Sky Tv: BRING DOWN THE KING

Credits & Description:

CLIENT SKY TELEVISION
PRODUCT GAME OF THRONES SEASON 4 LAUNCH
ENTRANT DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
TYPE OF ENTRY USE OF DIRECT MARKETING
CATEGORY USE OF SOCIAL IN A DIRECT CAMPAIGN
TITLE GAME OF THRONES
PRODUCT/SERVICE GAME OF THRONES SEASON 4 LAUNCH
ENTRANT COMPANY : DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
ADVERTISING AGENCY : DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
PRODUCTION COMPANY : FINCH AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
SHANE BRADNICK DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
CHRIS SCHOFIELD DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND CREATIVE DIRECTOR
HAYDN KERR DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND DIGITAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR
RORY MCKECHNIE DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND CREATIVE
ADAM THOMPSON DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND ART DIRECTOR
JAMES BLAIR DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
GEORGIA NEWTON DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND ACCOUNT MANAGER
TANIA JERAM DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND AGENCY PRODUCER
JUDY THOMPSON DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND EXECUTIVE AGENCY PRODUCER
PAUL PRITCHARD DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND DIGITAL DIRECTOR
LIZ KNOX DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND DIGITAL EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
SAM SCHREY DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND SENIOR DIGITAL DESIGNER
CAMERON CROSBY DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND LEAD DEVELOPER
CAIN COULTON DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND DEVELOPER
SEAN BROWN DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND/MANGO SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
ELEISHA BALMER DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND/MANGO SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER
JASON VERTONGEN DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND LEAD DESIGNER
JACK MURPHY DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL PLANNER
MICHIEL COX DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND DIGITAL PLANNER
TROY GOODALL IDC PHOTOGRAPHER
Describe the brief from the client:
To promote the 4th season of Game of Thrones on premium SKY TV cable channel SoHo, we wanted to demonstrate to existing and potential customers that we were just as fanatical about good programming as the fans who watched it.
Creative Execution:
Game of Thrones is a show people are seriously passionate about, and they’re seriously passionate about hating Joffrey. They were already talking online about the new season and how much they despised him, and by simply adding our hashtag they could help bring an end to the King who has caused the realm and viewers so much pain. They’d been itching for a chance to get revenge for 3 seasons, and we finally gave it to them - reinforcing our stance of being just as fanatical about good TV as fans are.
Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.
We knew there would be a social media frenzy around the premiere. To show this fanatical commitment, we wanted to make sure we were a major part of that conversation. So we gave fans the one thing they all wanted, the chance to bring down King Joffrey. We erected a 7m statue of the King in NZ’s largest public square, then invited fans worldwide to bring him down via a winch that was activated every time the hashtag #bringdowntheking was used on Twitter. They could watch progress via our website, which streamed the event for the whole 5 days.
Describe the results in as much detail as possible.
#bringdowntheking trended on twitter from the moment the campaign started until the day after it went down. Ratings were 20% higher than the previous season’s premiere. Tweets came from 130 countries. Our website was the most viewed live stream in Australasian history. Total reach was 66 million, with 875,000 direct interactions, and thousands of photos and videos posted to Instagram, Tumblr and Youtube. One in every 500 kiwis tweeted about the campaign, and leading up to the international premiere, one in every twenty conversations about Game of Thrones worldwide was in reference to our campaign and in turn, SKY.