Disney’s conglomerate global status enables them to engage in “saturation marketing”, a strategy used by high-profile conglomerates to create hype and uplift for a film prior to its opening weekend release. Saturation marketing is used, principally, to drive word-of-mouth endorsements. 

Disney’s television advertising spend, for example, helped ensure that Black Panther became an ‘event’ release, in 2016. With over $37 million spent on US national TV advertising alone the deep pockets of the Disney backed product helped secure maximum brand visibility for the product. Moreover, only a company with the economic clout of Disney could secure lucrative advertising slots during premium events like the American Super Bowl. 

Disney’s expertise also extends to its use of below the line advertising, with BP securing 330 million active interactions for their #wakanda hashtag campaign - making it the most tweeted about movie of all time. Similarly, Disney's global multisector clout helped secure personal appearances for the film’s stars in Time and Variety magazine. 

The overall effect of the Black Panther’s 360 degree marketing campaign was staggering. Over $404 million was earned in the first 10 days of the release, while the film’s long-term revenue is a record-breaking $1.3 billion.