support of Apartment 7A’s premiere.
8. Our WATCHMOJO channel takeover leveraged 7 new videos featuring fans’ favorite titles.

——-

INFLUENCER PARTNERSHIPS
To celebrate Halloween, we worked with 11 content creators to celebrate iconic moments from across the Paramount Scares catalog.

——-

SOCIAL CONTENT
Through a horde of custom-tailored content across the entire Paramount Scares library, we kept the frights going with the community on social — 365.

1. Nothing’s scarier than an empty stomach, so we delivered a killer lineup of recipes: Ghostface’s Guilty Pleasure from Scream, Sweeney Todd’s Butcher Barber Pies, and more.
2. Our Die-O-Rama series helped fans get crafty via miniature scenes from Pet Sematary, Sleepy Hollow, and more.
3. For those looking for tips, our Villain Survival Guides dished out advice on how to survive Paramount’s scariest foes.
4. We crafted authentic dating profiles for Paramount’s scariest villains — here’s hoping fans swiped left!
5. We tested our film buffs’ horror knowledge with the “Killhouettes Challenge.”

——-

YOUTUBE
On YouTube, we served up extended clips from fan-favorite titles and other content exclusives.

——-

MAILERS
To activate Volume 2, which boasted a poster designed by artist Orlando Arocena in the collector’s edition, we developed a custom mailer loaded with relics and swag from fan’s favorite films.

Boxes included: Paramount Scares Vol 2 Boxset, Sleepy Hollow Prayer Candle, Rosemary’s Baby Hat, Paramount Scares Tote Bag and Sticker, A Slay Crop Top or a Camp Crystal Lake Shirt, Smile 2 Crossbody Bag, a Pin, a Patch and a pumpkin spice-scented Friday th 13th Air Freshener.

——-

SMILE 2 SUPPORT
Paramount Scares also helped support the theatrical and home releases of Smile 2, leveraging a strategic mix of community engagement, exclusive content, title cross-promotions, and hands-on community management.

Results

A HORROR COMMUNITY TO DIE FOR
As a new home for all things horror, Paramount sought to bring together fans of fear wherever they might be hiding, serving up unmissable moments online and off.
 
Slashing at the old brand-building playbook, we built out new ways of engaging fans across multiple franchises — a blitz of events, stunts, partnerships, and content that brought life (and a little death) to fans and the horror genre they love.

289 TITLES Across film and TV
51 HANDLES Across Paramount Scares Library
6 NEW CHANNELS Launched across social and YouTube
18 LIVE EVENTS In 2024
20.4M IMPRESSIONS Across Social
28M FOLLOWERS Across Paramount Scares and Paramount horror IPs, All Platforms
7.5M TOTAL REACH Across all Influencer Activations
29M TOTAL REACH Across all Mailer Recipients
SATURN AWARD Nomination for The Crow 4K Remastered 30th Anniversary Release
2 CHAINSAW AWARDS Nominations for AQP: Day One – Best Actress and Yellowjackets – Best TV series

Media

Video for PARAMOUNT SCARES: HOW WE TURNED A COMMUNITY OF HORROR INTO A THRIVING HORROR COMMUNITY.