True Blood in inarguably a very ‘Sexy’ brand, I mean come on. Look at those sex scenes. Even with it’s wild success True Blood had some strong competition from, other networks as well as within the Vampire and Supernatural genre. True Blood needed to connect with it’s audience; understand who they are, what they wanted from the brand and how they were going to keep them committed to the brand during the off season. #TBwithdrawl was an epidemic after the first season ended, fans didn’t know what to do with themselves; after only 12 weeks of this new show they had to wait an entire year before they would find out what happens with their favourite characters.
The staff on True Bloods marketing team were tasked with keeping True Blood in the minds of the fans all year long from the time of the premier to the release of the DVD/Blu-Rays and through to the next season. The beginning was simple, fun and effective. Online True Blood fan forums, Social Media Profiles for the show. You can even chat with Sookie and Lafayette on Twitter. The fans were connected, informed and eagerly awaiting the next season, but True Blood didn’t stop there. Each season meant a new and more extreme advertising campaign. They have had many and I will not be able to touch on all the online, let alone the traditional marketing implementing by HBO and True Blood for their new show.
True Bloods marketing seems to always push the limits, and with great success.
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True Blood understand their audience, their needs and desires and it plays to them well. #WaitingSucks and True Bloods’ addictive show is even harder to wait for, which makes all the content posted to the many social medias widely anticipated and expected. The fans love to know what is going on, who is new to the cast, what spoilers they can learn as well as what promotions are out for those loyal to the show. Season 4 had its campaign start this May, were you infected?
True Bloods “Immortalize Yourself” App in Facebook was widely successful. This application allows millions of fans to create videos that use their names and profile pictures, as well as those of their friends and put them into a scene of the show intended to link Season 3 and 4. The creates engagement and a sense of inclusion for the fans and is easily sharable online, and as the most important aspect of Social Media, it was shared and helped True Blood gain over 35,000 fans because of this specific campaign.
This campaign has, in the words of Caluori, "encouraged and celebrated the passion and dedication of True Blood fans" through its social media efforts over the last three seasons. This year, we wanted to give them what they've always wanted, a chance to participate in the actual world of the show," she said. "By using Facebook's technology we were able to simulate a personalized experience for every fan. I mean, who doesn't want to get a message from Eric?"
Caluori also stated that HBO sees its series campaigns as opportunities to reward dedicated fans and create tactics that allow them to engage with the series in a unique way.
"The Facebook app allows us to reach people we already know are True Blood fans, but also let them act as evangelists for the show through their own social networks," she added.
True Blood and HBO get it…now how can you get your brand Social?
