HBO wanted to build excitement for “Game of Thrones” during what would typically be a lull in fan activity between seasons. Our goal was to rile up the show’s super-fans in social media, reigniting their enthusiasm during the off-season in the absence of new on-air content for five months.

Building on the insight that GoT’s own King Joffrey Baratheon was the most-hated TV character on the Internet in 2013 (he was associated with the word “hate” 83K times), our strategy was to create an experience that would give passionate fans an opportunity to vent about Joffrey in an epic way.

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The creative execution tapped into an existing insight about our fans’ level of passion and creativity. For a show that was this well-loved, our challenge was to harness their passion in a way that would remind them of how excited they were for the next season. The #ROASTJOFFREY social media-based campaign inspired fans to focus their “Game of Thrones” love around their hate for Joffrey, showcasing their creativity and dedication to the show. We even saw tweets and Facebook posts around how #ROASTJOFFREY was “the perfect hashtag to get the spirits up while waiting for Season 4.”

For decades, comedy roasts have put celebrities in the hot seat as their industry peers lambaste them with insults and jabs. We knew GoT fans were highly passionate and creative, so we turned the familiar roast model on its head and opened it up to fans, celebrities, cast members and, well, everyone on the Internet.

#ROASTJOFFREY was the world’s first-ever social media comedy roast – a crowdsourced, 48-hour shellacking of the King. We gave fans a reason to come together around a common passion point (loving to hate Joffrey) and a platform to do it on. Our goal: double conversations during the off-season.

- 367% increase in “Game of Thrones” mentions (YoY), creating a national trending phenomenon

- 63,000 roasts in just 48 hours; #ROASTJOFFREY trended nationally within an hour of launch

- 800 million earned media impressions: Even brands like Oreo and Charmin joined the fun

- 1 million social media engagements (Likes, comments & shares)

- Massive positive media attention in 140+ outlets, including Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair — touting headlines such as “Move over Comedy Central, King’s Landing Really Knows how to Throw a Roast.”

- International reach: Roasts poured in from thousands of miles away