Cannes Lions
HBO, New York / HBO / 2018
Overview
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Credits
Description
For the past six seasons of Game of Thrones, the massive global fan community has been told that “Winter Is Coming”. Leading into Season 7, HBO confirmed the long-predicted theory and declared that Winter Is Here in Season 7, with a clever “winterizing” blitz of activations and content across digital platforms.
Execution
HBO kicked off the Summer Solstice with a new, winter-themed trailer for Season 7, announcing #WinterIsHere. Game of Thrones activated a Twitter Emoji Engine, that gave fans the chance to unlock all 12 Season 7 character posters through use of clever combinations of #WinterIsHere + [an emoji] tweeted @GameOfThrones.
Other integrated campaign activations included a first-ever branded gift exchange for the over one million Game of Thrones subscribers on Reddit, real-time posts and updates in Game of Thrones Google search results page, and a #WinterIsHere primetime marathon on HBO 2.
On premiere day, HBO bought a sponsored lens on Snapchat that let fans turn themselves into an ice-breathing White Walker. On finale, fans became the Night King with a Facebook camera effect and post-finale they continued to delve into the series with the seven-part Game Revealed docuseries diving into the juiciest moments from every episode of the season.
Outcome
When winter finally came on premiere day it was truly a season to remember. Game of Thrones’ social following grew to over 32M across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Season 7 was the most watched premiere and HBO program ever. It also dominated social buzz and was Nielsen's most social TV series of 2017.
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