How Fallon and SciFi Network are using Twitter to turn TV audiences into social web advocates. Fallon strategic planner Aki Spicer and producer Marty Wetherall presented to Social Media Club Twin Cities their learnings from @_S_A_R_A_H_, a character from SCIFI Network's Eureka who Twitters to over 3600+ loyal followers. They reveal some of the rewards and pitfalls of maintaining a live, ongoing, public conversation with fans. Video Addendum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mmW1_8t-LA

1. we are fallon
@_S_A_R_A_H_
How Fallon and SciFi Are Using Twitter to Convert TV Audience to Advocates
October 31, 2008

2. Eureka, a SCIFI TV show about a town inhabited
by geniuses.
• Launching the third season of Eureka
• More than viewers—believers!
— Engaged, committed, passionate about Eureka.
• Tech-savvy:
— Geek-chic, first adopters, influencers.
• Micro-marketing budget
— Client-sought social media idea
— Engage and ignite the passionistas.

3. Insights to drive our social-media strategy.
• Eureka fans are brand believers.
• Core appeal and essence of brand = “wow,” “gee whiz” factor - keep it geek.
• Eureka fans can’t get enough of their favorite show.
• Slippy ideas win in the age of Web 2.0.
• Not about spamming 1,000,000 to reach 100 anymore.
• Is about connecting with 10 believers, who reach 100, who reach 1,000.
• Fallon believes brands should be Generous™.

4. The Strategy:
Meet the people, behind the genius, behind the town
of Eureka

5. The Creative Idea
Talk with your favorite Eureka character.
Really.

6. So, why Twitter?

7. Perfect fit to leverage their tech savvy to get
them closer to the characters.
A social network platform that…
…allows viewers to establish a
one-on-one (daily) relationship
with a character.
…was already embraced by the
Eureka audience.

8. Finding our voice.

9. Maintaining a voice/persona is vital on Twitter.
We were mindful in our choice of who tweets.
So, we chose the character
who seemed most believable to actually Tweet.

10. S.A.R.A.H. (Self Actuated Residential Automated
Habitat) is the AI “smart house” in Eureka.
“She” is the home of Sheriff Jack Carter, the main character of the series,
and was designed to be the prototype home of the future.
This is no ordinary home. This home talks back.
*FAN FACT: Douglas Fargo, the computer’s inventor, may have
named it after actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, whom he tried to
get to record the voice for the house's computer; he stated that
he is “still waiting to hear back from” her.

11. Adding value.

12. On Twitter, S.A.R.A.H. became “_S_A_R_A_H_”

13. A key reward for many fans lies in the simple
fact that _S_A_R_A_H_ responds back.
Scifirantergirl: Can’t believe that @_S_A_R_A_H_ is tweeting! I can’t wait for Eureka.
ITStudios: “@_S_A_R_A_H_ It is a real honor and pleasure to have a bot like you
following ITStudios! :) Looking forward to Season Three.”
Geekomancer: Holy crap!! That’s awesome!!!
Alderfearn: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Welcome to Twitter! Glad to have you here!
MoCheeks: As if Eureka wasn't a brilliant enough show. One of the star (under-
appreciated) characters on the show has a voice on twitter @_S_A_R_A_H_
XaleD: EUREKA fans, take a moment and add @_S_A_R_A_H_ to your twitter friends.
Tres AWESOME!

14. While not “scripted,” _S_A_R_A_H_ maintains
character consistency like a “real person.”
• Jay16K @_S_A_R_A_H_ can you tell why there wasn't a new episode on yesterday?
• _S_A_R_A_H_: @Jay16K We're still working on fixing the time loop.
• cheodo: @_S_A_R_A_H_: can you recite Pi? Backwards.
• _S_A_R_A_H_: @cheodo Not in 140 characters.
• geometryetcetra: @_S_A_R_A_H_ will you marry me?
• _S_A_R_A_H_: @geometryetcetra I’m not sure that we're compatible. What is your
operating system?
• geometryetcetra: leopard
• _S_A_R_A_H_: @geometryetcetra Sorry, Sheriff Carter is allergic to cats.
• geometryetcetra: @_S_A_R_A_H_ i love you
*FAN FACT: Sheriff Carter’s cat allergy is a plot point in the series.

15. Being that _S_A_R_A_H_ is a “real person” to
Eureka fans, she is always open to any question.
• rickyli99: @_S_A_R_A_H_ can you take over my house? i won't mind when you go nuts and try
to kill me.
• TeeMonster: @_S_A_R_A_H_ I know you're busy and all, but is there any way Sherrif Carter or
Dr. Stark could make it to DragonCon? I'll buy the beer.
• pfischer: @ _S_A_R_A_H_ Do you have a crush on @MarsPhoenix?
• Jigsawhc: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Do you get Labor Day off?
• laii: @_S_A_R_A_H_ I loved when you were a car. Do you ever wish to be one again?
• horcrionebay: @_S_A_R_A_H_ So what dirt can you dish out about Ms Thorne? You must know
something! =)
• fitzwillie: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Important question: why haven't you asked anyone to paint/spruce
up your front door?

16. _S_A_R_A_H_ promoted upcoming episodes in
a way that was both conversation-provoking…
Now that those drones
are under control, I'm
hearing about
problems in Lab 27...
• djbastic: @_S_A_R_A_H_ what is lab 27..??
• jamesspellman: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Whats the problem in lab 27?
• mrkonika: @_S_A_R_A_H_ what's up in Lab27?
• Mortisoul: @_S_A_R_A_H_ what do they do in lab 27, Sarah?
• Podcasting101: @_S_A_R_A_H_ I forget what's in Lab 27 but odds are it's a
CLASS A project and in area 5, _S_A_R_A_H_ do tell :)
• ianmullenve: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Lab 27? IS BOB OKAY??? Nooo, not poor Bob

17. … and an engagement magnet.
Security sensors have detected
an alert concerning a Mary
Perkins. If you have information
regarding her whereabouts, call
202-640-3864.
*Over 50,000 phone calls made by fans!

18. Beyond the Web, _S_A_R_A_H_ offered followers
free ice cream at San Diego’s Comic-Con—the
mecca of SCIFI geekdom.
kristen: Got free ice cream from a Eureka truck! I love that show even more.
KristineAz: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Your ice cream rocks and I can't wait for Tuesday!
Fourwall: Just got a tasty treat from the Eureka Ice Cream truck.
That's just crazy.
aringler: @_S_A_R_A_H_
Comic-Con was great fun!
Jack, Henry and Alilson, et al,
were great fun! The ice cream
was a nice break on a hot day!
Thanks!

19. Spreading the word.

20. Even word-of-mouth marketing still requires
strategic air cover.
*On-air promos were tagged
with her Twitter info.
*Scifi.com hosted
banners and links.

21. The New PR: _S_A_R_A_H_’s followers include
influential writers/reviewers and digerati.
• .

22. _S_A_R_A_H_ pioneered a social first:
A Twitterview (live press interview via Twitter)
and gave fans a behind-the-scenes look.
• Melanie1001: @_S_A_R_A_H_ @notcot
*applause* marvelous interview, thank you
for the wonderful insights!
• rubygrrl48: Following the @notcot
@_S_A_R_A_H_ Twitterview. Just adorable!
• gin200168: OMG. @_S_A_R_A_H_ doing a
Twitterview and all the design sketches and
whatnot she's 'revealing' are the SHINIEST
TOYS EVER. WANT MORE!!!
• tisfan: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Oh, that is so cool!
• jeffscott: @_S_A_R_A_H_ very cool! thanks
for those.

23. Tracking the conversation.

24. In this age of participation, people now
simultaneously chat on Twitter while watching
television shows.
A StreamGraph is shown for the latest 200 tweets which
contain the search word Eureka.
The StreamGraph shows the usage over time for the words most
highly associated with the search word. One of these series
together with a time period are in a selected state and colored
red.
Source: NeoFormix, http://www.neoformix.com/Projects/TwitterStreamGraphs/view.php

25. _S_A_R_A_H_ leveraged Vizu polls, Google
Maps and 12Seconds.tv to enable fan feedback
and map their demographics.
*Avid fans submitted
*400+ votes within first 20 videocam appeals in
minutes of _S_A_R_A_H_’s response to
call-to-action! _S_A_R_A_H_’s call-to-
action!

26. Vocal followers give us real-time qualitative feedback
about a range of issues like product placement.

27. Eureka continues to build on success and
remains top-ranked with audiences.
• Season 3 premiere was the most-watched performance since
the series first premiered on July 18, 2006—up 10% from the
Season 2 debut.
— led the cable pack ranking #1 in the key Adults 25-54
(July 29, 9-10 p.m.)
— Eureka topped the second-place finisher, A&E’s The
Cleaner, in Adults 25-54 by more than 200,000 viewers.
• Eureka is the #1 ranked program on Tuesday nights in Adults
25-54 and continues to build on its success, ranking as SCIFI’s
top series in 2008 to date for Adults 25-54.

28. Eureka and _S_A_R_A_H_’s metric benchmarks
3600+ followers (as of Nov 19, 2008) 1
4800+ Eureka mentions 2
5000+ SCIFI mentions 2 3,300+
#4 Most-Pirated TV Show
3,000+
600,000+ Twitter impressions! 3 (week 6)
on Bittorrent 2,596 (week 5)
(total number of replies multiplied by # of followers who saw them)
#13 Most-
2,283 (week 4) Downloaded Show
#6 Most-Pirated TV Show #3 Most-Pirated TV Show on iTunes
on Bittorrent (week 3) on Bittorrent
1,882
602
(week 2)
#3 Most-Tweeted-About 556
topic on Twitter
537
900 516
(season premiere) 492
_S_A_R_A_H_ 600 Twitter “Followers”
392
launches 228 Twitter Unique Replies
164
Sources: Nielsen BlogPulse, BitTorrent, 1Twitter Counter, 2TweetVolume, 3Twitter Search

29. And advocates are giving credit to Eureka, SCIFI,
and _S_A_R_A_H_ as a truly big idea for our times.
• TeeMonster: This has the potential of being a great marketing tool for SciFi. I
am so impressed. :)
• Skatey: omg. the sheriffs house from Eureka TV series has a twitter account
@_s_a_r_a_h_ . and it was advertised on tv, a whole new level for media.
• ITStudios: @_S_A_R_A_H_ I am really enjoying the pictures from the
Twitterview. Kudos to SciFi for their implementation of Twitter
• Terpette: Finally, a 21st century marketing concept... now, where can *I* get a
house like that?
• Lovesthai: @_S_A_R_A_H_ Thanks for following me! You are the reason I finally
got a Twitter account! Thanks for introducing me to it!

30. 10 Things _S_A_R_A_H_ has learned on Twitter.
1. Love the superfans. They’ll love you back.
2. Talk back.
3. Offer, don’t push.
4. Bring something (good) to the party.
5. You’re always-on.
6. Not a “promotion”, a friend.
7. For the long haul.
8. Make it real (world), too.
9. Leverage your mass channels.
10. Public Relations 2.0: ideas as press release, not press releases about
ideas

31. Join the conversation with _S_A_R_A_H_ at
http://twitter.com/_S_A_R_A_H_
*Thanks to the contributions of all the 3500+
participants with _S_A_R_A_H_ on the making
of this project (and presentation).
*Continue the conversation on our blog:
http://fallontrendpoint.blogspot.com/
or via Twitter
@mcwet // @fanchatter // @akispicer

32. Coming Soon:
TV 2.0: How TV is Evolving in the Age of Participation.
Told from two different, yet similar perspectives – a look at how
the modern television series is evolving, extending and
enhancing their characters and stories using the social web to
engage and inspire fans.
@_S_A_R_A_H_ @don_draper