To incite record levels of premiere day buzz and tune-in, HBO completely gamified Twitter with a first-of-its-kind, interactive, social dragon hunt.

On premiere day, HBO enlisted the help of Game of Thrones fans to #CatchDrogon, the fiercest dragon in the realm who went missing at the end of Season Four. To play, fans simply needed to lure Drogon in with bait, wait for him to appear, and try to retweet him before HBO made the post disappear and he flew away.

Joining the hunt was easy, but only the most dedicated fans were able to lure in and #CatchDrogon.

The rules of the game were clear: set a trap, wait, and catch. To get fans hunting, HBO launched a Giphy “Bait Shop,” full of delicious treats a dragon couldn’t resist like goats and direwolves. But fans were also encouraged to use their own original creations to try to snare the dragon.

Then, once a fan posted a trap worthy of the elusive beast, @GameofThrones would reply to the tweet with a GIF of Drogon and the timer would start. If the fan didn’t retweet him quickly, Drogon’s tweet would be deleted and he would fly away to the next bait. To further drive competition, HBO partnered with influencers, cast members, and other celebrities to inspire fans to create their own bait from scratch, upping the stakes.

After the daylong hunt, the few fans that were lucky enough to #CatchDrogon were rewarded with swag and props from the show.

In just 24 hours, #CatchDrogon generated over 1 billion total impressions, 6.6 million interactions, and 74,000 tweets worldwide.

It trended on Facebook and Twitter within two hours, attracting celebrities, brands, and the press, who joined the hunt and covered it in the news. Between the two platforms, the hunt increased Game of Thrones’ social fan base by over 150,000.

And the Season Five premiere became the highest rated episode in series history, beating the Season Four premiere by 20%.

With the world’s first-ever social dragon hunt, HBO not only amplified social conversation around the Game of Thrones Season Five premiere, but it created a totally new way for the brand to engage fans on social media and encourage tune-in for the show.

This experience captured the attention of Game of Thrones fans for an entire day leading up to its premiere. The hunt gave fans a reason to stay glued to their Twitter feed and tuned-in to the Game of Thrones community for hours on end.

#CatchDrogon set a new bar for how entertainment brands create social experiences.

At the end of Season Four, Daenerys Targaryen’s fiercest dragon – Drogon – disappeared; creating a cliffhanger HBO knew it could use to entice its millions of fans. So as fans eagerly awaited the premiere, HBO turned this anticipation into conversation, and activated them with cross-platform promotions on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and with on-air bumpers during the Season Four marathon, leading up to the premiere.

After four seasons of record-breaking social media engagement, HBO’s Game of Thrones needed to once again rally the realm and generate unprecedented excitement for the Season Five premiere.

But fans have come to expect so much from the show. Games of Thrones has built one of the most avid, passionate fan bases in the world – one that’s just as likely to sing its praises as it is to share its sincere disapproval. So to get fans talking, build anticipation, and drive record tune-in for the Season Five premiere, HBO truly needed something special.