Discuss champagne issues: Your extremely touted tv collection, primarily based on very fashionable supply materials, premieres to massive scores, fan adoration and a second season renewal. Now, it is advisable to make sure the present’s trajectory retains rising. How do you keep away from the dreaded “sophomore slump”?
That’s the place the advertising workforce is available in. However in our fragmented digital media ecosystem, spreading the phrase about your Season 2 premiere date shouldn’t be sufficient. Certainly, there’s a lot time, effort and cash spent on molding a present’s return into the form of must-see occasion that may draw viewers outdated and new.
Two streaming titles, each within the motion/fantasy style, not too long ago pulled again the curtain for The Envelope, detailing their sophomore advertising methods. The primary, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” which returned to Disney+ on Dec. 10, follows the adventures of the titular son of Poseidon and demigod (Walker Scobell) from co-creator and govt producer Rick Riordan’s e book collection. The second, Netflix’s “One Piece,” which returns March 10, follows the ragtag Straw Hat Pirates of govt producer Eiichiro Oda’s manga collection as they pursue the precious One Piece treasure.
For each, the logistical intricacies of casting bulletins, trailers and key artwork are essential — however they’re nothing with out the eye of every present’s very lively and highly effective fandom.
“You go in knowing that ‘One Piece’ is the number one manga in Japan, but just how meaningful that is to fans is always something that is so inspiring,” says Jonathan Helfgot, Netflix’s vp of selling, U.S. and Canada. “Seeing how fans responded to the characters and the execution of these characters that they’ve loved for so long was wonderful to see and something we knew we had to bridge between Season 1 and 2. We knew that keeping those characters alive in their lives was going to be so important.”
Remaining related within the offseason has turn into a good larger problem within the period of prolonged hiatuses between seasons airing. “Percy” had 23 months between its Season 1 finale in January 2024 and final month’s Season 2 premiere. The hole is even wider for “One Piece” as greater than two and a half years may have handed by the point new episodes drop. Blame the 2023 Hollywood strikes together with the truth that massive fantasy initiatives take significantly extra time to shoot given the frilly units, costumes and particular results required.
As such, each streamers’ advertising groups make use of an “always-on” method to engagement with followers. In “Percy’s” case, “This is, as you can imagine, a hyper-engaged, rabid fan base on social and we’re tapping into them routinely and making sure we’re continuing that dialogue. We then want to make sure we’re honoring them with what we are delivering from a campaign perspective,” says Erin Weir, govt vp, advertising for ABC and Disney Leisure Tv.
These advertising campaigns transcend social media posts to maintain anticipation at a fever pitch and actively interact the fandom whereas additionally attracting new viewers. “This is really as big as it gets in the television space,” says Weir of the “Percy” marketing campaign, which included a number of partnerships, an activation and forged panel at San Diego Comedian-Con final July and, nearer to the Season 2 launch, takeovers in New York Metropolis and Chicago in addition to a 3D billboard activation in Hollywood with a water-filled tidal wave impact. “This is something that people are anticipating and are coming into our streaming services for and really wanting to make a moment out of it.”
The advertising machine didn’t take the vacations off both. “One Piece” launched a Christmas Day NFL pregame announcement that fan favourite character Tony Tony Chopper, beforehand introduced as showing in Season 2, will probably be voiced by Ikue Ōtani, who additionally voiced the anime character for almost 20 years. Additionally on the identical day, iconic character Dr. Hiriluk (Mark Harelik) appeared in reside motion in a worldwide first look.
When the sky’s the restrict for hyping these massive reveals, how aggressive do issues get between groups? Not a lot, says Helfgot, including it’s a great factor to have a look at what the competitors is doing, however all goes again to the fandom. “The best marketing and the best fan engagement comes when you are a fan yourself so you get excited about other people getting excited,” he says. “It’s more to just stay in touch with the fan part of ourselves.”
