"The Suite Life on Deck" continued the story of Zack and Cody, transplanting the identical twins from the hotel they lived in on "The Suite Life with Zack and Cody" to a luxury cruise ship. Though the show ended in 2011, it has become an indelible part of culture for Zoomers and young Millennials, as young audiences continue to discover and rediscover legacy Disney Channel titles on Disney+.
Observing a viral moment in the making as fans called back to an iconic scene from "The Suite Life on Deck" 15 years earlier, Disney Branded Television moved to leverage memes and fan excitement to channel viewers to its iconic Disney Channel library on Disney+ and capitalize on an organic opportunity via @DisneyChannel social handles.
By taking part in a developing conversation about the show even years after its end, Disney Branded Television aimed to reward fans for their dedication with an in-the-know social moment, and to establish the @DisneyChannel social brand as a feel-good destination for discovering and rediscovering the Disney brand.
For months, the Disney Branded Television’s social team observed social conversation bubbling in anticipation of November 16, 2023, a date referenced 15 years ago in "The Suite Life on Deck." In a scene from Season 1, the lead characters Zack and Cody (Dylan and Cole Sprouse) attempt to get a dinner reservation in Rome at a restaurant by Chef Gigi and are told the first available table would be on November 16th, 2023.
With the date fast approaching, the social team prepared assets in advance to take part in the fun and encourage fan participation. The simplest was the most effective: a screenshot of a text reminding the guys of their reservation, with their response noting that they still wanted the table. The team followed up with a simple lift of the viral moment posted at midnight on November 16th, 2023 across all @DisneyChannel platforms.
This clever approach allowed Disney Branded Television to capitalize on the moment with a post that encouraged conversation and gave a knowing, playful wink to "The Suite Life on Deck" fans. The post launched two days before the big day, teeing up fans for the coming conversation and laying a foundation for memes, news coverage, and additional engagement across Disney's social platforms.
With smart planning and a simple but thoughtful approach, Disney Branded Television capitalized on the social media excitement for "The Suite Life on Deck" and garnered huge attention with its social outreach.
The stunt garnered 35M organic views in under 48 hours and led to the creation of two viral hashtags on TikTok driven by fan response:
In addition to a huge amount of organic engagement, the moment generated a large amount of press coverage, spreading the story and the conversation even further. Outlets including USA Today, Yahoo! Entertainment, The Los Angeles Times, Dexerto, Pinkvilla, Bustle, Decider, and Deseret News all picked up the story, among many others. Google even jumped in on the trend, adding an Easter egg to results when “The Suite Life on Deck" was entered in search.
Disney Branded Television’s smart, engaging post capitalized on a viral moment that brought a huge amount of visibility to its streaming platform and pointed to the power of its iconic legacy linear brand, thanks to its planning and deep understanding of its fan community.
