Our thoughts on BBC Doctor Who’s series 8 launch campaign
In the Win offices, we have several favourite TV shows, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Attack on Titan, even EastEnders (shock horror). And Doctor Who is on that list for a couple of us on the team.
So as die hard Who fans, those people were always going to notice the marketing activity which the BBC has been working on – and well, we thought we would pop this into a blog post with our thoughts. So, without further ado – read on…
Allons-y! (A bit of Doctor Who geekery slipping out there – apologies!)
Analysis of Doctor Who’s 8th Series Marketing Campaign
Doctor Who is returning to televisions on 23 August for its 8th event, and we have to commend the marketing team behind Doctor Who’s campaign. Viral marketing and social media have gone a long way to getting viewers pumped for the new season.
Crashed TARDIS
Today, in Parliament Square in central London, you may see a crashed TARDIS (that’s The Doctor’s time and space machine for those who don’t know) just in front of Big Ben, along with the stars of the show, and a hiding dinosaur skull underneath.
Oh and what else – the date of the show and the TV channel it premieres on. Obviously.
This is not for filming purposes, but as a PR stunt, designed to get tongues wagging, tweets tweeting and blogs blogging. Buzzfeed have already picked up on it, and so have we!
‘Secret’ Teaser Trailer
Last week, the BBC released a thirty-second teaser trailer for the first episode of series 8, Deep Breath. Like any good teaser trailer, it features shots from exciting scenes to pique the interest of fans.
What is unique about this trailer is the way in which it was disseminated.
Being a ‘secret’, the BBC did not promote the video, leaving it up to fans to discover and share. Then, rather than making the video available through Dr Who’s official twitter account (@bbcdrwho), it was posted on the BBC’s own handle, and fans were encouraged to retweet it using the hashtag #DrWho.
Dr Who World Tour
The Dr Who World Tour kicked off on 7 August, as the show’s stars and creators set off on an international adventure to meet fans all over the globe. This is certainly the best kind of PR, as it psyches viewers up to watch the new season when it airs.
The fans that meet The Doctor – Peter Capaldi, his companion – Jenna Coleman and the shows current creator – Steven Moffat, are encouraged to share their photos using the tag #DWWORLDTOUR.
This further spreads the reach of the marketing campaign by targeting the friends of fans, who may not necessarily watch the show. It spreads the news that the latest season of Dr Who is coming out soon using the holy grail of marketing communications – word of mouth, in a digital form.
Why Hashtags?
By asking users to share videos and photos using #dwworldtour or #drwho tags, it makes the content much more accessible than tweeting @bbcdrwho.
Hashtags are now used on Facebook and other social media sites, so a wide range of internet users can communicate about a particular topic without having a Twitter account. Hashtags are also better at encouraging conversation, as they target a wide range of social media users who are keen on the same topic.
Viral marketing and social media are very effective ways to spread the word, and Win Marketing can get the digital world talking about your a new product or brand. For more information on how we can help, visit our Social Media Marketing page or give us a call at: +44(0)1509 265890.
In the Win offices, we have several favourite TV shows, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Attack on Titan, even EastEnders (shock horror). And Doctor Who is on that list for a couple of us on the team.
So as die hard Who fans, those people were always going to notice the marketing activity which the BBC has been working on – and well, we thought we would pop this into a blog post with our thoughts. So, without further ado – read on…
Allons-y! (A bit of Doctor Who geekery slipping out there – apologies!)
Analysis of Doctor Who’s 8th Series Marketing Campaign
Doctor Who is returning to televisions on 23 August for its 8th event, and we have to commend the marketing team behind Doctor Who’s campaign. Viral marketing and social media have gone a long way to getting viewers pumped for the new season.
Crashed TARDIS
Today, in Parliament Square in central London, you may see a crashed TARDIS (that’s The Doctor’s time and space machine for those who don’t know) just in front of Big Ben, along with the stars of the show, and a hiding dinosaur skull underneath.
Oh and what else – the date of the show and the TV channel it premieres on. Obviously.
This is not for filming purposes, but as a PR stunt, designed to get tongues wagging, tweets tweeting and blogs blogging. Buzzfeed have already picked up on it, and so have we!
‘Secret’ Teaser Trailer
Last week, the BBC released a thirty-second teaser trailer for the first episode of series 8, Deep Breath. Like any good teaser trailer, it features shots from exciting scenes to pique the interest of fans.
What is unique about this trailer is the way in which it was disseminated.
Being a ‘secret’, the BBC did not promote the video, leaving it up to fans to discover and share. Then, rather than making the video available through Dr Who’s official twitter account (@bbcdrwho), it was posted on the BBC’s own handle, and fans were encouraged to retweet it using the hashtag #DrWho.
Dr Who World Tour
The Dr Who World Tour kicked off on 7 August, as the show’s stars and creators set off on an international adventure to meet fans all over the globe. This is certainly the best kind of PR, as it psyches viewers up to watch the new season when it airs.
The fans that meet The Doctor – Peter Capaldi, his companion – Jenna Coleman and the shows current creator – Steven Moffat, are encouraged to share their photos using the tag #DWWORLDTOUR.
This further spreads the reach of the marketing campaign by targeting the friends of fans, who may not necessarily watch the show. It spreads the news that the latest season of Dr Who is coming out soon using the holy grail of marketing communications – word of mouth, in a digital form.
Why Hashtags?
By asking users to share videos and photos using #dwworldtour or #drwho tags, it makes the content much more accessible than tweeting @bbcdrwho.
Hashtags are now used on Facebook and other social media sites, so a wide range of internet users can communicate about a particular topic without having a Twitter account. Hashtags are also better at encouraging conversation, as they target a wide range of social media users who are keen on the same topic.
Viral marketing and social media are very effective ways to spread the word, and Win Marketing can get the digital world talking about your a new product or brand. For more information on how we can help, visit our Social Media Marketing page or give us a call at: +44(0)1509 265890.
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