More Products, Less Press: How ‘Wicked: For Good’ Marketing Stayed Relevant While Scaling Back

Before “Wicked” landed on the big screen a year ago, Universal told cinema owners of its simple goal for promoting the movie musical. It planned to be, per chief marketing officer Michael Moses, “just short of obnoxious.”

Sure enough, the studio behind the pink-and-green publicity machine delivered an epic onslaught of all things Oz. A $7 million Super Bowl spot. Starbucks themed drinks and partnerships with 400 other corporate brands. A splashy stop at the Paris Summer Olympics. Scores of magazine covers. And a press junket for the ages.

“They needed to hit people over the head,” says one executive at a rival studio.

That’s because Universal was establishing “Wicked,” based on the Broadway smash, not as a fizzy musical for moms and daughters, but as a four-quadrant extravaganza on the scale of “Barbie.” The efforts paid off: “Wicked” launched with $112 million and set a box office record for stage-to-screen adaptations with $756 million globally.