Disney Marketing Head Asad Ayaz on ‘Loki’ Campaign
You were made to be ruled.” Tom Hiddleston’s Loki spoke those words in the first trailer for The Avengers; the 2012 film that took Marvel Studios to new heights and brought Hiddleston’s God of Mischief to new levels of popularity. The $1.51 billion grosser also holds a special place in Walt Disney Studios marketing president Asad Ayaz’s heart as the first Marvel Studios campaign he ever worked on.
Loki’s world:
Nearly a decade later; Ayaz is still living in Loki’s world; with the exec’s team dreaming up mischievous ways to engage fans over the six-week run of Loki, the latest Disney+ series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of the campaign’s secret weapons is Hiddleston himself; who over the years has proven game for stunts, such as showing up in costume at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013; considered one of the great moments in the history of Hall H and one that required a dress rehearsal the night before. We try not to do everything in character because that’s a lot to ask an actor to dress up as Loki every single time;” says Ayaz of teaming with Hiddleston on Loki. “But he’s done so much for us. You look at the campaign; you look at the brand tie-ins.”
Film campaign:
The marketing work begins all the way back at the time a series is greenlit; with Ayaz and a few team members getting access to scripts and footage as it comes in. They work backward from the release date to craft the story they want the marketing to tell. Unlike a film campaign, an ongoing series means preparing posters and other materials to drop each week when new characters and elements are introduced. The team is also prepared to be nimble, shifting gears to promote the show’s move from Fridays to Wednesdays and keeping an eye on unexpected moments fans are latching onto. (Falcon and the Winter Soldier, for example; saw Baron Zemo dancing become a meme-able moment, and the marketing team responded by releasing more footage of actor Daniel Brühl showing off his moves.)
Look at her! #MissMinutes character poster from @LokiOfficial voiced by the magnificent @tarastrong, animated by the beauties at @lumapictures #loki #LokiWednesdays pic.twitter.com/ED0MTVNZr7
— Kate Herron (@iamkateherron) June 15, 2021
The Loki campaign also comes amid Marvel Studios’ busiest year ever; which saw the Disney-owned studio delve into streaming for the first time with January’s WandaVision; restart Black Widow‘s marketing following a year-long COVID release delay; and gear up to introduce two new properties to the big screen; Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals.
