HBO programming is deeper, more unexpected than any other network’s. They needed an integrated campaign that reflected their unique brand of storytelling, cemented their position as leaders in creative storytelling, and encouraged fans and non-fans alike to connect deeper with the brand.Our solution was a multiplatform campaign themed “It’s more than you imagined.” Each piece of the campaign delivered the “It’s more than you imagined” message individually, while directing people to the campaign website. There, the pieces of content were shown in relation to one another, revealing all the content as connected parts of a larger story arc.

The content changed dramatically from concept to implementation. Different storylines needing to be connected and we were constantly rewriting stories to work together. Also, the realities of the Internet kicked in, with time and memory space making some solutions unusable and creating the need to rethink along the way. We needed to create new solutions that would allow our player/experience to operate smoothly, efficiently and elegantly.

The multi-media push created much buzz and excitement for the brand. The 14-foot cube appeared in three major cities. Thousands of people turned out for all three Cube events. The events were well attended and drove hundreds of thousands of unique visitors to the campaign website—with 70% of users recommending it to friends. Subscriber and non-subscriber impressions of HBO as “innovator” rose over 30 percent, and The New York Times said that the Imagine campaign set a new bar in interactive fiction.

The campaign included commercials, Web films, video banner ads, direct-response pieces, print, posters, a first-of-its-kind four-sided outdoor film event, and an interactive website experience (that housed all aforementioned content), where the work was revealed to be connected parts of a larger story; in effect, “It’s more than you imagined.” And more than telling people our brand message, the campaign is a living breathing embodiment of the brand message.