Strategy | Creative | Campaign & Community Management
Vendor: Watson Design Group
Entering their SIXTEENTH season, we wanted to make sure that we gave fans a refreshing new experience on social while still spotlighting what It’s Always Sunny does best - irreverent, unapologetic comedy.
STRATEGY
Our approach was rooted in the show’s (non)award-winning formula for boundary-pushing humor, using it as the foundation for low-lift, social friendly creative that effortlessly got fans talking and sharing.
While we had plenty of moments this season to lean into nostalgia, we also leveraged moments from all 16 seasons to tap into trends and news to interject Always Sunny into cultural conversations.
We crafted content for fans based on their preferences spotlighting favorite characters and moments as a way to nod to the diehards and celebrate the series’ 18 years of comedy.
CREATIVE SPOTLIGHT
“Now That’s What I Call Sunny”
To kick off promotion for Season 16 and celebrate The Gang’s return to disturbing the peace on American soil, we leaned into the nostalgia of early 2000's compilation CDs with “Now That’s What I Call Sunny.”
The promotional video featured fan favorite music moments like The Nightman Cometh and Charlie Kelly’s infamous “Go F*ck Yourself” guaranteeing more laughs, more surprises, and more never before seen guest stars in Season 16. The asset achieved our lead in objectives of driving binging for past seasons while building anticipation for the new season.
This piece snagged FX a 2023 Clios Award nomination.
“Always Sunny’s Greatest Hits”
We continued to lean into the nostalgia of 90s/2000s era music with weekly tune in creative that put the gang into iconic album covers. In an era where video is king, these static assets cut through the noise to be one of our best performing and most talked about creative for the season.
They even inspired a fan to create physical versions of each of the seven episodic albums.
Bayside is back, baby! When schools merge, sheltered Bayside gets the dose of reality it’s always needed from students with different backgrounds and fresh perspectives. Bubbles burst. Hilarity ensues. From the mind of Tracey Wigfield (30 Rock, The Mindy Project) this new rendition of everyone’s favorite Saturday morning sitcom is a wickedly-smart satire that challenges our expectations of high school, identity, and the sitcom format overall.
THE STRATEGY
This new rendition of Saved by the Bell is more than just a reboot. We saw this as an opportunity to leverage the original’s pop-culture clout and deep fanbase as a starting point to draw a new generation into the highly relatable world of Bayside, while also bringing ardent Saved by the Bell fans to Peacock.
Prior to Covid, our team spent a short amount of time on set capturing behind the scenes content with the talent. We knew it would be crucial to have ample content with the returning cast members to leverage their larger social followings and drive awareness. Prior to the marketing window, we hosted a comprehensive virtual Social Capture Day with the cast to secure exclusive content that was distributed via Peacock, Symphony, Talent, and Press socials during launch week.
BAYSIDE HIGH SPIRIT WEEK
To celebrate the return of Saved by the Bell, we programmed a “Homecoming Spirit Week” on social filled with virtual events and daily themed activations with the goal of establishing Peacock as the exclusive home for the entire Saved by the Bell franchise. We leaned heavily into our "OG" Bayside High talent (Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren) as brand ambassadors for Peacock, using them to driving fans to the service and socials.
On launch day, we held a virtual watch party of the pilot. Talent helped eventize the day by sharing pre-taped social content to their accounts and live-tweeted during the party sharing behind the scenes insights and Easter eggs with fans.
THE RESULTS
Saved by the Bell was the #1 title on the streaming platform the weekend of its release and the #1 Peacock Original, with 3 out of 10 new users of the service making it the first thing they watch.
Owned Saved by the Bell content garnered 2.93M Impressions and 1.3M Video Views on premiere day.
A Behind The Scenes photo captured by our Social Producer is the most engaged with post ever on Peacock’s Instagram with an organic engagement rate of 45%.
Based on Aldous Huxley's prophetic 1932 novel, Brave New World is a genre-bending, science-fiction and fantasy drama that imagines a world steeped in holographic pleasure, with hedonistic values re-branded as selflessness for the good of the collective. The series itself was a priority title for Peacock’s summer 2020 launch causing us to pull out all stops to make it a success.
THE STRATEGY
Our support for Brave New World began during filming by placing a dedicated social media producer on set in London. This person not only captured a wide variety of social-native content for owned and external channels but also built quality relationships with the talent which aided us exponentially during launch.
During the marketing window, we aligned talent support with brand marketing to assure amplification for tentpole moments. We also tapped into genre-focused press outlets and the talent’s dedicated fan bases to drive new followers and subscribers to Peacock. We created bespoke social opportunities tailored to cast with large, active social followings (Demi Moore, Joseph Morgan) and allocated a portion of our on set content for talent-exclusives as a way to break out talent with smaller, but engaged audiences.
TALENT ACTIVATIONS AND PRESS
We coordinated an unprecedented amount of talent activations and social press to extend awareness for the title and platform to a potential audience of 34M. Here are some just to name a few:
Showrunner, David Wiener participated in a Reddit AMA on the r/television Subreddit (16.6M members)
Jessica Brown Findlay participated in an Instagram Story takeover for @SYFYWire (262K followers)
Joseph Morgan hosted two Instagram Lives on his Instagram that garnered 900k+ video views 310k+ engagements.
THE RESULTS
In just four days, we saw overall talent growth of 52K+ new followers and 1.2M+ engagements on talent content.
56% of owned engagements generated by talent accounts related to Peacock Launch programming were generated by Demi Moore’s posts promoting Brave New World.
Of all Peacock original titles, Brave New World generated the 2nd most organic social activity on Twitter on launch day.
NBC Universal’s highly anticipated streaming service, Peacock, landed this summer jam-packed with brand new original series, timeless classics, and thousands of hours of everyone’s faves. Without the support of planned marketing stunts around the Summer 2020 Olympics and experiential events like SXSW, Peacock leaned heavily into social to bring this bird to flight.
We were tasked with hiring a new team of social-savvy individuals to build a social presence and strategy from the ground up that positioned Peacock as a stand out service within the saturated streaming market (all during a pandemic). Through our launch efforts, we were able to awaken fan bases around every corner of the internet with the breadth and scope of our content, showcasing what makes Peacock current, timely and timeless while creating a community of active users that keep coming back for more.
THE STRATEGY
A heavy focus was placed on activating NBCU’s talent (our owned brand ambassadors) to drive awareness for launch. Instead of distributing a mass Peacock branded asset, we utilized the talent’s large, diverse networks to target individual titles available on the service and provided tailored creative and messaging that would appeal to each talent’s audience.
Then, we strategically selected and sent bespoke social toolkits with tailored assets and copy to 300+ symphony and originals talent. Additionally, we produced a NINE-day virtual shoot with 27 talent, capturing over 250 pieces of video creative for Brand, Symphony, Talent, and Press socials.
FREE-A-THON // BUZZFEED CELEBRITY ZOOM DROP-INS
Talent also played a big part in Peacock’s launch day “FREE-A-THON” social exclusive stunt where for 15 hours straight, fans had the opportunity to win a different “Peacock Perk” each hour. Talent giveaways ranged from FREE parenting advice from Todd Chrisley to FREE autographed copies of the Psych pilot.
The talent-centric giveaway that made the biggest splash was our Celebrity Zoom Drop-Ins. Peacock partnered with Buzzfeed to give away an intimate experience with talent like Dule Hill, Soleil Moon Frye, Al Roker, and more. A handful of lucky winners were selected to attend a digital meet and greet moderated by a Buzzfeed Creator. The live content was then edited and shared across Buzzfeed, Peacock, Talent, and Press socials for maximum exposure.
THE RESULTS
Talent drove the majority (86%) of owned engagement on launch day for Peacock.
The Buzzfeed Zoom Drop-In Campaign delivered a whopping 33M impressions and 2M video views.
11.8M video views were generated across Facebook & Twitter by Peacock-related content on launch day. Compared to HBO Max, Quibi and Disney+ on their respective launch days, Peacock overperformed in the video view counts generated by owned content associated with the launch of the streaming service as well as its original titles.
EMMY® NOMINATED The Great is a satirical, comedic drama about the rise of Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) from outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia's history. The show tells a fictionalized, fun, and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter (Nicholas Hoult).
THE STRATEGY
Hulu partnered with Digital Media Management (DMM) to introduce audiences to “The Great,” starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, and execute talent initiatives to eventize the series premiere on social.
We supported the launch for The Great across multiple divisions, beginning with embedding a Social Producer on the East London set. During production, the Social Producer captured valuable behind-the-scenes content to later be used by the A-list cast, as well as the Hulu brand, and dedicated show channels.
THE RESULTS
The relationships forged between the social producer and talent on set proved fruitful as the cast was ecstatic to show their support and post content throughout the campaign. Additionally, BTS on set content captured by the producer consistently overperformed on our owned social accounts, reaffirming our audience’s desire for exclusive content of the beloved cast. The strategic approach to community management and content planning supported the passionate fanbase’s love for the show, keeping conversation high across socials beyond launch weekend.
Following a wildly successful first season of Dirty John, the anthology series moved networks from Bravo to USA for an all-new thrilling true-crime tale. Season two follows the breakdown of Betty Broderick’s (Amanda Peet) marriage to childhood sweetheart, Dan Broderick (Christian Slater), and the devastating effects of the emotional toll it took on Betty.
When the story first ran in the late ’80s, Betty was painted in the media as a woman scorned. The all-female executive production team of Dirty John chose to take a feminist approach to the series to illustrate how there are two sides to every story.
We strived to reintroduce Betty's story through a new lens to make a powerful and emotional connection with viewers and encourage them to lead the discussion around the fairytale marriage that ended in tragedy.
THE STRATEGY
When working with a series with such serious content matter, we knew it would be vital to humanize the cast behind the characters for lighthearted moments on social. Throughout the production, a Social Media Producer was present on set to capture photos and videos of the cast’s camaraderie behind the scenes. This time on set also allowed us to build one on one relationships with the cast that made coordinating activations a breeze during our marketing window.
Social press was a pivotal part of our talent support and was the main driver for us to reach external audiences and drive them to USA to watch the series. We partnered with major outlets like Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Refinery29, IMDB, and even coordinated an Instagram Live with InStyle where Amanda Peet went live with her BFF Sarah Paulson (NBD) to chat about the show.
These press partnerships gave Christian and Amanda an opportunity to participate in activations despite not being active on social, helped support lesser-known talent like Chris Mason, and introduced rising star Tiera Skovbye to new audiences, all while building massive buzz around the series.
THE RESULTS
100M+ Total Video Views (an increase of 101% from Season 1) and 300M+ Total Impressions (110% increase from Season 1).
Secured SEVEN social press talent activations with the potential to reach an external audience of 17.4M followers.
Content captured on set by the Social Producer performed the best on the show’s Instagram page over all other content buckets.
Digital Media Management was excited to be Netflix’s social media agency partner on Fuller House’s fourth season. We aimed to reinvigorate the show’s social presence, targeting a broader demographic and implementing new talent initiatives. Our content was designed to reflect the youthful, funny voice of the show’s die-hard fans, the Fannerinos, through a redefined tone and never-before-seen talent content.
OBJECTIVES
Our social media campaign set out to unite both generations of Fuller House fans: fans of the legacy show, and newer, younger fans who discovered the Tanners through Netflix. Our intention was to create social media content series that resonated with each set of fans, while also bringing a new Internet-native voice to the channels to revitalize them, ensuring they fit in with the larger Netflix social landscape. By creating a perfect mix of heartwarming and Internet-savvy content, we aimed to better unite fans across generational lines.
We also wanted to bring the beloved cast to the fans in an unprecedented way. We aimed for both talent and brand channels to be the exclusive key holders of all things Fuller House to provide fans with content they couldn’t find anywhere else, making the experience for fans all the more exciting.
RESULTS
At the end of the streaming show’s social media campaign, we earned over 231K and 860K organic new followers to the Fuller House social channels and talent social channels respectively. We saw huge growth in activity, engagement, and followers due to a shift in tone and a focus on interactive story content. Unprecedented and innovative content such as our interactive baby shower Instagram Story takeover, trivia games with the cast, and intimate fan videos for holidays such as New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving, drove extremely high engagement. Ultimately, we built a new, Internet-savvy presence for the Fuller House accounts to tap into our younger digital native audience, priming the invested Fannerinos for everything Season 5 has to offer.
“Looking For Alaska” tells the story of Miles “Pudge” Halter (Charlie Plummer), a teenage boy from Orlando who has become consumed by his desire to seek “the Great Perhaps,” a concept inspired by the last words of poet Francois Rabelais. This desire sends him to Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama, to find something less boring and safe than the life he’s always lived. With the help of creator Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Gossip Girl), Hulu revived the 2005 John Green novel for a new generation of viewers in this eight-episode miniseries.
THE STRATEGY
For our campaign, we sought to build and nurture a dedicated community of Looking for Alaska superfans, while also introducing our young up-and-coming talent.
Our support began during production where a dedicated Social Media Producer was present on set to nurture relationships with talent and capture custom social-native content. To play upon the nostalgic tone of the series, the Social Producer captured behind the scenes moments using Polaroid, disposable, and Super 8 film. Through our presence on set, we were able to capture over 6,000 pieces of social content for Hulu brand, talent, and show channels.
This organic content paired with our carefully crafted voice that embodied the nostalgic spirit of the beloved novel, allowed us to build anticipation for the series and forge a bond with our audience bringing the story and characters to life on social.
THE RESULTS
Existing fans of the novel and those longing for teen dramas of the early aughts were quick to flock to our socials to reminiscence and express their love for our young talent.
Capture over 6,000 pieces of on-set social content for Hulu brand, talent, and show channels.
Over the course of the campaign we generated 1M+ organic engagements on Instagram, home to most of our on-set-captured content.
On Twitter, our sentimental and optimistic tone, ability to tap into relevant trends, and intentional approach to community management resulted in 242K+ organic engagements.
From timeless classics like Law & Order and Saturday Night Live to iconic comedies like The Office and Friends to current favorites like This Is Us, The Good Place and The Voice, NBC’s programming slate has consistently wowed audiences and it was time for their social presence to do the same.
Prior to our work on the NBC Brand socials, the handles lacked a cohesive editorial strategy often becoming a dumping ground for the network’s many promotional priorities. Our goal was to establish a specific, social-native brand presence while maintaining a fan-first approach and complementing overall network efforts.
THE STRATEGY
We began our revamp by developing a platform-specific approach to our voice and content. Instead of robotic, promotional copy, we evolved our voice to be more authentic, conversational, and digital-first. We used our immense knowledge of the NBCU library to craft a community management strategy that positioned us as an influential voice in the online entertainment space - speak with the fans, like a fan.
When it came to content, driving shareability and increased awareness for both our primetime and legacy titles in an organic way was crucial. Each platform was programmed with unique content and experiences for our followers that felt native to each platform’s user behaviors and only featured the best, most shareable content across NBC Entertainment, Events, News, and Sports.
THE RESULTS
Developed a best-in-class editorial approach for the NBC Brand that offered genuine value and entertainment to our followers on social.
Grew NBC Entertainment’s overall following across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter resulting in the largest social following of all broadcast networks.
Increased engagement on all platforms - 131% on Facebook, 72% on Instagram, and 25% on Twitter.
Nominated for nearly 40 awards during the 2017 season (including three Golden Globes and five Emmys), This Is Us captivated audiences all over the world with its highly relatable storylines in season one and left fans yearning for more from the iconic cast.
THE STRATEGY
Entering season two, we were tasked with making This Is Us even bigger on social than season one while still maintaining a close relationship with all of our fans. We chose to launch our efforts with a Season 2 "First Look" clip backed by a very strategic rollout plan which resulted in more than 50M views on Facebook alone.
To build conversation in the days leading up to the finale, we supported a number of SXSW activations on social including an X-Finity Facebook live Q&A, panel live tweeting, and shared tons of BTS content through the show’s Instagram Stories. We continued our human-first approach to fan interaction by setting up a voicemail line where fans could leave a message for the This Is Us cast. We responded to many of these messages through text and even had Justin Hartley and Mandy Moore return a few fan calls.
The This Is Us finale had fans world-wide buzzing (and trending), resulting in 1.2M interactions. and ranking as the 4th most-social primetime episode in 2018.
Through building relationships with our fan "family" online that are deeply emotional and passionate throughout the season, we were able to provide a digital space for fans to connect, discuss, and celebrate all of the show’s milestones with viewers and cast alike.
THE RESULTS
4.4M+ fan community
Most social broadcast series airing of 2017 according to Nielsen Social
#2 ranked primetime drama by Nielsen Social Content Ratings for the entire Fall 2017 season
Season 2 premiere and coveted Super Bowl episode amongst the top 10 social broadcasts of all time
50M views within 48 hrs for S2 “First Look” spot
If you’ve never watched Superstore, you need to block out a weekend and binge it NOW. The under-the-radar workplace sitcom has the makings of the next Parks and Rec or The Office with NBC’s iconic comedy legacy to back it up.
THE STRATEGY
The show “busts taboos and breaks barriers,” according to Vulture, and is a comedy that not only makes us laugh but speaks to the larger issues of today in every episode. It’s no surprise that fans of Superstore are WOKE and when it comes to the content they want to interact with on social, it needed to be just like the show - authentic, creative, and relatable with a splash of WTF.
If you didn’t know, Halloween is a big deal around Cloud 9 and they’re huge fans of the timeless classic, “Halloween Surfboard.” Oh, you’ve never heard of it? Weird. Well, the Cloud 9 employees heard it on repeat in Season 4’s Halloween episode. We immediately had the idea to take the song to social in an hour-long Facebook Live video stream where the hit played, you guessed it, on repeat.
We partnered with production and the composers to donate all proceeds from downloads to provide transportation for low-income seniors to voting booths on Election day. At Cloud 9, everyone wins.
Injecting Superstore into relevant, trending conversations was the name of the game for social. Finding ways to utilize our creative in a way that was recognizable for non-fans proved successful in catching their attention and getting them to our page.
All Superstore social assets received the utmost thought and care, even Tonight Art, because that’s what Superstore deserved. We were challenged with similar-looking set photography each week that resulted in bland, repetitive Tonight Art. By leaning into a show theme or concept for each episode, we were able to diversify our content while teasing storylines for our fans.
The Eagles weren’t the only ones to win big at Super Bowl LII! NBC Entertainment had a killer day on social supporting the big game with fun and original content that captured the attention of both sports and TV fans alike.
With the 2017 Super Bowl airing live on NBC, the @NBC brand accounts were tasked with extending the anticipation and excitement of the big game to social in a way that appealed to an entertainment audience. Our content strategy focused on interactive designed creative, witty, internet-native memes, and a strategic release of our own digital “Super Bowl” commercials driving awareness for our shows capitalizing on this heavy traffic time.
We aligned with a number of affiliates and partners, including NBC Sports, to assure seamless promotion across channels on social both in lead up and during the game as well as supported a number of paid activations in conjunction with our internal sales team.
THE RESULTS
8.7M Video Views Across 8 NBC Promos
2.7M Twitter Impressions In A 24 Hour Period
Top Tweet Of The Night Garnered 1.6M Impressions and 46K engagement