Google, Lionsgate team up to market ‘Mockingjay’ with video series

Lionsgate and Google announced they will bring the “Hunger Games” fictional world of Panem to fans with new original content.

Leading up to the Nov. 21 release of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1,” fans of the franchise can tune in to original programming on Capitol TV, a website that is based on the government-sanctioned TV network of “The Hunger Games.”

The website will feature one new video per day, beginning Monday, from its five-episode “District Voices” series. The series stars popular creators, who have a combined fanbase of more than 4.9 million subscribers and more than 550 million video views.

All the videos were created and developed with the team from the YouTube Space LA and filmed on location there and around Los Angeles. The promotional campaign was overseen by Google’s Art, Copy & Code marketing group.

“Our mission has always been to engage our ‘Hunger Games’ fans in the most innovative and authentic ways possible,” said Danielle De Palma, Lionsgate’s executive vice president of digital marketing, in a statement.

The announcement reflects the latest of Google’s efforts to strengthen its ties with Hollywood as more and more studios embrace digital platforms.
The Internet giant announced in early October that it is partnering with Paramount Pictures for a marketing campaign that brings Christopher Nolan’s film and Google platforms together for one immersive experience: the “Interstellar Space Hub.”

YouTube partnered with Legendary Entertainment for the release of “Godzilla” to allow creators to film on movie sets that were brought to the YouTube Space LA.

Legendary Entertainment and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro also recently worked with YouTube Spaces to deliver horror-inspired content for Halloween.

“YouTube is the best place to build a fanbase,” said Ben Malbon, Google’s director of creative partnerships, in a statement. “This collaboration with Lionsgate showcases how brands can harness the power of Google and YouTube to reach their core audience when they are engaging with the content they are most passionate about and where they are spending the majority of their time.”

Based on the bestselling young-adult novels by Suzanne Collins, the first two “Hunger Games” movies were big hits, combining to gross more than $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office. The films star Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1” is the opening installment of the two-part finale to the blockbuster franchise.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h