Dialling up the fear factor with HBO Max for IT: Welcome to Derry.
The objective.
HBO Max were looking to build anticipation and excitement for their new series, IT: Welcome to Derry, in conjunction with their Split Scream event. Their goal wasn’t just to drive awareness; it was to pull audiences into the world of Derry in a way that felt immersive and impossible to ignore.
How we rose to the challenge.
The solution was to tap into every audience touchpoint to build awareness and presence for HBO Max’s new series.
Cinema pre-show.
Through Val Morgan Cinemas’ Horror Passport solution, the show’s trailer was placed in the pre-show of the biggest horror and thriller films of the season.
Digital amplification.
Bespoke quizzes and articles were shared across BuzzFeed and LADbible’s websites and social channels, including a competition to win tickets to the Split Scream event.
Programmatic Outdoor.
We utilised our programmatic outdoor solution, Social Journeys, to amplify BuzzFeed and LADbible’s social content across our retail network screens.
“This campaign is a perfect example of what can be achieved when you combine an exciting title like the HBO Max original 'IT: Welcome to Derry', with a highly engaging PR-able event (with Special Group as the lead agency), the intelligent media buying strategy from EssenceMediaCom and a diverse media ecosystem like the Val Morgan Group. During the planning phase of the campaign, Special Group presented their idea to the clients and ourselves for the Split Scream event, and we at EssenceMediaCom immediately thought this would be a perfect opportunity to partner with Val Morgan Group to help elevate and amplify the idea. The Val Morgan Group team were incredibly helpful and worked closely with both ourselves, the HBO Max team and Special Group to develop an immersive media approach that made the best of all formats that Val Morgan Group offers. Huge thank you to everyone at the HBO Max team for the opportunity to work on this campaign, and to Special Group and Val Morgan Group for all the hard work to bring this together”.
Kobi Wheeler, Implementation and Activation Director at EssenceMediaCom.
