Jan 7, 2022

Amazon promotes "Hotel Transylvania: Transformation" with huge balloons and technicolor tour buses

Hit the road Drac.

To promote the January 14 release of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania on Prime Video, the franchise's cast of characters are touring the U.S. in a technicolor bus, setting off from California tomorrow. There will be photo ops and item giveaways. Massive character balloons, including a 12-foot Blobby, will also be released.

Transformania is the most high-profile animated film yet acquired by the streaming service, and the concluding feature in a very popular series. The tour doubles up as a promotion of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Bookstore locations, where the bus will be stopping in some places. Seen from these angles, the campaign is hardly surprising.

Still, studios often opt not to put much marketing muscle behind straight-to-streaming titles. And Amazon is still a bit of an unknown quantity when it comes to animated films. It confirmed its acquisition of Transformania in early October 2021, but missed the film's natural Halloween release and bungled the announcement.

Transformania is produced by Sony Pictures Animation. Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska direct and Genndy Tartakovsky, who helmed the first three Hotel Transylvania films, is writing and executive-producing. The first three films have grossed over $1.3 billion globally; Transformania is the only one in the series not to get a theatrical release.

Here's where you can see the HT4 campaign:

JOHNNY MONSTER BUS & COSTUME CHARACTER TOUR LOCATIONS & DATES January 8 – California – Woodland Hills – Amazon Fresh January 8 – California – Marina Del Rey – Amazon Books January 8 – Minnesota – Minneapolis – Mall of America January 8-9 – New York – Manhattan/SoHo – Amazon 4-star January 9 – California – Long Beach – Amazon Fresh January 11-16 – Pennsylvania – Philadelphia -Philadelphia Art Museum “Rocky Steps” January 13 – Texas – Austin – The Hive January 12-16 – Illinois – Chicago – Millennium Park Promenade January 13-16 – California – Los Angeles – The Original Farmers Market January 14-15 – Texas – Austin – The Domain January 14-16 – Arizona – Phoenix – Arizona Coyotes Game/Zoolights January 14-18 – Texas – Houston – Discover Green January 15-16 – Florida – Miami – Brickell City Centre January 15-16 – Massachusetts – Lynnfield – Amazon Books January 17 – Florida – Miami – MLK Day Parade January 17 – Massachusetts – Boston – Boston Common Frog Pond January 17-18 – Texas – Houston – Discovery Green January 21 – Georgia – Atlanta – Atlanta Hawkes Game January 22 – Ohio – Cleveland – Cleveland Monsters Family Day