Key insights:
- Hunters Grindhouse Experience is inspired by seedy 1970s New York.
- Event is Amazon Prime Video's latest elaborate activation for an original series.
Amazon Studios’ robust marketing push for its new Prime Video original drama series Hunters now includes experiential. The streaming service has opened an interactive fan experience in Los Angeles inspired by the show’s story of a Nazi-hunting group in 1977 New York.
Timed to the series’ debut today, the brand has launched the Hunters Grindhouse Experience in Highland Park. The public event has taken over a city block of Figueroa Street in the northeast L.A. neighborhood, giving local venues like Highland Theatres and Highland Park Bowl a 1970s makeover themed to the show’s setting.
Amazon Prime Video worked with brand experience agencies Campfire and The Mill to immerse guests in the world of the show. Notably, the teams turned Highland Theatres into The Empire, a venue inspired by the grindhouses on New York’s 42nd Street in the 1970s.
The theater hosted a VIP preview screening of the series’ first episode on Tuesday, where guests were treated to 1970s-style concessions like popcorn and candy. After the screening, event staffers led guests across the street to the rebranded Hunters Alley (Highland Park Bowl) for an afterparty that included branded bowling, Coney Island-style performers and carnival stations, a Hunters-themed photo booth, and classic New York bites like pizza and latkes.
The experience, which is free with RSVP on a custom Hunters website, is open now through Sunday. Venues will offer specials throughout the weekend. Bars including Good Housekeeping and Gold Line are serving Hunters-themed cocktails; Civil Coffee is serving a themed menu; The Artform Studio is offering $10 off ‘70s records; and Owl Bureau bookstore is extending its hours for ‘70s-themed book and poetry nights. The brand is also throwing an afterparty that will mirror the kickoff party at Highland Theatres on Sunday.
Amazon Prime Video declined to offer more details about the strategy behind the five-day event, but the company is no stranger to producing elaborate public activations to promote its original series and films. For The Aeronauts, the brand launched a cross-country pop-up tour that resembled a 19th-century carnival, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s third season kicked off with a month-long promotional push that included a Las Vegas excursion, a hotel takeover and a Hanukkah celebration.
“As we’ve learned from past activations, these immersive moments are really memorable for consumers,” said Jennifer Verdick, head of partnerships and events for Amazon Prime Video, in a statement. “The rich, cinematic storytelling of Hunters provided the opportunity to bring their gritty world of 1970s New York City to life and introduce fans to the show.”
Amazon Prime Video hasn’t yet announced whether it will activate for Hunters, or another series, at SXSW next month. At last year’s conference in Austin, Texas, the brand held a massive apocalypse-themed experience for the miniseries Good Omens.
The 10-episode first season of Hunters, which stars Al Pacino, Logan Lerman and Jerrika Hinton, was created by David Weil and executive produced by Jordan Peele.
Join Adweek for Commerce Week, a live virtual summit on Nov. 9-12, to explore the rapid transformation of the commerce landscape, and what's next. Register now.
