A New Chapter in Webcomics: A Manta Case Study
Manta—a global webcomics subscription platform based in Korea—knew they needed to move the needle. They wanted to build anticipation for the second season of their breakout hit, “Under the Oak Tree,” and then draft off that engagement to drive app downloads and ultimately subscriptions.
So, when they came to Lemonade, they had a specific target in mind—they just needed to find the right partner to help them hit it.
Lemonade implemented a full 360-degree approach including social media, OOH and experiential, understanding that Manta’s two goals would support one another: driving engagement for a specific title while also building awareness around the platform. For people who wanted to read comics online but were unfamiliar with manhwa—Korean comics and printed cartoons—the campaign could serve as their first exposure to what could be their next great binge.
Below, we outline the four specific activations Lemonade designed for this campaign, the ways each fit into Manta’s stated goals, and the results (spoiler: the target was hit, the needle moved).
Comic-Con: Building an Oak Tree for Fans to Gather Under
Lemonade built the campaign’s creative centerpiece around Comic-Con, the yearly sci-fi/fantasy convention hosted in San Diego—and by “centerpiece,” we mean a 20-foot oak tree, built entirely from scratch, to help make Manta’s booth the most talked about booth at the event. With a 360-degree selfie station and a battery of Fuji Instax cameras, there were already plenty of reasons for convention-goers to check out the Manta booth.
But we took things one step further under and inside this oak tree, bringing in nine cosplaying actors to embody (and in Riftan’s case, what a body it is!) the story’s major characters, and to invite fans to compose confessions and/or love notes to pin on the trunk’s interior. This public expression of private sentiment fit well with the themes of "Under the Oak Tree," and added an interactive layer to an art installation already optimized for social media posts.
Times Square: A Digital Takeover of an Iconic Space
Nothing brings the niche to the mainstream quite like New York City’s Times Square.
Lemonade developed a week-long flight of digital billboard advertisements for “Under the Oak Tree” in the heart of the Big Apple. Throughout the week, five 30-second animations ran nonstop, creating a “digital takeover” in one the most dense advertising spaces on the planet, including the iconic 20 Times Square billboard.
The billboard animations inundated visitors to Times Square with exciting, eye-catching, and occasionally titillating images encouraging people to make “Under the Oak Tree” their next great binge—only available on Manta. Supported by social media campaigns, the digital takeover excited fans who eagerly posed in front of the billboards, and exposed new people to Manta comics, manhwa, and, of course, “Under the Oak Tree.” As one fan tweeted: “The only reason I would go to NYC right now is to be surrounded by UOT billboards!”
TikTok: #WhenRiftanSays
Lemonade worked with Manta to develop a branded TikTok hashtag, #WhenRiftanSays, centered around Riftan, the hero (and walking thirst trap) of “Under the Oak Tree.”
The premise was as simple as it was fun: Users made videos of themselves falling short of some goal, like exercise, diet or house chores—in one, a creator is preparing to eat a cheeseburger, cheating on his diet. Then, Riftan breaks into the video and sets them straight (“No cheating on your diet!”) and the creator is immediately transformed, obeying Riftan and substituting the cheeseburger for a carrot and celery stalk.
Other videos featured creators too uninspired to hit the gym before being quickly admonished by Riftan and then immediately knocking out a fervent set of pushups. One inspired video was built around an awkward encounter between roommates, when one of them has a “friend” over.
The branded hashtag challenge reached more than 3 billion views in just two weeks, inspiring 1.5 million unique reaction videos in that same time frame. Today, it has over 6 billion views.
Night-In With Manta: A Round Table of Influencers/Fans
For the final piece of this campaign, Lemonade created a YouTube series called “Night-In with Manta,” which featured key influencers offering fans a fun way to recap season one and build excitement for season two.
In the recorded event, the influencers sat around a circular table with each playing a particular character as they read through their favorite selections from season one before turning to the highly-anticipated first episode of season two. By alternating between reading the material and discussing it with genuine enthusiasm, the influencers primed the pump so to speak, generating excitement among their followers about the forthcoming season.
The influencer’s passion for the material proved palpable, and commenters immediately wanted to recreate similar in-person reading events (“I need me some friends like this,” reads the highest rated comment on YouTube). This led to the creation of a spin-off series, “Night-In with Manta—Live,” when influencers participated in a live read-through and discussion after each episode dropped on Sunday nights.
Celebrating Wins While Planning for the Next Ones
Manta came to Lemonade asking us to help them plant their flag in the United States, to drive awareness about a forthcoming release while also getting people familiar with their app and subscription model for titles that are only available on Manta.
In the end, Lemonade’s social strategy and content package resulted in a 250% increase in audience growth across all Manta channels. Throw in billions of TikTok impressions, a takeover of the most competitive marketing space there is, and one museum-worthy public art installation, and it becomes clear that Lemonade didn’t just help Manta promote a single title but rather announce Manta Comics’ U.S. presence in the loudest possible way.
Exciting, right? Check out some of the equally exciting work Lemonade has done in entertainment, Web3, and gaming with our case studies on:
