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“Dragons are coming.” Showing seemingly in a single day on the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein, the tag line was sufficient to create a big stage of intrigue within the lead as much as the launch of one of the extremely anticipated tv collection on the earth: HBO’s House of the Dragon.
OSN+
Alongside a 1,000-drone activation in Riyadh, a digital media marketing campaign in AlUla, and an immersive screening in Dubai, the staff at UAE-based streaming platform OSN+ engaged in a completely complete marketing campaign that resulted within the platform’s most profitable premiere so far. Following a tightly scheduled advertising marketing campaign that captured the eye of the area, the OSN+ advertising staff utilized conventional channels and branding, layered with newer tactical strategies that have been extra disruptive. This was mixed with wide-ranging parts of public relations (PR), social media, radio, and inventive to determine a completely holistic marketing campaign that sought to generate curiosity and enhance subscriber numbers in what’s quick turning into an especially aggressive and saturated trade.
“OSN+ had an enormous activity of bringing this all collectively, by way of working straight with HBO on approvals and creatives, to making a 360-strategy involving social media and PR, and primarily getting 4 completely different activations collectively in a timeframe of 1 month,” says Ashley Ceremony, VP of Advertising and Development at OSN+. “It was an enormous alternative for us as properly, contemplating the success of its predecessor, Recreation of Thrones, which on the time of the finale had been OSN’s most profitable episode premiere to this point. So, we positively needed to go massive for this one.” With that thought in thoughts, the OSN+ staff, by way of a phased marketing campaign, deliberate round reigniting curiosity of Recreation of Thrones followers, whereas engaging with a new audience, constructing momentum by way of trailer releases and teasers to generate pleasure, after which efficiently sustaining this momentum by way of continued buzz after launch.
An enormous element of the marketing campaign’s success was its concentrate on occasions and activations, most of which occurred in August forward of the official launch of the collection on the twenty second of the identical month, participating not solely media and influencers, however followers throughout the area by bringing inclusivity, group, and -of course- a way of worry of lacking out (FOMO) by way of the marketing campaign. The activations have been additionally rigorously curated based mostly on insights and traits in every market at the moment of yr, the place it was not solely vital to seek out appropriate places, but additionally essential to collaborate with the proper companions, like Gamers8 within the case of Riyadh, in addition to a robust influencer technique for amplification in all markets.
House of the Dragon celebration in Riyadh / Picture courtesy: OSN+
For the screening occasion, the staff selected to steer away from a conventional cinema setting and as a substitute appeared to artistic areas, just like the Theatre of Digital Artwork in Dubai, to create an immersive expertise and convey an Instagramable idea to life. In actual fact, expertise performed a big function on this marketing campaign, starting with the distinctive augmented reality invites that created a buzz with media and influencers, whereas utilizing a sharable piece of content material that may draw likes, mentions, and shares on social media. A dragon egg appeared to interrupt, revealing a scroll with the official invitation pulled from inside. Influencers liked it.
A multisensory expertise with a digital and audio takeover of the 82 screens at Riyadh Boulevard Metropolis later lit up the sky on the Gamers8 Pageant for an eight-minute activation that included 1,000 drones hovering throughout the sky, efficiently drawing in crowds and protection throughout Saudi Arabia. Timing proved all the things right here. It was the proper day– a Thursday night firstly of the weekend within the Kingdom, throughout a preferred competition with 40,000 in footfall on the day.
One statement right here was that the activation itself may have benefited from a shorter run time as consideration spans have shortened, and snappier visible content material is proving extra interesting to audiences throughout completely different segments. Timing was additionally vital when planning the marketing campaign generally, because the summer time interval means a quieter media panorama, because of the hotter local weather and summer time breaks, posing one of many bigger challenges. The resolution was to drive a content-led campaign with video at its coronary heart.
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House of the Dragon celebration in Riyadh / Picture courtesy: OSN+
The purpose was to disrupt the media panorama, which might be difficult in a cluttered market. The staff needed to rely closely on visuals and artworks that weren’t at all times usable for OSN+’s markets; plus, making the content material really feel related particularly for an Arab audience was key. A method this was finished was by partnering with media firm Vice Arabia to create content material that regional audiences may relate to in their very own language. As the brand new collection lacked fan attachment to the characters, the staff needed to create a robust emotional reference to acquainted features of the collection franchise- suppose dragons, the symbols of the House Targaryen in House of the Dragon, and naturally, the large activity of bringing itself.
Video proved king. The digital marketing campaign in AlUla, which included premium movies with dragons seemingly showing within the desert, helped OSN+ seize almost 13 million views throughout all its platforms, together with Instagram, TikTook, and Twitter, alongside an expansive influencer marketing campaign throughout the region- YouTube noticed 9 million views for one video alone. We additionally added some distinctive above-the-line advertising places all through UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to make sure the notice issue throughout these key markets. And the marketing campaign continues by way of the run of the season, with additional activations each digital and on the bottom, ensuring to maintain the intrigue and FOMO coming, and retaining these loyal viewers within the course of.
Through the launch, app downloads elevated by triple, touchdown OSN+ at primary in app shops in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and different GGC markets for a number of consecutive days.
So, what are the important thing classes entrepreneurs can take away from all of this? Here is a primer:
1/ Go digital-first, however keep in mind, conventional promoting is the OG
OSN+ digital campaigns helped herald lots of mentions, likes, and shares, however conventional promoting, like out-of-home, nonetheless added worth and stretched the marketing campaign’s attain to the streets of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE.
2/ Bodily occasions aren’t going anyplace
Individuals nonetheless love assembly face-to-face. It is an effective way to begin fruitful conversations, community, and create press and interview alternatives on the spot. Plus, influencers can seize dwell content material so as to add hype to a product because it’s occurring. A artistic idea (suppose immersive experiences, activations, and giveaways) also can assist attract crowds and maintain folks engaged.
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Picture nonetheless from HBO’s House of the Dragon
3/ TikTook is a power to be reckoned with
This social platform is on the rise as a reputable participant within the advertising panorama, proving to be the most effective methods to begin conversations and attain wider audiences. In actual fact, TikTok is even rivalling Twitter with how briskly data is shared on the platform. It’s also nice to make use of when attempting to succeed in a youthful viewers, and it’s a should to incorporate in any advertising marketing campaign, massive or small.
4/ Did I point out video is king?
As consideration spans shrink and audiences are bombarded with data, having a video strategy is vastly important to any marketing campaign. Brief and snappy is at all times the way in which to go– make something longer than a minute, and you’ve got misplaced them. That is additionally why TikTook is rising within the ranks of the social media sport.
5/ Do not cease with the beginning
Popping out with a bang is nice, however a plan have to be put in place forward of any launch to maintain the momentum going. By a long-term social media technique, continued media partnerships, and ongoing press and influencer outreach, you possibly can be sure that audiences proceed to interact in your product and model far past the preliminary launch.
Of course, we won’t deny {that a} beneficiant advertising price range helped carry many of those marketing campaign parts to life. However taking sensible dangers whereas permitting your staff to get artistic is, nevertheless, important when attempting to provide one thing memorable. A good deadline helps too.
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