Fueled by the fandom and fervor around the planned Disney and Lucasfilm holiday release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, brands and celebrities joined millions of Twitter users in celebration of the informal Star Wars holiday, May 4. Though a major social event every year, this year’s celebrants were particularly engaged, largely due to the pending release of the series’ next highly anticipated installment.
Star Wars Day and its associated hashtags—which included #MayThe4th, #MayTheFourthBeWithYou, and #RevengeOfTheFifth— generated millions of tweets and reached as many users, according to sample data from hashtag tracking service Keyhole. The faux holiday remains a trending Twitter topic, with many users even pairing Star Wars with Cinco De Mayo.
As with other viral social events, May the Fourth holds a number of digital lessons for marketers; chief among them, how to galvanize the digital masses and integrate popular culture into marketing.
