HBO’s Game of Thrones was the king of fan engagement. How exactly did they do it? Let’s find out!
The final season of Game of Thrones (GoT), which aired in 2019, garnered over 5 million social media mentions. The show’s most talked-about character, Daenerys Targaryen (portrayed by Emilia Clarke), collected 1.9 million social mentions in that season alone.
GoT’s unprecedented fandom on social media did not happen by chance; it was a detailed marketing journey that started when the show aired its very first episode in 2011. Through continuous relevant and timely community engagement, GoT succeeded in reeling in a passionate audience base that wasn’t just there as mere viewers.
The marketing team behind GoT’s brilliant audience engagement campaign focused on several pain points that tapped into a new generation of viewers. Learn more about this in the following sections.
Timely visual content marketing
As a VOD (Video-On-Demand) TV show, it’s only natural for Game of Thrones to do digital marketing the right way. Content is still the king in community engagement, and GoT did a brilliant job of feeding people with timely, dynamic visual content.
Do you still remember how Game of Thrones announced the premiere date for the show’s seventh season? They did it via a live stream on their Facebook account, but the date was initially covered in a large block of ice. Of course, avid fans weren’t about to leave empty-handed. They waited for the ice block to slowly but steadily melt. By the time the date finally showed, the live stream already collected many viewers and engagements.
Visual content is a vital component of VOD marketing, as it gives your audience base a glimpse into the viewing experience you’re offering. Game of Thrones excelled at this marketing strategy, helping them rack up more engagements and re-engagements before and after each episode.
A focus on brand value and social responsibility
Did you know a certain Reddit user initiated a fundraiser for Emilia Clarke’s SameYou charity in 2019? SameYou is a charity that Clarke launched to help develop better treatments for brain injury and stroke survivors. Clarke herself suffered two aneurysms while shooting scenes for Game of Thrones, which led her to start the said charity.
By the end of the campaign, the fan-initiated fundraiser raised at least $130,000. It’s not a very large amount, but it’s a testament to the lengths that Game of Thrones fans are willing to go to support their favorite characters and, in reality, the actors behind those fictional figures.
Of course, there’s a precedent to this movement. In 2015, the cast of Game of Thrones collaborated with the famous band Coldplay to come up with a Broadway musical spoof to support the Red Nose Day charity event. In 2016, several GoT actors, including Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and DeObia Oparei, supported the International Rescue Committee. They appeared on public service announcements, urging people to join a fundraiser to help refugees.
Whether it’s marketing or just pure good intentions from the cast, Game of Thrones did a tremendous job of advocating social responsibility. In this day and age of social media, people put emphasis on how socially responsible a brand is. The ‘cancel culture’ is not just a myth, and GoT did well to avoid facing that kind of backlash.
Brand collaboration marketing for audience expansion
As Game of Thrones skyrocketed towards prominence in the television series space, the show also made sure that they diversify their audience base as much as possible. Partnerships with reputable brands like Oreo, Mountain Dew, Bud Light, Adidas, Diageo, Johnnie Walker, and Urban Decay kept the show relevant across a variety of audiences.
Of course, there is a certain risk when it comes to cross-promotion, especially in today’s emphasis on brand reputation. Fortunately for GoT, they didn’t have any problems on this end.
Conclusion
For its unprecedented, meteoric rise, Game of Thrones did not just rely on the success of the book or on the greatness of its plot. It was a result of consumer-driven marketing tactics, along with an authentic desire to engage with their community.
From its first episode in 2011 to its final airing in 2019, Game of Thrones went on an eight-year marketing masterclass that centered on the art of audience engagement.