HBO 360 Campaign for Ad Workshop

1. Nathan Procell – Brittnee Thayer
Edgar Reynaga – Christian
Blakley

2. ● (HBO) is owned by Time Warner Inc.
● approximately 127 million subscribers worldwide,
● Debuting in 1972, consists of motion pictures, original TV series, and ready
for cable films
● Sister channels of this network include: Cinemax, Boomerang, Cartoon
Network, CNN, HLN, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, etc.

3. ● Time Warner Inc. is one of the largest media and entertainment companies
in the world
● Began in 1923, and later merged with Warner Communication Inc. in 1990.
● Known for their leadership with film and TV entertainment and using their
brands and operating scale to create and deliver high quality content
worldwide
● Shares a passion for storytelling and strive for excellence in everything they
do

4. BRAND ANALYSIS

5. Sales Data
HBO subscribers steadily went up from 2010-
2014, dropping a bit in 2015, and rising back up
by December, 2016. HBO’s subscriptions
continue to accelerate worldwide as of 2017.
HBO subscription through cable depends on
the provider, and can be anywhere from $15-
$20 a month, while an HBO NOW subscription
is $15 a month.
Number of HBO subscribers
worldwide (In millions) from
2010 to 2016

6. Promotions
● HBO has many means to advertise and promote their channel, including social media presence.
● Twitter:1.8 million followers. Facebook: 12 million likes on their official page, and 22 million likes
on their Game of Thrones page. Instagram: 1.2 million followers
● Has a deal with Amazon Prime that gives prime members unlimited streaming access to past
seasons on specific shows.
● Also have a collaboration with Hulu that allows you to have HBO and Hulu on the same
subscription and allows you to stream all the services on the same app.

7. Competitive Info
● HBO has a large number of companies that are competition to them including in Netflix,
Showtime, Hulu, and Starz.
● All have a wide range of social media usage to help promote themselves as well.
● They use techniques that range from television commercials, print ads, ad selectors, integrated
commercials.
● Use difference social media accounts including twitter, instagram, and facebook.

8. Trends
STREAMING SERVICES ARE TAKING OVER

9. S
W
O
T
STRENGTHS
● Available in over 150 countries
● Shows major motion pictures, original series,
made-for-cable movies, documentaries,
boxing matches, and the occasional stand-up
comedy and concert specials
● Overall brand recognition
● User friendly websites and apps
● Maintains unique and intriguing shows
● Has versatile streaming applications
● Diverse demographic on all platforms
WEAKNESSES
● Costly membership and exclusivity
● No additional revenue from outside
advertisements
● Censored content
OPPORTUNITIES
● Improvements with HBO NOW
● International markets
● Licensing with attractions
● As cable dies, getting their cable subscribers
to switch over to their streaming service
smoothly
THREATS
● Competitive online streaming services
● Basic cable channels
● Pirating and illegal downloading

10. RESEARCH

11. Q:
Are you subscribed to a TV provider? If so, how?

12. A:
Most millennials take the role of account owner and
subscribe to services on their own. Following right after are
people who still hold accounts with family & friends.

13. Two of the most heard of shows on our survey on HBO were Game Of Thrones (82%) and Sex
and the City (92%). This could also be a problem for HBO, seeing as Sex and the City does not
air anymore and Game Of Thrones is on its last season. HBO will need to find a way to maintain
viewers.

14. In our survey, HBO NOW came out to be one of the streaming services that was least subscribed
to (having only 43% of our audience using it). Netflix was used by 92% of our audience, and Hulu
44%

15. Interviews

16. Naser’s Interview
Meet Naser Labadi!
Naser’s a 22 year old pharmaceutical
marketing major with big travel plans
after graduation… In the meantime,
he’s watching streaming services!
Over the course of Naser’s interview he
mentioned that he uses a few
streaming services but Netflix is and
always will be his favorite, featuring his
favorite original shows.
https://youtu.be/u3_JfZ9ckjo

17. Brooke’s Interview Brooke Antuna is a 20 year old Chicagoland
stylist and model that has recently moved into
her own apartment in the city. When Brooke
was living at home she used to watch HBO
with her dad and older sister. Now she’s
mostly just using Netflix because they have
the full Marvel series.

18. Nick’s Interview
● Nick Long is a 21 year old model who loves HBO,
Netflix, and Hulu.
● His favorite shows are Rick and Morty, Game of
Thrones, and Westworld.
● “I love sci-fi. I think, since we’re in another golden age
of television, and technology is moving so fast, shows
like Westworld and Black Mirror hold my attention
because, while fantastical, there’s a very real element
to it.
● By pushing shows with enhanced special effects, but
keeping character development and good storyline
intact, HBO can continuously make hits like Game of
Thrones.

19. Kandis’ Interview
“I’ve watched HBO since I was little. I grew
up on Sesame Street and used to watch
that little guy with the purple crayon with
my brother… I definitely have an HBO
family”
Kandis is a 28 year old fashion blogger
living in Indiana and working retail in
Chicago! She spends a lot of time
commuting and streams videos on her
phone to pass time!

20. Christian’s Interview
● Christian Henderson is 21 year old Film/Business Major at
Columbia.
● Christian looks for original drama, stand up comedy, and
easy-watching television shows in his streaming services.
● Christian is subscribed to Netflix, HBO GO, Amazon Prime,
and Hulu, all through family and friends though.
● “I love my dramas, like Game of Thrones, Man in the High
Castle, but that’s not what I’m always watching. I watch
fun, easy shows most of the time, like Family Guy, That
70’s Show, that kinda stuff.”
● HBO is very heavy on dramas. Could use lighter material,
even if they do have a comedic presence in Veep, and
Curb your Enthusiasm.

21. Zoe and Samantha’s Interviews
Zoe Mckee and Samantha Manning are both
comedy performance and television writing
majors at Columbia College Chicago. With their
extensive knowledge of television and writing
for television shows, we reviewed their use of
streaming services, what attracts them to
television, and their general thoughts on HBO
as a brand.
Zoe Mckee Samantha Manning
Links to Brittnee’s interviews on Zoe and Sam:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pCiGa9EkUM&
feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbRoIf3blYo&t=
9s

22. Key Insights

23. HBO NOW
360 Cross Platform
Integration

24. Creative Concept
● By focusing on HBO NOW, we aim to highlight that HBO has a streaming
service, making it viewable anywhere.
● Characters from popular HBO shows will be placed in everyday life
situations with people who are watching them in that specific situation.
● This will allow for the consumer to see that HBO can be accessed from
anywhere, which means connecting with your favorite characters as if
they’re friends, all the time.

25. HBO NOW “Game of Thrones” Commercial
A knight from GOT watching Game of Thrones over the
shoulder of someone watching it on their phone, on the
subway. The knight says “Ooh, I haven’t seen this
episode.” The person looks up and says “You haven’t seen
this one? Maybe you shouldn’t watch.” Knight, “Why, what
happens?” Silence.

27. Dolores Abernathy is sitting next to someone on a
plane, whose watching WestWorld. She whispers to
the person, “Love this show. Can’t wait for the
second season. Ooh this part! This is where-“ the
person reaches up to the back of her neck, flips a
switch and turns her off. Another person is staring at
them in shock. Former person shrugs and says “I
hate spoilers.”
HBO NOW “WestWorld”
Commercial

29. HBO NOW Instagram
Mock-up
- HBO NOW does not have an instagram page,
and having one would be a great way to
market this streaming service and to interact
with fans.

30. Print Ad Mockup

31. Shazam Partnering
● We want HBO NOW to partner with
Shazam, where if you “Shazam” a new
show or episode on HBO, Shazam will
send you to behind the scenes footage,
sneak peaks, and chances to win prizes.
● This gives people a way to interact with
their shows using their phones and social
media, while getting more into the worlds of
HBO programming.
● The more fanatical a person is about a
show, the more likely that person is to
share their fandom with friends.

32. Works Cited● Armstrong, Martin, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: International Netflix Subscriptions Surpass U.S.” Statista Infographics, 18 July 2017,
www.statista.com/chart/10311/netflix-subscriptions-usa-international/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● “Audience analysis HBO's Fans Interests & Passions.” HBO Audience analysis, customer-profile.com/media/tv/entertainment-channels/hbo-audience-analysis.html.
Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● “Case Studies.” Hulu Advertising Case Studies, www.hulu.com/advertising/case-studies/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● Deggans, Eric. “New HBO Now Streaming Service Shows Consumer's Will Is King.” NPR, NPR, 10 Mar. 2015, www.npr.org/2015/03/10/392041850/new-hbo-now-
streaming-service-shows-consumers-will-is-king. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● Dunn, Jeff. “There are 6 major services that let you stream live TV over the internet - here's how they compare.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 10 Aug. 2017,
www.businessinsider.com/streaming-services-comparison-hulu-youtube-tv-sling-directv-now-playstation-vue-fubo-2017-8/#sling-tv-continued-2. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● Dunn, Jeff. “There are 6 major services that let you stream live TV over the internet - here's how they compare.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 10 Aug. 2017,
www.businessinsider.com/streaming-services-comparison-hulu-youtube-tv-sling-directv-now-playstation-vue-fubo-2017-8/#sling-tv-continued-2. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● Granados, Nelson. “Only Top Video Streaming Services Are Likely To Survive In The Trump Era.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Jan. 2017,
www.forbes.com/sites/nelsongranados/2017/01/25/only-top-video-streaming-services-are-likely-to-survive-in-the-trump-era/#556cb8da3319. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● “HBO Update.” Brand24, app.brand24.com/panel/quotes/sid/81543785/date1/2017-08-20/date2/2017-09-19/dr/4/page/4. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● Kharpal, Arjun. “HBO email suggesting $250,000 bitcoin payout to 'Game of Thrones' hackers is 'delay tactic’: Insider.” CNBC, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2017,
www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/hbo-hack-game-of-thrones-ra
● nsom.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● “Kissmetrics Blog.” How Netflix Uses Analytics To Select Movies, Create Content, & Make Multimillion Dollar Decisions, blog.kissmetrics.com/how-netflix-uses-
analytics/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● Lieberman, David. “Time Warner Warns That Ad Sales Are Softening, But That Could Be Temporary.” Deadline, 3 May 2017, deadline.com/2017/05/time-warner-warns-
ad-sales-softening-temporary-1202082627/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● “Streaming social: What marketers can learn from Netflix's social strategy.” Marketing Land, 11 Apr. 2016, marketingland.com/streaming-social-marketers-can-learn-
netflixs-social-strategy-171659. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.
● “Time Warner Inc. Reports Second-Quarter 2017 Results.” Business Wire, 2 Aug. 2017, www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170802005611/en/Time-Warner-Reports-
Second-Quarter-2017-Results/?feedref=JjAwJuNHiystnCoBq_hl-fZYqiffDpHIASjea2DwvsWD1w08bW43U_zsPK9s38B4rCOi9QzgjCezTS3Nw_X6kJUrpSBm-Hav1w-
UkdSlG3nBCddZ7R8TUqSJPYIyhFzD7nKdfLXU1CD0fwzlM5l88g. Accessed 20 Sept. 2017.