Overview 

Focus Features partnered with Discord to launch Obsession — a brand-new horror IP helmed by a brand-new director — using Discord's best-in-class product package to support theatrical releases. With an audience significantly more likely to watch horror films than the average consumer*, Discord was the ideal platform to extend the film's world. The activation spanned three phases: a trailer drop Video Quest to build early awareness, a Mission Quest to deepen engagement mid-campaign, and a premiere week Video Quest to convert intent into ticket purchases. Upon seeing strong box office performance and engagement on Discord, the campaign was also extended for chase week.

The campaign delivered standout brand lift, video completion and engagement results, proving that sequential, multi-product Quest campaigns unlock full-funnel impact for a new theatrical release.

Problem 

Focus Features needed to generate excitement and awareness for Obsession, a film with little brand recognition, an unknown director, and a completely fresh horror IP. Unlike established franchises or returning titles, there was no built-in fandom to activate. Rather than simply promoting the movie, the goal was to create an experience that immersed fans in the story and generated conversation ahead of release, moving audiences through awareness to consideration to intent in a crowded horror landscape.

Solution

Focus Features and Discord partnered on a three-phase Quest campaign to build momentum all the way through premiere week, including an additional push for chase week.

In Phase 1, the campaign launched with a Video Quest anchored to Obsession's trailer, seeding early awareness. This phase established the creative and drove initial reach.

Following the trailer drop, a Mission Quest brought users into a deeper, immersive experience designed to put players directly inside Obsession's world. Players took on the role of Bear, broke a One Wish Willow, and raced against the clock to escape, encountering in-character voice recordings from star Inde Navarrette and other Easter eggs pulled directly from the film. The goal was to recreate the same fear and anxiety the film delivers on screen, and spark conversation online. The Mission drove meaningful time-spent and brand engagement — 1.7M plays in total** — and kept the film top of mind between the trailer release and premiere.  The community response was also an  indicator of how impactful this experience was. Social conversations centered on how genuinely stressful, challenging, and scary the experience felt.

Lastly, the campaign culminated with a final Video Quest timed to the film's premiere, closing the loop from awareness to action. Notably, each successive video phase drove a higher Video Completion Rate (VCR) than the last, a clear signal that building audience familiarity through sequential Quests compounds performance over time**.

Reward

Participants earned Orbs, Discord’s in-platform currency, for completing each Quest phase, giving audiences a consistent and rewarding reason to engage across all three campaign beats.

Results

Highlight Metrics:

• +12.9% lift in Awareness and +5.2% lift in Action Intent: top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel results delivered simultaneously through a single campaign.***
• 27% of Mission participants clicked to ticketing: an indicator that deep engagement in the middle of the funnel translates into purchase intent.**
• Players averaged 6 minutes and 23 seconds in the experience, collectively logging nearly 15 years of total playtime: a testament to how the interactive format resonated with audiences.**

The results from Obsession reinforced Discord as a leading platform for immersive storytelling and meaningful fan engagement, demonstrating that audiences value the opportunity to actively participate in a film's world in ways that feel authentic to both the platform and the IP.

_{*Source: GWI Internal Data, May 2026
**Source: Discord Internal, May 2026
***Source: Kantar, May 2026}