HBO’s “Girls” Dominates Multi-Platform Social Promotion
The polarizing hit TV-show Girls returned on Sunday for its sophomore season, and the HBO team was adamant that you (and everyone else with an internet connection) would be aware. The show’s been a hot topic among entertainment critics and bloggers (both those who love it and hate it), and HBO’s lead-up to this much-anticipated season used that energy to its advantage by going social. Very, very social.
The show, written by and starring twenty-something girls, certainly isn’t solely for that demographic, but many were surprised just how many older viewers the show’s first season scored. In fact, the median age of Girls viewers is 43. And the largest demo group who watch? Males over 50. So it’s no big shock that there was a different approach this season, one that focused heavily on a variety of social platforms in the months leading to the season’s kick-off, in aims to gain those non-traditional HBO viewers.
This isn’t the first time the cable network has focused on social. The brand, like most, uses social media platforms to engage, interact and socialize with viewers and prospective new customers. This recent effort to push Girls is the brand’s strongest foray into social thus far, and all signs suggest that Sabrina Caluori, HBO’s Vice President of Social Media and Performance Marketing, has no intentions of backing down now.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Buzzfeed, GetGlue, HBO Connect… What major platforms has the HBO hit not utilized? To engage the show’s fans, the brand’s sponsored events and giveaways, promoted via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Free blow-dries and spin classes from Drybar and SoulCycle were scooped up minutes after hitting the web. Thousands of photos with the hashtag #UOxGIRLS are searchable on Instagram thanks to the apartment makeover and rent giveaway sponsored by HBO and Urban Outfitters.
With the popularity of the #WhatShouldWeCallMe Tumblr meme, the cable network followed suit, introducing #WhatShouldWeCallGirls, supported by its other social networks. And to keep buzz going? It sponsored posts on Buzzfeed, which publishes post interactions straight to Facebook, and, for the TV fanatics out there, it continued to partner with GetGlue, a mobile check-in platform that uses fundamentals of gamification to engage fans.
The HBO marketing team has used second season buzz to reach a larger audience with HBO Connect, its stand-alone platform with Twitter connectivity that truly connects viewers to one another and to the people behind the scenes. Exclusive Q+A sessions with Girls creator and star Lena Dunham and the opportunity to unlock unseen scenes with hashtags, like #resolutionsGIRLSbreak and #GIRLSoverheard, are just a few of the perks of visiting the site.
Girls isn’t the only HBO show to get the social treatment. Nearly all of the channel’s regular programming has some social platform presence, with eleven programs featured on HBO Connect. As HBO GO continues to make it easier for fans to watch anytime, and HBO Connect and the many social platforms make it easier for fans to engage in real-time, the momentum will undoubtedly continue.
