USC Annenberg's 2nd Annual Media Mix & Mingle
By Lauren Brose ‘15
Ben Blatt is the Executive Director, Digital Strategy at ABC Television. He is the creative genius behind the #TGIT campaign that kicked outa trifecta of prime time television perfection that included back-to-back-to-back episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder. At Annenberg’s 2nd annual Media Mix and Mingle networking event, I had a chance to sit down and listen to Blatt’s insights on digital marketing strategy as he served as the event’s keynote speaker.
Where we are today in digital marketing for
the entertainment industry
We are curating content, making impressions on social media and utilizing all available platforms regardless of frequency of usage. After all, the more readily available a network is making their information, the more reach it will ultimately get. These include Snapchat, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Among all social media platforms, Twitter is the most perfect for television. That is because views are engaging throughout the entire show and are essentially doing the marketing for the shows on their own.
#TGIT
The creation of “TGIT” (Thank God It’s Thursday) is the overarching strategy that contributed to the overall equity of the all three hit TV series’. It was used persistently until it was widely accepted and is also a combination of broadcasting and digital marketing. Instead of marketing for one show, ABC cross-marketed all three shows and teamed them up, thus creating a 3 hour block on Thursdays that are hard to miss for avid TV viewers. ABC uses Kerry Washington, the main character from Scandal, for promotional efforts for How To Get Away With Murder by featuring her at the ending credits of her show encouraging viewers to stay tuned for the newest episode of HTGAWM. Viola Davis, the leading actress in HTGAWM engaged with actors on Scandal on Twitter to further create buzz for the shows. When one show was off air, they still continued to support each other.
In a way, TGIT is a brand that ABC has created within itself.
The equity that the collaborative effort with these three shows feature our favorite characters outside of their show and gives off the impression that ABC is not paying for endorsements. This is every marketing professional’s fantasy—to have an audience believe that this celebrity is not being paid to endorse a company or brand means that the marketing is completely seamless.
Sustaining Momentum
For TGIT, we needed to create a new brand, sustain it overtime and continue to innovate on all platforms. The main takeaways for job opportunities in this business all starts with creativity. Everyone involved in this campaign is the creator of content—nothing is pre-determined by producers or writers. Instead, the brainstorming is done in the office and then goes live 5 minutes later. Moreover, ABC is continuing to innovate their digital marketing strategies and is finding new ways to spread the same message.
“Everyone in this room I’m sure uses a Facebook,” Blatt says during his presentation, “but can you actually apply it to a professional way that you actually use it for another brand? Not at easy. It is important to view social media with a distinction on how you could use it professionally as opposed to personally.”
Overall, the biggest thing is maintaining the engagement of audiences on every platform. Snapchat is a social media app not commonly used for marketing purposes, but ABC has been using it to push engagement for its shows. For example, they have been revealing “emoji sneak peaks” which gain interest of the audience in a language that they can understand. They have also used the strategy of playing back nostalgic, emotional memories that audiences grew to know and love to remind viewers of moments in the show worth seeing live. To Blatt, social media is the truest way to get the message out and that is why he emphasizes on getting the cast of TV shows to use an authentic voice in their cross-promotional tweets.
It is valuable knowledge knowing that if you’re into the business side of the entertainment industry that a background in journalism, communication and public relations are all extremely applicable concentrations for the position. Strategic thinking from all corners of the marketing spectrum is required to thrive and it is always important to innovate what is already in place and turn it into something fresh, new and attractive to a mass audience.
