Miss Piggy carries The Muppets brand past cancelation through Facebook Messenger
Disney?s The Muppets is lending one of its iconic characters to music festival Outside Lands, following the cancellation of its show on ABC by sharing an episodic experience with Facebook Messenger users that opt in to talk with Miss Piggy.
Miss Piggy is available for chatting at limited times on Facebook Messenger, and recently drummed up excitement for the San Francisco music festival during her latest message thread. The character is interacting with users in a chat format version of a fictional online lifestyle magazine, which continues The Muppets' legacy after ABC?s cancellation but also incorporates brand-related content, most recently referencing Outside Lands.
"This revolutionary episode-based messaging campaign reveals a wealth of new opportunities for brands and marketers," said Seth Greenfield, cofounder and chief content officer at Imperson. "Messaging campaigns don't have to be one-off experiences, but rather, should be a dynamic brand storyline that progresses with the help of its audience."
Miss Piggy lives on
Most recently, Miss Piggy discussed with users content in relation to the recent Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco. During the festival, the character chatted with users while she was attending and informed them of the bands slated to play and referenced topics such as the weather at the event.
Fans were also given Miss Piggy?s list of safety lessons, which follows the format often seen on a lifestyle blog. Miss Piggy?s list featured advice such as remembering to layer your clothing and staying hydrated.
Messaging with Muppets
The chat experience follows the cancellation of The Muppets show that aired on ABC and followed the iconic characters as they worked on Miss Piggy?s late night television show.
Disney first tapped into the personality of The Muppets' most outgoing character to drive the conversation about the ABC series featuring the popular characters by allowing fans to message Miss Piggy on Facebook Messenger while the show was on the air (see more).
The chatbot was relaunched following its cancellation as the new episodic experience.
Similarly, Disney used another chatbot on Facebook Messenger to create an interactive dialogue with fans of animated film Zootopia, letting users discover and solve crimes while driving awareness for the film's DVD release (see more).
"Unlike linear messaging experiences, this new form of messaging campaign allows businesses to own the relationship between brand and consumer, resulting in increased user re-engagement levels as evidenced by Miss Piggy's lifestyle campaign," Mr. Greenfield said. "Consumers, on the other hand, now have a chance to truly take part of the storyline, creating an emotional connection and helping to foster brand loyalty."