The Campaign

To promote the season premiere of Game of Thrones on premium SKY TV cable channel SoHo, we wanted to demonstrate we were just as fanatical about good programming as fans who watch it. We knew anticipation globally would be huge, but we needed to ensure SoHo was part of conversation - we needed a local campaign that leveraged the support of the global audience. The plan? Give fans the one thing they all wanted - the chance to bring down the evil King Joffrey. Five days before the premiere, we erected a 7m statue of the King in NZ’s largest public square, then invited fans worldwide to topple him via a winch, activated every time #bringdowntheking was used on Twitter. They could watch progress via live stream on our dedicated website. We engaged the hosts of the country’s top-rating radio station, before securing local and international media to spread word further. Die-hard fans were engaged via seeding on fan sites. #bringdowntheking trended on Twitter from the moment the campaign began, with tweets from 126 countries. Importantly Kiwis were the most engaged throughout. NZ’s largest newspaper covered the story five times, and it appeared on numerous international sites, including Huffington Post, Forbes, and Gizmodo. One in every twenty online conversations about GoT worldwide referenced the campaign. SoHo was included in over 80 percent of local media coverage and the website was the most viewed live stream in Australasian history. Total campaign reach was a staggering 66 million, with 875,000 direct interactions.

The Brief

We needed a campaign to get both New Zealand Game of Thrones fans, and those who hadn’t yet experienced the cult TV show, excited about the up and coming season launch on SKY’s SoHo channel. The campaign needed to spark curiosity, generate conversations through traditional and social media, and demonstrate that SKY is just as fanatical about quality programming as its audience is. But how do we get local engagement about an American television show?

Results

#bringdowntheking trended on Twitter from the moment the campaign launched and was regularly the top trending topic in New Zealand, even when the country’s royal family was visiting. Tweets came from 126 countries, but importantly, Kiwis were the most engaged throughout the campaign. Thanks to regular updates, the country’s largest newspaper covered the story five times, while our targeted radio station devoted 17 minutes on-air. The story featured on scores of international websites, including Huffington Post, Forbes, and Gizmodo. In the days leading up to the international premiere, one in every twenty Game of Thrones conversations online worldwide was in reference to our campaign. Over 80 per cent of local media coverage referenced SKY and SoHo and the website was the most viewed live stream in Australasian history. Total campaign reach was 66 million, with 875,000 direct interactions, plus thousands of photos and videos posted to Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube.

Execution

Five days prior to the international premiere, a seven metre statue of King Joffrey mysteriously appeared in Auckland’s Aotea Square. SKY then gave fans worldwide the opportunity to topple the statue via a winch with a rope that that was activated every time the hashtag #bringdowntheking was used on Twitter. To gain immediate traction and to kick-start the conversations, we engaged the hosts of the country’s top-rating radio station (who we knew were fans of the show) to launch the campaign, before securing local and international media coverage to spread the word further. Die-hard Game of Thrones fans were engaged via proactive seeding on fan-sites and on social media. Fans and curious Kiwis could monitor the progress of the King’s demise via a live stream at bringdowntheking.com or visit the statue in person, which thousands did to watch the statue fall, all with no official warning.

The Situation

The huge anticipation leading up to the premiere of the fourth season of Game of Thrones provided SKY Television’s SoHo channel in New Zealand an opportunity to push its new brand positioning as fanatical purveyors of quality TV content.

The Strategy

New Zealanders, including local media, are more inclined to get behind a campaign if it has international interest. We knew the anticipation globally for the new season launch would be massive, but we needed to ensure SKY’s SoHo channel in New Zealand was part of those conversations. We needed a local campaign that leveraged the support of the global audience. The plan? Give Game of Thrones fans the opportunity they were desperate for – to bring down the programme’s most despised character, King Joffrey, through an integrated PR and experiential event. Fans in New Zealand and around the world were able to use their collective voices through social media to topple an actual statue of the character in one of New Zealand’s largest public squares.