Social Media campaign is the force of multiple channels of digital marketing coming together as one to target a wide array of markets through the use of traditional and non-traditional marketing. Many of us, are aware of the CW Show “The Game” (Unless you have been living under a deep rusty rock) that brought households together for over three seasons.
When the final season announced the show would be off air in the Spring 2009 people went BANANAS! People had a connection with the cast and wanted more. They were completely unsatisfied with the idea of it ending so abruptly. So that brings me to what went well and what went bad in my personal opinion during this marketing campaign presented by BET. Don’t get me wrong; I was victim to watching every marathon held on Thursday and Saturdays until the premiere on January 1, 2011 but took into account where they dropped the ball.
Ready? Here we go! A marketing/ PR social media campaign launched in November 2010 re-running all seasons of the so loved seasons of “The Game” and one-on-one interviews held with the cast. BET taking over this phenomenal series left several eyebrows were raised at the idea of the show being picked up by “BET”. One, it is BET and Two, it is BET. We are aware of the success rate of shows on BET and were a little weary when hearing about the network picking up the show. But that didn’t stop the amazing marketing/PR social media campaign.
Through the use of Twitter, Facebook and Youtube they bombarded your computers and televisions. There wasn’t a day that went by that you didn’t hear something about the premiere. Through contest, multi-media content via Facebook, ads, press releases and twitter updates the world was ready for season four.
After analyzing the overall campaign, I felt the best form of marketing was through the use of utilizing all social networks and having an entire month dedicated to the past seasons. This tactic, prepared old fans and gave new fans an opportunity to build a connection with the cast. This tactic was successful and one I would suggest shows taken off the air use during their marketing campaign.
The negative of the campaign is reaching the older audience. Although, you are finding your older demographic utilizing social media more and more each day, they still reached 18-24 rather than 25-50. Reaching that older demographic is where their consumer loyalty lies due to the content of the show. In the past, the season was a more fun and lighthearted show but took a turn and the content is directed towards a mature audience.
In the upcoming season, I suggest BET target an older demographic and take advantage of all forms of marketing and PR. But overall, this marketing social media campaign was a great success. Did it compare to the previous season not by a long shot but it still left a large group of fans satisfied. They better bring it for SEASON 5!!!