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HBO - Game of Thrones

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Newsworks
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This document summarizes an advertising campaign for the HBO show Game of Thrones. It discusses how restrictions were lifted allowing advertising the day after episodes aired, creating an opportunity to capitalize on social buzz. The campaign objectives were to drive consumers to purchase the digital edition of Season 4 through blinkbox. Tablet advertisements were placed with quality newspapers targeting affluent 25-54 year old men. The campaign performed well with above average click-through rates and longer dwell times, driving a 200% sales increase for blinkbox.

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PHD HBO – Game of Thrones Executive summary Never before has HBO been able to advertise the day after a Game of Throne season has ended. Due to stipulations from Sky, all previous advertising had to commence 30 days after the final episode ended. Due to a change in restriction from Sky, this campaign allowed us to be active during the epitome of the social buzz surrounding season four’s finale. Our commercial activity was at the heart of the conversation, but more importantly it generated measurable interaction and a tablet only solution represented a first for the client. Background Game of Thrones is deemed one of the most successful TV shows of 2014. Everyone is talking about it, everyone is watching it and more importantly, everyone loves it. For the first time, we were able to be part of the buzz and conversations by executing our home ents campaign the day after the final episode was broadcasted on Sky. HBO’s products are known to be of premium quality and Game of Thrones is their hero show. We had to ensure we did this justice, and our strategy ensured we did just that. Objectives The role of comms this time was to stand out and drive consumers to act on the campaign for the Electronic Sell Through (EST) release and a tablet only plan represented a big change from previous schedules; using small formats in print to drive frequency of message. Tablet only enabled us to achieve a click through mechanic for immediate EST purchase. This campaign was a fresh solution for the client which was very different from previous communications, but as a cost efficient use of the budget, this felt like the right step. For the Game of Thrones season four EST release our campaign objective was to prompt a very specific action - to drive consumers to purchase the digital edition via blinkbox. The title was not available on iTunes at the time of initial release, so a clear link to purchase needed to be made to ensure the consumer journey was easy for Game of Thrones fans. Our core audience was men 25-54 ABC1 and the campaign was live from the day of online release (17 June). The overall business objective was to increase sales of digital copies and keeping the consumer journey simple was a key component in achieving it. Tablet enabled us to simplify the journey and encourage sales. Insight
We know that consumers behave with tablet devices in a specific way and by giving the user total control they can move from awareness to purchase very quickly and easily. Given the fact that most consumers would immediately visit iTunes to purchase a series online, including a link to blinkbox added an element of continuity to the consumer experience. The product itself is one of the most talked about shows and a huge global franchise with an impressive social following. In the past, Sky has owned the rights to the series and we were restricted to advertising 30 days after the last episode aired. The ability to now deliver comms the morning after the last episode aired, presented us with a great opportunity; striking while there was editorial and social buzz around the show. The plan The tablet solution could now work as part of a wider campaign including digital and social for the first time. We needed to leverage this buzz and make sure the print activity was in a space where we could be part of the overall brand conversation, establishing a clear link with the distribution partner, blinkbox to achieve our overall objective. The plan involved delivering Game of Thrones’ well-known brand imagery in disruptive tablet formats; a cover wrap together with interactive interstitials. By coupling the creative execution with a very overt click to buy message, consumers were able to engage with the ads intuitive design and react exactly as we wanted them to. Newsbrands and the tablet platform specifically allowed us to deliver an explicit call to action directly towards the chosen point of purchase: blinkbox. The ABC1 25-54 audience meant that media partners in the quality press market were a natural choice to deliver the message. Results The campaign received excellent results in terms of click through and dwell time, driving EST sales directly. Measurable results included: • Achieving the 2nd highest click through rate of any Metro tablet ad as well as a lengthy dwell time • Higher than average click through rate with The Daily Telegraph plus five seconds more dwell time than the papers average • Performing above average on The Times Week one sales for blinkbox showed a 200% increase on Season 3 in 2013; which in turn was their biggest TV release to date. For the second consecutive year, Game of Thrones is the biggest TV title on blinkbox. Furthermore, this was the first time that HBO had run such a tablet focused campaign and we could demonstrate from the results that this is a step in the right direction. We now have a great case study to work with for future campaigns.

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HBO - Game of Thrones

  • 1. PHD HBO – Game of Thrones Executive summary Never before has HBO been able to advertise the day after a Game of Throne season has ended. Due to stipulations from Sky, all previous advertising had to commence 30 days after the final episode ended. Due to a change in restriction from Sky, this campaign allowed us to be active during the epitome of the social buzz surrounding season four’s finale. Our commercial activity was at the heart of the conversation, but more importantly it generated measurable interaction and a tablet only solution represented a first for the client. Background Game of Thrones is deemed one of the most successful TV shows of 2014. Everyone is talking about it, everyone is watching it and more importantly, everyone loves it. For the first time, we were able to be part of the buzz and conversations by executing our home ents campaign the day after the final episode was broadcasted on Sky. HBO’s products are known to be of premium quality and Game of Thrones is their hero show. We had to ensure we did this justice, and our strategy ensured we did just that. Objectives The role of comms this time was to stand out and drive consumers to act on the campaign for the Electronic Sell Through (EST) release and a tablet only plan represented a big change from previous schedules; using small formats in print to drive frequency of message. Tablet only enabled us to achieve a click through mechanic for immediate EST purchase. This campaign was a fresh solution for the client which was very different from previous communications, but as a cost efficient use of the budget, this felt like the right step. For the Game of Thrones season four EST release our campaign objective was to prompt a very specific action - to drive consumers to purchase the digital edition via blinkbox. The title was not available on iTunes at the time of initial release, so a clear link to purchase needed to be made to ensure the consumer journey was easy for Game of Thrones fans. Our core audience was men 25-54 ABC1 and the campaign was live from the day of online release (17 June). The overall business objective was to increase sales of digital copies and keeping the consumer journey simple was a key component in achieving it. Tablet enabled us to simplify the journey and encourage sales. Insight
  • 2. We know that consumers behave with tablet devices in a specific way and by giving the user total control they can move from awareness to purchase very quickly and easily. Given the fact that most consumers would immediately visit iTunes to purchase a series online, including a link to blinkbox added an element of continuity to the consumer experience. The product itself is one of the most talked about shows and a huge global franchise with an impressive social following. In the past, Sky has owned the rights to the series and we were restricted to advertising 30 days after the last episode aired. The ability to now deliver comms the morning after the last episode aired, presented us with a great opportunity; striking while there was editorial and social buzz around the show. The plan The tablet solution could now work as part of a wider campaign including digital and social for the first time. We needed to leverage this buzz and make sure the print activity was in a space where we could be part of the overall brand conversation, establishing a clear link with the distribution partner, blinkbox to achieve our overall objective. The plan involved delivering Game of Thrones’ well-known brand imagery in disruptive tablet formats; a cover wrap together with interactive interstitials. By coupling the creative execution with a very overt click to buy message, consumers were able to engage with the ads intuitive design and react exactly as we wanted them to. Newsbrands and the tablet platform specifically allowed us to deliver an explicit call to action directly towards the chosen point of purchase: blinkbox. The ABC1 25-54 audience meant that media partners in the quality press market were a natural choice to deliver the message. Results The campaign received excellent results in terms of click through and dwell time, driving EST sales directly. Measurable results included: • Achieving the 2nd highest click through rate of any Metro tablet ad as well as a lengthy dwell time • Higher than average click through rate with The Daily Telegraph plus five seconds more dwell time than the papers average • Performing above average on The Times Week one sales for blinkbox showed a 200% increase on Season 3 in 2013; which in turn was their biggest TV release to date. For the second consecutive year, Game of Thrones is the biggest TV title on blinkbox. Furthermore, this was the first time that HBO had run such a tablet focused campaign and we could demonstrate from the results that this is a step in the right direction. We now have a great case study to work with for future campaigns.