Final Thoughts

With the ever changing landscape of streaming, attracting viewers to a show becomes more and more difficult. No longer can stations rely solely on the use of television ads to attract viewers attention. They need to instead focus on building marketing campaigns aimed around the series. The campaign should include video promotion, social media, and anything else that could get the word out. Building a social presence on the web is vital in building awareness and engagement. Television shows need to focus on getting their name out there and encourage engagement from their fan base. Building up a community of loyal followers helps to spread the word and increase fan retention.

Some of the best campaigns I've seen came from Stranger Things and Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones did an amazing job at generating tons of buzz on the internet through their creation of GoT themed emojis on Twitter and snap filters on Snapchat. They didn't solely focus on creating their own content on their various platforms but instead relied on fans helping to generate content on their own personal feeds. The more people who tweeted at GoT or posted to their stories of themselves looking like a "white walker" the larger audience GoT was able to reach. Word of mouth can be an extremely useful tool in promotion; word of posting can be just as possible. If a series can blow up the internet, people who do not watch the show are much more likely to tune in to see for themselves what all the commotion is about.

Stranger Things also had a very well done social media campaign but made their main success came from their out of the box thinking. This came from their various partnerships with different companies to get the word out about the season 2 premiere. One of the most creative aspects was their partnership with Lyft in which they turned people's rides into the "upside down." They also put up billboards advertising Hawkins Power and Lights. Driving past those would make people feel like their actually in Hawkins. Finding ways
to incorporate a show into people's everyday lives makes the show feel more realistic and creates a stronger connection between fans and the series. The Dark Knight did something similar and creating Gotham for fans through their "Why So Serious" campaign.

A special shout out goes to This is Us for their usage of more than the traditional social media platforms. They went beyond promoting on just Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; they also utilized Pinterst and Spotify. The usage of Spotify is a very interesting tool for series promotion. It combines two forms of media - television and music. I believe many more shows could benefit from the usage of Spotify. It offers a source to put music from the series and it can also create playlists themed to the different characters like Stranger Things did.

Overall, it is becoming more and more important to finds creative and innovative ways to get one's name out there. Good writing can only get a show so far. It's up to marketers to ensure that people know about the show to be able to gain enjoyment from the drama, comedy, or romance produced.

Spotlight of the Week: Stranger Things

Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana, home of the weird and paranormal. Netflix just recently released the second season of Stranger Things. This season follows a new group of ghost-busters quest to close the upside down. With Stranger Things being one of Netflix's most watched shows, it comes a no surprise the amount of marketing that went into the promotion of season 2.

Twitter:

Before the season 2 premiere, Stranger Things implemented a Twitter campaign entitled Spoiler Things, in which it has the cast of the show call out prominent fans of the shows and offers them spoilers on season 2. This offers current followers of the show tidbits into the next season with spoiler like Steve starts "hanging out with someone younger" and Lucas "get his own Eleven." It also reaches out to new audiences by tagging prominent fans of the series like Megan Ganz, Max Carver, and Chris Hardwick. If people see that some of their favorite writers or actors follow the show, they might choose to tune in themselves. 

Easter Eggs:

For the premiere of season 2, Stranger Things incorporated some non-traditional ways of generating buzz and excitement about the show. Around NYC and LA, they had billboards put up advertising Hawkins Power and Light. People who do not watch the show would not have any clue that this billboard pertains to the show, but any viewers who see it would understand the significance. This type of outside of the box advertising gets people's attention but also gains media attention, which helps in getting the word out about the premiere. An added bonus to this billboard was that the number on it actually calls Hawkins Power and Light. 

Business Partnerships:

Stranger Things partnered with many different entities like Reebok, Topshop, Spotify, and Lyft. Topshop themed their store in Oxford around the show. Spotify created an immersive platform that matches your music tastes with one of the playlist themed around the characters like Eleven's Breakfast Jams. Personally, I think Lyft had the most interesting team up with Stranger Things in that they pranked riders with turning their car ride "upside down." All of these partnerships help Stranger Things reach new audiences bases that are fans of these brands. 

Stranger Things has had one of the best marketing campaigns that I have seen thus far for a T.V. show. They went way beyond the traditional use of social media. It comes as no surprise to me about how many viewers it attracts. Its marketing campaigns ensure that everyone hears about the show even if they might not be watching it. 

Spotlight of the Week: Riverdale

From Beverly Hills 90210 to One Tree Hill, each decade has had its own teen drama circulating the air waves. Now comes the time for this decade to adopt its on teen soap, and it seems that Riverdale stands at the forefront as the new drama to be. Riverdale, based on the Archie Comics, premiered last year and took on new spin on teen series. Like most of its predecessors its focuses on the lives of a group of high schoolers  living in a small, quaint town  - sounds pretty similar to Dawson's Creek right. Only difference is that this city is not marked by wholesome values but instead by mystery. The creators of Riverdale took a spin on classic teen dramas by adding murder and mystery to the plot. The season 2 premiere set series highs for the show with 2.3 million viewers - twice the amount of the season 1 finale. I'm sure some of this increase came from the many Netflix bingers who just recently discovered the show over the summer but also of this has to be due to Riverdale's social media presence.

Majority of Riverdale's social media seems to stem from its Twitter page. Leading up to the premiere, the feed had tweets serving as a countdown to the show and also had cast members tweet from their personal accounts to remind fans of the premiere. Reminders became more and more frequent as the premiere date approached, which helped in ensuring that fans are informed about when to tune in. In addition, the use of cast members personal accounts serve as a tool to reach out to fans of the actor/actress to tune into show because  

of their favorite actor/actress is in it. I'm pretty sure Cole Sprouse has a pretty big Twitter following from his Disney Channel days and reaching out to those fans helps captivate a larger audience. During the premiere, Riverdale live tweeting throughout the show about different scenes and also retweeted fans tweets, making its audience feel more apart of the Riverdale community. It also offers special emojis if fans use specific hashtags. This helps in generating more tweets, which in turn helps in creating more buzz for the show. 

Another platform that Riverdale utilizes is Instagram. Before the premiere, it posted short interviews with the cast members about their favorite moments from season 1. This serves as a tool of reminding audiences about last season and gets them excited about the season to come. This also gives extra features to followers of the page by extending their interaction with the show beyond just watching the series in itself. Recently, the page has posted yearbook pictures of the different cast members. This is an interesting tactic because its using the platform like actual high school students use their own Instagrams. 

The last social media platform that Riverdale seems to use is its Facebook page. Its page mainly consists of the same posts that can be found on its Twitter or Instagram pages. The main difference is that Facebook can post full promos for the show. Being able to post longer videos on Facebook though does allow for Riverdale to be able to release sneak peaks to its fan base. Normally, series have counted on previewing the shows to viewers during other network shows, but Facebook allows the series to send the promos directly to their audiences' Facebook feeds. 

Pilot Season in Review

With live linear viewing of television shows declining, many advertising buyers worry about the decline in viewership of their commercials. One saving grace for advertisers is the advent of pilot season. With new shows comes new traction for new audiences. Last year, This is Us took the nation by storm and greatly increased viewership to NBC. Now with a new year upon us, speculation is up in the air towards what shows will dominate the air waves.

At the moment, buyers picks for best new shows are Young Sheldon and The Good Doctor. Young Sheldon brought in 17.2 million live viewers, which is the largest amount of viewership for a comedy premiere since 2011. Young Sheldon brought in such a large audience due to its pulling of already loyal fan base from The Big Bang Theory. Spin offs do not usually fare well in the long run, but this one seems to be bringing in the numbers. Only time will tell if it will be able to keep up the momentum. Personally, I think watching Sheldon navigate the perils of high school is an extremely interesting story line. Who knows how many teachers and students he can offend.

Another show who had high ratings on its premiere date was The Good Doctor. Created by the writers of House, The Good Doctor follows an autistic doctor through his first year as a resident. The first episode was extremely heart felt and touching. Right now it seems to be closest show to This is Us in being able to have audiences feel for the characters. The ABC show premiered with a viewership of 11.2 million and held steady through its week 2 showing, which is extremely uncommon for new series.

NBC remains at the top for cable viewership due to Emmy winning show This is Us and its revival of Will & Grace. Bringing back old shows seems to be a common trend in television. Other networks like Fox and Netflix have seen success in revivals of shows like Prison Break, Full House, and Gilmore Girls. NBC is enjoying the same benefits with Will & Grace, which brought in 10.2 million viewers. Seems as if right now, NBC is the best place for advertisers to place their content.

With all of these new shows, one thing that stations need to keep in mind is figuring out how to generate buzz. If they want viewership to continue to increase, they need to attract more viewers, which can best be accomplished through the use of social media. Playing television promos across the network is no longer the best way to generate viewership; instead, series need to focus on building their presence on social media through media buys in advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I know I came across The Good Doctor through seeing a preview of it on my Facebook feed. Digital marketing can be a major tool in helping pilot shows receive renewal for next year.

Spotlight of the Week: This is Us

Last week, the "Big Three" returned to television with the season premiere of This is Us. Each episode of This is Us delivers the perfect amount of tears and laughter. The family dynamics and character arches bring viewers closer and closer to the story. Alongside phenomenal writing and story lines, This is Us utilizes different social media platforms to attract audiences to the show.

Twitter:

This is Us's Twitter page seemed to have two main goals: to inform and to create conversation. The informative goal is achieved mainly through their reminding their audiences about the premiere time. This can be seen through each cast member posting a picture of them holding up a different number representing the countdown to the season premiere. The continued posting every hour lets members of the Twitterverse know when This is Us is returning and creates a certain amount of hype through the implementation of a countdown.

This is Us's twitter page creates conversation through live tweeting during the premiere and retweeting tweets with the hashtag #ThisIsUs. Live tweeting helps keep audiences engaged while watching and higher engagement also leads to continued following of the show. Retweeting or responding to fan's tweets makes fans feel apart of the show and that connection leads to more loyalty to the series. Alongside this, fans tweeting about the show creates conversation seen not only by followers of the series but also followers of the fans. This creates word of mouth advertising for the series and generates buzz. 

Facebook:

This is Us's Facebook page serves a source for posting promos, articles, and behind the scenes features. It also partners with other brands to help in promoting the series. For example, T.J. Maxx premiered their new marketing campaign during This is Us that is centered around This Is the Maxx You Project campaign. In this advertisement, This is Us posters are posted around the store and customers are asked about what makes them who they are. This partnership yields benefits for both parties in that it promotes both the series and the store to each of their collective audiences. 

The Facebook page also partners with People Magazine in sharing People's live coverage of the season premiere. This also allows for higher engagement with the series in that it shows behind the scenes interviews with the cast while watching the show. 

Other Social Media Platforms:

This is Us also utilizes some less traditional platforms for the promotion of the series. It uses Spotify as place to post soundtracks from the series and also created a playlist generator through Spotify that will create a playlist based on the songs released on one's birthday. 

It also has a Pinterest page dedicated the show. Here fans can learn more about the characters and the show. These extra platformsgrant fans more touch bases for engagement with the series and hopefully offer a more fulfilling experience than exceeds beyond just watching a series. 

Keys to Media Promotion

1. Employ a Buzz Worthy Stunt

Word of mouth can serve as a powerful tool in marketing. In order to gain word of mouth, you must do something worth talking about. For example, Game of Thrones placed a 40-foot long dragon skull on Dorset Beach in the UK as promotion for the start of the season.

2. Pre-Roll Video Advertising

These ads can be catered to appear to audiences who would be interested in your show or movie based on previous interests. Yes, people can skip the video after the first five seconds, but if a company can make it interesting, people will choose to watch the entire trailer prompting interest in the show.

3. Utilize the Press

Sites like Buzzfeed or Refinery 29 can be a valuable source of promotion in that it offers advertising for an “unbiased” source. Journalists can post interviews with cast members allowing for extra features for viewers. For example, Buzzfeed always attends San Diego Comic Con and interviews different cast members at the event. This allows for more people to gain knowledge about your show. These press junkets may have different subscribers with similar interests to television series’ audiences allowing for these companies to expand their audiences.

4. Involve Audience

This can come from having the audience tweet while watching, playing games, creating apps, etc. The CW created an app on their website that allowed for viewers to play Bingo while watching one of their shows. Hunger Games also employed an interactive experience by creating “Virtual Hunger Games” that allows users to compete in districts like in the film. The Dark Knight also illustrates this with its “Why so Serious?” campaign that brought Gotham to life. The more involved viewers feel the more likely they are to tune in. 

5. Make Facebook Page Interactive

Facebook needs to be more than just posts reminding when the show or movie premieres. It should include videos, photos, games, contests, and apps. The more elements present, the more compelling the page is.

6. Utilize Character Personas

Audience members become attached to characters so why not use that character as a promotion tool. For example, Ted created a Twitter page for Ted. The Muppets also used character personas for the promotion of their movie by creating a Google Hangout in which fans could communicate with their favorite characters like Kermit or Miss Piggy. 

Works Cited: 
https://www.ventureharbour.com/ultimate-guide-marketing-films-tv-shows-online/

Social Media's Effect on Television

Television marketing's plan no longer solely depends on commercials. Like many other industries, they have followed the trend of adopting social media platforms as a tool to increase viewership. With the rise of many different social platforms, networks are gaining more and more ways to engage with their audiences.

YouTube:

YouTube grants companies the ability to make their videos go viral to share with more people around the world. They no longer have to rely on people watching their channel to get the latest trailers for new episodes. They now have the ability to create their own channels, in which they can upload all of their new material that can be viewed at any time anywhere. Along with uploading trailers, network YouTube channels can post behind the scenes videos, sneak peaks, and cast interviews. All of these keep audience engaged with series and provide extra content to viewers to captivate their interest even more. 

Twitter:

With Twitter comes the Twitterverse and the power of hashtags. Many of shows have started to create a hashtag for a particular series and encourage people to tweet their thoughts while watching the show. This produces a community for that series. The need for community is a basic sociological need and Twitter provides another way for people to meet this need. In addition, Nielson did a study that illustrated a correlation between conversations on Twitter and neurological engagement. This means that when people are tweeting about their favorite shows they are also having higher engagement with a show. Increasing engagement can lead to developing a more loyal fan base because they feel more connected to the characters and the plot line. Twitter campaigns also gain the attention of other audiences that might not watch the series. A poll found that 29% of people choose to watch a show because of the social buzz surrounding it. If a television network can create buzz, it can also increase its viewership. 

Facebook:

Facebook isn't only a tool to see what's going on in a friend's life, but it can also inform people about their favorite television series. TV shows can create their own Facebook pages that people can follow giving them access to new content, reminders, and contests. Series posts showing up on audiences feeds keeps the audience engaged with the series and reminds them when the show will be airing. It also creates another form of word of mouth advertising because friends can see what pages people like, which could persuade them into liking the same page. 

Social media is becoming an every more important tool in television marketing. With less and less people watching live television, networks need a way to stay connected with their audience in a way other than broadcasting commercials.

Works Cited:
https://socialmediaexplorer.com/content-sections/cases-and-causes/has-social-media-changed-television/
http://www.marketingcharts.com/digital-44598
http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2016-reports/case-study-understanding-the-effect-of-social-media-on-tv-program-engagement.pdf

Future Trends of Television Marketing

With the promotion of more and more online streaming services, many believe that an end to cable television is upon us. If this was a true statement, why would cable providers like ABC, Fox, NBC, and CBS still be investing in the production of television series? These television programs do not seem to be disappearing but changing the way they market themselves. Below are a list of trends emerging in the media industry:

1. Watching It Live is No Longer a Priority
We're moving into a ever more fast paced world and with that comes little time to make sure you're home at 8 o'clock to watch your favorite show. Television providers responded to this by placing their content across many different platforms. They no longer care where you watch - more important that you watch. People are constantly on their phones, computers, or tablets so why not bring their favorite series to them. Television providers have created On Demand features so that their audiences always have access to their favorite dramas or sitcoms. Along with creating On Demand apps, many providers are allowing their shows to be on streaming sources like Hulu and Netflix. Viewership may no longer be on their network, but their still keeping their audience engaged with on different platforms. Hulu even has next day services for shows on right now and Hulu's merger with Spotify allowing for $4.99 membership for college students will bring in even more viewership.

2. Rise of Producer Branding
The name behind the show is becoming more and more important to makers of television. Having different outlets for watching TV means you're not always aware of who makes the show you're watching. Companies had usually just released shows as individual series without really linking them to their company brand. Think back to shows like The West Wing, General Hospital, or Lost. Do you remember which network made those? In comparison to that think about Game of Thrones or House of Cards. People know that those are from HBO and Netflix. These television producers get recognition because people are more familiar with their brand. If someone sees Netflix Original on a show, they have a tendency to watch it because Netflix has built up a brand for itself of producing binge-worthy content. Network stations are starting to adopting this same stance of branding all their shows together. For example, the CW has their "Dare to Defy" campaign in which they group all of their content under one advertising motto across different platforms.

Works Cited:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2016/30769/five-future-trends-in-the-marketing-of-television

Spotlight of the Week: Teen Wolf

For the final season of Teen Wolf, one would think there would be more promotion of the last 10 episodes to generate hype, but MTV stuck with a very traditional form of marketing, video promos. Teen Wolf's video campaign to promote the last season premiere data revolved around three major release promos: the teaser trailer, the official trailer, and the Comic Con trailer.

The teaser trailer was released at the beginning of July revealing that premiere data for the end of July. This trailer offered no insights into the season but served instead as a quick hype video to get people excited about the final season.

Not long after the teaser trailer was released, MTV released the official trailer for the season. As per usual for Teen Wolf, their season trailers are always extremely well-made and useful in creating buzz for the new season. One of the ways Teen Wolf utilizes their trailers to gain audiences' attention is through connecting to their emotions, fear and nostalgia to be exact. The beginning of the trailer has a very eerie feel to it leading viewers to feel worrisome about the fates of their favorite characters. Promoting a sense of uncertainty about the coming up plot lines encourages people to watch the show to have their questions answers and to make sure characters make it to the finale since Jeff Davis has no issues with killing off main characters. The end of the trailer focuses more on creating nostalgia. Since this is the last season, it can only be expected to have the return of characters who have left the show. The final few seconds of this trailer confirm that belief in showing snapshots of all the characters returning back to Beacon Hills. This is mainly a gift to all the loyal fan base for continuing to watch the show over the past 6 years.

The final phase of marketing came 10 days before the premiere data with the cast heading to San Diego for Comic Con. Here, the cast and producers held a panel to answer fan questions and premiered the final trailer for the season for those in attendance.

MTV's marketing of the final season of Teen Wolf really wasn't aimed at attracting new people to the show but satisfying the fan base that has accumulated over the years. Viewership has been steadily decreasing over the past few seasons, which prompted this to be the last season. Extra media platforms weren't necessarily needed for this show since those who already watch it will go online themselves to find information about the final season. Jeff Davis has said that this season acts as a way to say goodbye to those who have tuned in every week to watch their favorite characters navigate the woes and worries of high school while living in a supernatural world.

Spotlight of the Week: Game of Thrones

Even though Game of Thrones premiered back in July, its season 7 premiere date of Dragonstone deserves recognition for bringing in 10.1 million viewers according to Nielsen. This made this most highly watched episode for the series at the time. HBO was able to gain such traction and audience viewership through seeking involvement from the Game of Thrones community on many different social media platforms.

On Twitter, GoT started a #PrepareForWinter campaign to engage their audience by asking members of the Twitterverse to tweet how they would prepare for the coming winter. Along with this hashtag campaign, GoT also released a special Snapchat filter to go along with the theme that Winter is Here. For this Snapchat filter, people could either turn their faces into a White Walker or turn the camera around and thrown dragon glass at White Walkers to kill them. Both of these marketing strategies helped HBO in building viewership by creating a community among viewers. These allowed for viewers to interact with the show along with spreading the word about the show through their own personal social media accounts. Having people send snapchats or tweets out about the show pushes other people to see what all the hype is about.

Along with these marketing efforts, GoT also employed social media tools like Facebook Live and YouTube for the promotion of media. For the revealing of the premiere date, GoT had a Facebook Live video in which fans could watch a block of ice melt with the premiere date inside the ice. While watching the live stream, viewers could comment the word "fire" to throw flames at the ice. This live stream attracted 3.7 million users. This provides another example of the power of generating a community in social media. GoT also created a YouTube page designed to allow fans to go behind the scenes and watch promos for the new season. Having extra behind the scenes videos made keeps the audience engaged with the show while its in its off season.

Game of Thrones went beyond the traditional form of advertising for television. They did not only focus on the creation of television promos for the new season but built up an entire social media platform aimed at creating excitement and buzz about the new season. Through their marketing efforts, they were able to supersede all past viewing records for the show and build up their audience base.