Disney+ Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire Launch

The challenge

In 2021, two years prior to launch, the Walt Disney Company announced that Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, an original, Afrofuturism-inspired, 10-part anthology of animated short films, would be released on Disney+, featuring stories from unique creators hailing from South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The anthology promised a wildly entertaining ride into Africa’s future, inspired by the continent’s diverse histories and cultures. These action-packed sci-fi and fantasy stories, present bold visions of advanced technology, aliens, spirits, and monsters imagined from uniquely African perspectives.

As the PR partner to Disney+, we were tasked with leading the efforts to bring Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire to the African continent and beyond, and to create local and global hype in the lead up to the release date: 05 July 2023.

As the campaign’s lead territory, we needed to:

1. Cut through the noise: In an oversaturated streaming and entertainment landscape, we needed to become a signal amidst the noise, and gain a competitive edge over popular and more established local streaming giants, Netflix and Showmax.

2. Break national borders: Our campaign needed to transcend South African viewership and engage a global audience.

3. Put African excellence on display: We needed to showcase Africa’s storytelling mastery with a campaign that resonated not only with Africans, but universally.

The solution

Our approach was to create a multi-faceted, integrated PR and Influencer campaign that could provide our spokespeople and client representatives with multiple touchpoints in order to maximise publicity.

To expand the reach of the campaign beyond national borders, we opted for a virtual junket. However, we knew that we needed to bring something more visceral to the campaign.

2023 was the first year that South Africa – and many other African territories did not have to contend with lockdown regulations. We knew therefore, that the media and our spokespeople were keen to interface in-person, and so we also set the stage for a round of face-to-face engagements and learning experiences.

We also utilised fluency 3.0, an influencer sourcing and vetting platform, which enabled us to target specific social communities by recruiting the most relevant and high impact influencers who could speak the ‘Afrofuturism-inspired’ language of the campaign and reach the target audience.

Campaign objectives

Our approach

PHASE ONE: GLOBAL PRESS TOUR

Earned PR coverage

We sent out press content about the teaser trailer, which was released on Africa Day: 25 May 2023; adding value by sharing exclusive Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire art along with the news.

Virtual and in-person media engagements

In June 2023, we hosted a full-day, virtual, global junket in Johannesburg featuring the executive producers, filmmakers and 11 of the directors.

This was followed by an in-person, one-on-one junket with key regional South African media as well as a round of one-on-one, exclusive interviews with Orion Ross, VP Animation for Disney+ EMEA.

We also arranged for a set of regional and national radio interviews with executive producers Peter Ramsey, Tendayi Nyeke and Anthony Silverstone.

    Comic Con trailer launch

    We chose Comic Con Cape Town 2023 to launch the global first-look teaser trailer. At the event, we  also facilitated a panel discussion featuring Malcolm Wope, the creator of one of the 10 films in the anthology, who ended off by autographing exclusive poster art.

    Exclusive viewing and masterclass

    We then invited animation arts students, industry creatives and aspiring filmmakers to attend an exclusive viewing of the series and participate in a special masterclass panel discussion of the project.

    Influencers

    Our influencers were invited to the upcoming premiere event and encouraged to produce content in vernacular, in order to drive localisation. They were also tasked with creating their own makeup looks inspired by the animated characters.  

    PHASE TWO: PREMIERE EVENT

    The campaign culminated in what became the first world premiere of a Disney title, hosted on the African continent.

    Using our media list, we drew a crowd of top celebrities, influencers, crew members who worked on the films, key partners and industry players.

    We wanted to put a human face to Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and the voice actors were our way to do that. We arranged for an exclusive photoshoot with some of the voice actors and filmmakers.

    These stylised shots were sold to News24 as an exclusive ahead of the launch release and used as social media collateral in the run-up to the premiere.

    Results

    PRISM Awards

    • This campaign was awarded Gold at the 2024 PRISM Awards in the Consumer PR Existing Product or Service category.
    • The same campaign received a special mention in the Arts and Entertainment category.
    • This campaign was also a finalist for the Campaign of the Year award.