How a tablet focused campaign in newsbrands generated Game of Thrones blinkbox sales.

1. PHD
HBO – Game of Thrones
Executive summary
Never before has HBO been able to advertise the day after a Game of Throne season
has ended. Due to stipulations from Sky, all previous advertising had to commence 30
days after the final episode ended. Due to a change in restriction from Sky, this
campaign allowed us to be active during the epitome of the social buzz surrounding
season four’s finale. Our commercial activity was at the heart of the conversation, but
more importantly it generated measurable interaction and a tablet only solution
represented a first for the client.
Background
Game of Thrones is deemed one of the most successful TV shows of 2014. Everyone is
talking about it, everyone is watching it and more importantly, everyone loves it. For the
first time, we were able to be part of the buzz and conversations by executing our home
ents campaign the day after the final episode was broadcasted on Sky. HBO’s products
are known to be of premium quality and Game of Thrones is their hero show. We had to
ensure we did this justice, and our strategy ensured we did just that.
Objectives
The role of comms this time was to stand out and drive consumers to act on the
campaign for the Electronic Sell Through (EST) release and a tablet only plan
represented a big change from previous schedules; using small formats in print to drive
frequency of message. Tablet only enabled us to achieve a click through mechanic for
immediate EST purchase. This campaign was a fresh solution for the client which was
very different from previous communications, but as a cost efficient use of the budget,
this felt like the right step.
For the Game of Thrones season four EST release our campaign objective was to
prompt a very specific action - to drive consumers to purchase the digital edition via
blinkbox. The title was not available on iTunes at the time of initial release, so a clear link
to purchase needed to be made to ensure the consumer journey was easy for Game of
Thrones fans.
Our core audience was men 25-54 ABC1 and the campaign was live from the day of
online release (17 June). The overall business objective was to increase sales of digital
copies and keeping the consumer journey simple was a key component in achieving it.
Tablet enabled us to simplify the journey and encourage sales.
Insight

2. We know that consumers behave with tablet devices in a specific way and by giving the
user total control they can move from awareness to purchase very quickly and easily.
Given the fact that most consumers would immediately visit iTunes to purchase a series
online, including a link to blinkbox added an element of continuity to the consumer
experience.
The product itself is one of the most talked about shows and a huge global franchise
with an impressive social following. In the past, Sky has owned the rights to the series
and we were restricted to advertising 30 days after the last episode aired. The ability to
now deliver comms the morning after the last episode aired, presented us with a great
opportunity; striking while there was editorial and social buzz around the show.
The plan
The tablet solution could now work as part of a wider campaign including digital and
social for the first time. We needed to leverage this buzz and make sure the print activity
was in a space where we could be part of the overall brand conversation, establishing a
clear link with the distribution partner, blinkbox to achieve our overall objective.
The plan involved delivering Game of Thrones’ well-known brand imagery in disruptive
tablet formats; a cover wrap together with interactive interstitials. By coupling the
creative execution with a very overt click to buy message, consumers were able to
engage with the ads intuitive design and react exactly as we wanted them to.
Newsbrands and the tablet platform specifically allowed us to deliver an explicit call to
action directly towards the chosen point of purchase: blinkbox. The ABC1 25-54
audience meant that media partners in the quality press market were a natural choice to
deliver the message.
Results
The campaign received excellent results in terms of click through and dwell time, driving
EST sales directly. Measurable results included:
• Achieving the 2nd
highest click through rate of any Metro tablet ad as well as a
lengthy dwell time
• Higher than average click through rate with The Daily Telegraph plus five
seconds more dwell time than the papers average
• Performing above average on The Times
Week one sales for blinkbox showed a 200% increase on Season 3 in 2013; which in
turn was their biggest TV release to date. For the second consecutive year, Game of
Thrones is the biggest TV title on blinkbox.
Furthermore, this was the first time that HBO had run such a tablet focused campaign
and we could demonstrate from the results that this is a step in the right direction. We
now have a great case study to work with for future campaigns.