J: Welcome to Straight Shot marketing podcast. Where we discuss how marketing impacts everyday life. Today we discuss Game of Thrones. It started off as a series of books written by George R. R. Martin , it became a TV Show on HBO and is now a cultural phenomenon. Game of Thrones has taken the world by storm and its growing popularity does not seem to be slowing down. Record breaking viewership - regularly cleans up during awards season  - it’s the Emmy’s second most successful TV series of all time, behind Saturday Night Live. Whether you watch it or not, I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Based on the novel series by George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones showcases several families from different kingdoms as they plot and scheme to sit on the Iron Throne. One of the reasons it was hard to ignore was because of the massive marketing initiatives by HBO to build as much awareness as possible and by major brands to, in turn, capitalize on it. Something that is called Trend Marketing or Newsjacking. Newsjacking is what happens when brands piggyback off the day’s biggest news stories or trends to draw attention to their own content. We had another example of this with the Nike/Kaepernick episode that we did some time again. But with GoT, it is next level. Zachary, talk to me about GoT newsjacking.

 

Z: There are several elements that really stand out to me about Game of Thrones related marketing. Zach Enterlin, executive VP of program marketing at HBO, has said that he “felt an enormous sense of responsibility to celebrate what’s arguably the best show in the history of television,” and with that, he has allowed/encouraged others to use GoT – in a respectful way – in marketing themselves and GoT at the same time. This is often done by Co-branding but Zach also allowed for almost unbridled newsjacking or trend marketing because it kept GoT in the news or as a trend in our culture. In it’s essence - newsjacking or trend marketing is next level, time sensitive Co-branding. Because most brands don’t have too much in common with mythical kingdoms, zombies, and dragons, it’s been great to see just how creative these agencies have been in coming up with campaigns that are both on-brand and relevant to the Game of Thrones theme at the same time.

 

Let’s explore of few of these:

 

OREO 8:47

Oreo has been known to get into the spirit with popular pop culture events - and the Game of Thrones premiere has been no exception. The cookie company released a limited edition pack of Game of Thrones-themed Oreos, along with an Oreo version of the epic show opening. The cookie designs feature four embossments representing the groups still battling for the Iron Throne—House Lannister, House Targaryen, and House Stark—as well as The Night King and White Walkers.

 

Mountain Dew 11:23

Mountain Dew also partnered with HBO to launch “A Can Has No Name” campaign. The campaign centers around it’s one of a kind can which appears completely blank when warmed, but once chilled, reveals the kill list of character Arya Stark.

 

Shake Shack 16:39

Popular burger chain called Shake Shack started off as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square park in New York and have grown to become a popular chain in NY, but there are also 3 locations here in Atlanta. They helped celebrate GoT in a unique way have offering a secret menu for those that knew Valyrian, including spicy Dracarys burgers and Dragonglass shakes. Shake Shack offered a helpful translation key for the guest that were not fluent in Valyrian (a fictional language in the show).

 

Urban Decay 18:55

Urban Decay a Cosmetics company launched a limited-edition Game of Thrones collection set to capitalize on the final season hype. On their website, the company stated: “We’ve partnered with HBO to create the Urban Decay | Game of Thrones collection, inspired by our favorite places in Westeros and the strong women of the Seven Kingdoms. From the shores of Dragonstone to the frozen lands beyond the Wall, this collection will let you create looks inspired by House Stark, House Targaryen, House Lannister, and the White Walkers.” Very cool they event incorporating the themes into their product descriptions.

 

The New York Mets 21:34

MLB capitalized on one of the GoT taglines with Baseball is coming early on with a series of New York team commercials in 2016. They grew the campaign in 2018 with this. They also had a gameday giveaways for fans with Team/Show themed bobble heads.

 

Red Cross 24:51

Game of Thrones has a lot of death and blood, and a log of “What would you do for the throne?” So, the American Red Cross’s agency developed “Bleed for the Throne,” which encouraged fans to donate blood in exchange to win an actual Iron Throne. After donating, fans are brought through an immersive experience, hearing voices of prominent Game of Thrones characters who have literally “shed blood” in their fight to get closer to the Throne.

 

AT&T 28:42

AT&T has exclusive “Store Take Over” events in select stores leading up to the premiere utilizing both VR and AR technology to bring the world to life. They also provided an exclusive look at content, costumes, props, and other show memorabilia to make the experience more valuable.

 

GoT has its own marketing with their agency called, Droga5.

 

Social Media Campaigns 33:52

Create for the Throne saw 18 artists craft art out of Game of Thrones props including a shield, cloak and dragon egg. Art of the Throne saw artists creating different types of Game of Thrones related artwork across the world. Quest for the Throne was a global scavenger hunt that launched March 18 and had six Iron Thrones hidden around the world. Social media and hour long videos shot in 360 to serve as clues. Once found, fans would line it to take their photos sitting on the throne. It made the news. It also had fans making social media content with their photos. They also brought White Walkers to London. They’d walk around the Square, and people could take pictures with them. During a Facebook Live event on Thursday, users tuned in to watch canons of fire slowly melt a block of ice that housed the date July 16. Viewership peaked at around 142,000 concurrent people. (More than 3.1 million have watched the video, which also includes a teaser trailer for the new season.) Also, they put the GoT Iron Throne at the Rockefeller center where Christmas tree normally is.

 

Cards and Station Graphics 42:20

New York City subway MetroCards sporting show images and a ForTheThrone hashtag. The subway campaign was incredibly successful with the cards turning up on eBay (the four-card set can be bought for about $25). There were very long lines of fans looking to purchase them. It helped raise money for the MTA metro system.

 

Clothing Co-branding 44:43

John Varvatos collection of Game of Thrones men’s clothing (that includes a “cross-over Henley” and “textured messenger bag”

• Adidas

• Line of shoes – house related

 

Alcoholic Drinks 45:37 – “I drink and I know things”

• Bud Light SB commercial

• Iron Throne Ales from Ommegang

• Johnnie Walker’s White Walker

• Different scotches

• Wines

 

Televised and Social Media pranks 47:20

Maise Williams – They announced that this random store will be giving away GoT memorabilia, and they had her show up and work behind the counter. When she was recognized by fans as a character from GoT, she denied it, and they recorded the whole thing in order to put it out on social media.

 

Maise Williams – She was a guest on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, and many fans tuned in. Jimmy asked her if she could say anything about the final season, and she said that HBO told every cast member to say nothing. Later on, she accidentally revealed a spoiler and freaked out. The audience was silenced, and Jimmy tried calming Maise down saying they can edit it out. She eventually ran off the stage, and Jimmy followed her. After a few seconds, they both came out and yelled , “April Fools!” as the show was on April 1st.

 

Siri 55:34

Even Apple’s doting (although sometimes sassy) digital personal assistant, Siri is showing her fandom for the show. You can ask her, “Do you watch Game of Thrones?” and “Is Jon Snow dead?”

 

Typical product placement 55:41

You can’t do modern product placement in a fantasy world right? Is it? What if you make it appear to be a mistake? Or an Easter Egg? “Unintentionally” made Starbucks the most memorable brand in GoT history.

 

Straight Shot 59:29

I think there are two major takeaways from this.

 

• Investment. HBO had a hit show, and it would have been a hit just like “Sopranos” was for them without all this effort. But investing to this level in marketing has made it a phenomenon.

 

• The Power of Newsjacking. All these examples are prime examples of how newsjacking can be mutually beneficial for brands. That’s the key for all co-branding. The key for newsjacking adds in the need for creativity and timeliness. This goes to show that when done right, newsjacking can help brands stay top of mind and catch some of the buzzes from these prominent current events. Getting a little creative with your strategy, you can create a campaign that is both on-brand for your company and relevant to what’s happening in the world. Since this is the last season of the show, we can expect some of these newsjacking efforts to continue as the season goes on.