Netflix is the leading video streaming platform in Australia. When it first launched in 2016, “Stranger Things” became one of Netflix’s biggest hits and helped propel the still-new streaming service into the mainstream Australian psyche.
But since then the SVOD landscape has become saturated with choice and endless great content. Coupled with a whopping three years since the end of Stranger Things Season 3 and the start of Season 4, it was a legitimate risk and concern that fans had lost interest in the show.
Netflix needed to launch the new season in a way that reminded Aussies of the mystery and intrigue of the much loved title. The only problem was the season 4 launch date… the same day as the world famous VIVID light show.
We brought the Upside Down to Australian shores, but gave it a light-hearted Aussie twist - bringing the iconic Stranger Things ‘Rift’ to life on an epic scale on Bondi Beach, and calling to arms local Bondi luminaries such as Aquabumps, the Bondi Rescue crew and Bondi-based influencers to unearth the mystery and deliver nation-wide buzz.
Overnight, our team constructed a 22m x 16m rift to the Upside Down (an iconic and instantly recognisable scene from the show) on Australia’s prized and famous Bondi Beach.
The news of the rift first broke across social via award winning Bondi photographer Aquabumps.
We commissioned Eugene Tan to take the hero PR shot at sun rise. The hero shot was edited and dispatched to the media by 9am to go out with all the breaking news stories. The full campaign imagery was shared by 11am. Aquabumps posted the content to both their Instagram and blog post to his 500k+ audience.
Across the nation, the unexpected sighting was announced by a full wrap cover over the country’s biggest masthead, the Sydney Morning Herald.
When locals woke up that morning, they discovered the rift, complete with HAZMAT-suited officials investigating the scene, and the famous Bondi Lifeguards attempting to keep onlookers at bay. Bondi Rescue were engaged to take part in the theatre of the stunt to generate public interest on the morning of the stunt and share the content to their channels for global reach.
Soon news helicopters were hovering, and photos of the rift at Bondi took over Aussie news and social channels, exciting fans and fascinating onlookers alike.
#3 Trending Search on Google - Stranger Things Bondi Beach trended on Google searches Source: Google Trends AUNZ, “Stranger Things” #3, “Bondi Beach” #8, 27 May 2022
Broke the Internet - It managed to break the internet, literally, with reports of Netflix crashing in Australia when part two of the season went live.
Influencer Explosion – Over 5.8 million reach and over 1 million engagements on influencer content alone (Source: INCA, June 2022)
Cultural Conversation – The Bondi Rift became part of cultural conversation, picked up by news channels including Today Show, ABC News Breakfast, 7NEWS and SKY NEWS and featured on the hit primetime free-to-air TV show Have You Been Paying Attention?
Captured the attention of world media - We invited the Daily Mail, Time Out and SCA to cover the event but very quickly attracted global attention including Independent UK, Italy news, ABC 7 Chicago, News of Canada and 28 other publications.
Stranger Things S4 held No.1 - across AUNZ for 16 weeks (MediaWeek, TV Demand).
Most Watched English Language Show – Stranger Things 4 became Netflix’s most-watched English-language show with 335 million hours streamed.
The rift - garnered 1.6x more online conversation than Amazon Prime’s Bondi Borat activation two years prior, and 3.7x more than the Paramount Drone Show at VIVID that weekend. Source: Crowdtangle & Brandwatch (T-7 days before and T+7 days after). Excluding Meta Stories and Reels across all campaigns as API not publicly available.