GAME OF THRONES - Content Marketing Strategy Instigations

What teaches us
…about CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY
Implications for pre-launch promotional strategy for television programming, episodic events, sports etc;

Content marketing
…“is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing
valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly
defined audience and ultimately to drive profitable customer action.”

WHY IS CONTENT MARKETING MORE
EFFECTIVE THAN ADVERTISING?

“Advertising seeks your attention where as Content Marketing
gets you involved and forces your action.”

A Strategic framework for effective content marketing
… for the launch of a new season or sequel of any TV Show / reality series / sports event or movie

CONTENT STRATEGY - FRAMEWORK
Brand Asset
Audit
Strategic
Objective
Content
Development
Content
Distribution
LISTENING (Social / Digital /TAM data / Conventional Research / CRM)

Brand Asset
Audit
Strategic
Objective
Content
Development
Content
Distribution
LISTENING (Social / Digital / TAM - DTH data / Conventional Research / CRM)

Listening is often interpreted as social & digital only. However if you integrate all the
digital & non-digital data available to you, it actually not only helps you monitor, but also
pre-plan your content marketing strategy.
• Can lead to evaluation (based on last years listening) of the brand’s assets that are most loved and hence
prioritization of which ones to market , what is missing that needs to be developed & what do fans create and
share that now can be integrated into your content development pan.
• Listening (integrated type) can help you set your strategic content marketing objectives as well. (Example: is a
specific segment not watching your TV program because of reason X, that they have stated on their social
site?).
• To state the obvious – listening is but obviously the corner stone for Content development as well as content
distribution. It can even lead to a brilliant matrix of which type of content instigates the best response on what
kind of digital / traditional platform.

Audit your brand’s past / present and future (possibilities), to mine content
assets which can be developed, distributed and measured.
Brand Asset Audit

• To increase TRPs
• To build hype around the new season and create expectation
• Gain viewership from new consumer segments apart from the current loyal fan base
• Merchandise sale (if any) can be leveraged through content marketing
• Any specific objectives (e.g. competition launching new seasons, new series / movies
coming around the same time) can also be addressed.
• Do we need to counter viewer exhaustion & instigate interest (for example – this IPL
season in India is starting after 4 months of continuous cricket – spiked by the world cup
of cricket)
Strategic Objectives

Using the existing content assets, content pieces can be developed in order to achieve the
specific strategic objectives.
Owned Content: consists of articles, interviews, clips, videos, footage, pictures, etc. that
can be developed using our existing content assets.
Paid Content: consists of advertorials, articles and coverage that the brand pays other
publications for create.
Co-created Content: consists of content created in collaboration with brand partners
Fan-created Content: holds the most value and is most effective in creating buzz. Loyal
fans can either pro-actively create content, or be incentivized and egged by the brand to
create content through contests, etc.
Content Development

All the content needs to be anchored on a brand owned blog or website (your content
head quarters), in order for it to be measurable, and for the brand to get proper feedback.
Any fan generated content which is popular & trending, can often be spotted and featured back on the official content
anchor (this further incentivizes the fan – as being featured on the official content anchor is a prize for loyalty by itself)
Content Anchors (part of your content development & distribution consideration)

All the content that is developed needs to be distributed effectively through multiple
online channels like:
Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr,
Whatsapp etc;)
Blogs (Brand owned, fan blogs, etc.)
Other mass blogs and platforms (e.g. mashable, huffington post, about.com, TOI.com,
magazine and TV news blogs, etc.)
Apps (brand created mobile apps, quizzes etc. in other gaming apps)
Content Distribution

So the content marketing strategy frame work, in summary…

Brand Asset
Audit
Strategic
Objective
Content
Development
Content
Distribution
Brand’s past /
present and
future content
possibilities
TRPs,
merchandise
sales, creating
a buzz and
hype, etc.
• Owned
• Paid
• Co-created
• Fan Created
Content Anchors:
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram
Pinterest
Media Platforms
(Media houses
(TOI.com, etc.),
Huffington post,
mashable, etc.)

This presentation does not touch upon either listening or distribution – due
to the lack of data & its primary focus being brand asset audit & strategic
objectives with focus on content development in particular…

Let’s look at the model of Digital
content strategy…
… for the launch of a new season or sequel of any TV Show / reality series or movie.

Identifying the CONTENT BUCKETS

Actor behind the CHARACTER
CONTENT BUCKET : 1
Points to note:
Articles like ‘Kit Harrington’s body’ or ‘Peter Dinklage’s
high school days’ aim at creating a stronger bond
between the fans and the lead characters of the show
played by these individual actors.

Actor behind the CHARACTER
CONTENT BUCKET : 1
Content that was simply relegated as brand trivia in the past, today, makes for interesting & insightful
ammunition for digital content marketing strategy. Are you purposing your content right?
Strategic Objective 1: To build the actors of GoT and showcase other aspects of them as
individuals, in order to make these actors into major celebrities and create personal fan
following.
This enables GoT and HBO to premiumize their franchise even further by claiming to have a
stalwart star cast.
Strategic Objective 2: Once these actors have been established as celebrities, they then
continue to feature them and drive content about them to get the fans of these individual
actors to get further excited about the show, and fall in love with the characters their favorite
actor is playing.

Introduction & Evolution of CHARACTERS
CONTENT BUCKET : 2
Points to note:
• GoT strategically releases news and videos of new
character introductions and also, new actors entering the
show.
• Apart from this, there are articles on evolution of existing
characters, how they grow, new looks etc. which increase
curiosity among all views – readers and non-readers

Introduction & Evolution of CHARACTERS
CONTENT BUCKET : 2
Strategic Objective 1: Introduction
There is a large book reading population that is already aware of the storyline and characters
in the new season.
Hence, for this audience, GoT leaks the new cast of actors that will play the new characters,
in order to get the book readers interested, by giving them a face which they can relate the
characters to.
Strategic Objective 2: Introduction
For the non-book readers, the new character introductions and new actor introductions
increases their curiosity about the new season and gets them talking about these, thereby
creating a buzz.
The introduction and leaks of new character also spark off conversations and debates
between the book readers and non-book readers, with creation of a lot of spoilers
and user generated content which adds to the buzz of GoT

FLASHBACKS
CONTENT BUCKET : 3
Points to note:
• GoT and HBO blog have a series of tutorials on the various
facts of GoT that were shown in the previous seasons, but are
complicated to understand and hence, may have been missed
by many fans.
• Tutorials on GoT languages, e.g. Dothraki, High Vlyrian
expressions, etc.
• All past episodes available on the official website.

Flashbacks
CONTENT BUCKET : 3
Strategic Objective :
There is a year’s gap between the previous season and the new season of GoT. And being a
complex, imaginary world, fans and viewers would have forgotten a lot of details and
occurrences shown in the previous seasons, which have implications in the new season.
Hence, creating memory joggers for them and to keep them feeling the connection with the
series is essential.

FACTOIDS
CONTENT BUCKET : 4
Points to note:
• GoT and HBO blog have a series of tutorials on the various
facts of GoT that were shown in the previous seasons, but are
complicated to understand and hence, may have been missed
by many fans.
• Tutorials on GoT languages, e.g. Dothraki, High Vlyrian
expressions, etc.
• A series of videos where the Author explains various
complex facts of GoT

FACTOIDS
CONTENT BUCKET : 4
Strategic Objective:
Creating discernment among the non-book reader fans of the show.
The non-book readers may find it difficult to follow every single detail and the thousands of
fictional characters and words created for GoT.
Hence, a series of Factoids have been created in order to make these fans feel more involved
with the show, and to create discernment, whereby they feel superior and then show-off
their GoT knowledge superiority in front of other viewers, generating curiosity among others
too.

Leaked Scenes & SPOILERS
CONTENT BUCKET : 5
Points to note:
• People are always more interested and excited by controversies.
Leaked scenes and spoilers manage to create these controversies and
get the fans pumped up and talk about the show generating interest
among others and getting newer people to watch the series.
• Spoilers are usually created by the readers of the books, and GoT has
found a unique way of teasing and getting back at them, which is both
loved and resented by the book readers and loved by the viewers.

Leaked Scenes & SPOILERS
CONTENT BUCKET : 5
To create curiosity, hype and buzz
This strategy works like the Gmail Beta strategy – Invite some and deny the rest to
manipulate and pump the crowd.
GoT leaked a sneak peak from the season 5, and sent this information to a few selected
influencers.
After a very limited time, they pulled it offline. This created a huge uproar, people could not
watch it again and a lot of people could not watch it at all.
Being denied the content, actually made people value it much more and wait for it with
double the eagerness.
Even major brands like Apple use this tactic of ‘leaking’ news and creating buzz.

PREVIEWS & Deleted Scenes
CONTENT BUCKET : 6
Points to note:
• People are always more interested and excited by
controversies and leaked scenes and spoilers manage to
create these controversies and get the fans pumped up and
talk about the show generating interest among others and
getting newer people to watch the series.

PREVIEWS & Deleted Scenes
CONTENT BUCKET : 6
Strategic Insight: Deleted Scenes
Content that was never aired, becomes an integral part of the content strategy.
This can be used as a loyalists’ strategy because it makes them feel like they have seen the
inside stuff, no one else has.
It provokes commentary and keeps the interest alive.
Strategic Insight: Previews
Previews spark anticipation and fuel interest in existing fans of the TV shows, as well as
generate curiosity among the book readers who may not have seen the TV series yet, by
giving visuals to the readers’ imagination.

Pro Active Fan Created Content
CONTENT BUCKET : 7
Points to note:
• Fans of GoT pro-actively create blogs, fan-pages and content
which is invaluable for GoT as it helps them get invaluable
feedback and interact with a very active fan base.
• Speculation and spoilers from conversations between
viewers and readers, is a huge part of fan created content
which the GoT makers use to their advantage by playing and
teasing the fans… which the fans tend to love and get even
more excited by.

Pro Active Fan Created Content
CONTENT BUCKET : 7
Fan pages and fan blogs are a huge source of information and feedback for the GoT series.
The huge fan base has several blogs and pages on which they write not just appreciation and
their views about the show, but a huge part of the content is created by conversations
between the readers and views, which sparks speculations and spoilers by the readers who
have already read the books.
This creates very interesting content, gives the makers a glimpse of what the fans are
expecting and hence, how they can surprise them.
Sometime, the GoT team has also interacted with the fans and people who create the
spoilers by teasing them further and trying to confuse or mis-guide them. It is something the
fans get even more excited and interested by.

Fan created content – through contests
CONTENT BUCKET : 8
Points to note:
• Instigating all the creative fans to create art, music,
costumes, etc. that belong to the world of GoT, by holding a
contest and incentivizing them, and in the process getting
very high quality fan created content.

Fan created content – through contests
CONTENT BUCKET : 8
To get the fans emotionally invested in the show and feel like a part of the show, while
getting rich, high quality fan created content.
When fans take the pains to create something from / for the show, they get emotionally
involved with the show and no matter if they win or lose, they feel personally invested in the
success of the show, thus making them all endorsers of the series.
These can act as feedback, inspiration and even merchandise ideas for the GoT team.

GAMIFICATION
CONTENT BUCKET : 9
Points to note:
• Gaming apps, based on the GoT storyline, where you can be
a character within the story – game
• Several Apps about the GoT books, and the official guide
app have maps, facts, glossary and quizzes, etc. to get the
viewers and book readers both interested in the finer details
of the story.
• Some apps are official and a lot are created by 3rd parties.

GAMIFICATION
CONTENT BUCKET : 9
To get fans involved in the story and feel like a part of the story.
Once a fan gets involved in playing a game either as a character or even answering quizzes,
he/she feels emotionally involved with the show, thus deepening the bond they have with
GoT.
Apart from the official apps and official game (paid app), there are many 3rd party apps (free
apps) and games which are fan created, which try and leverage the GoT fan base for their
benefit, but in the process end up benefitting GoT too.

Celebrity Fan Posts
CONTENT BUCKET : 10
Points to note:
• A lot of celebrities are GoT fans and their comments and
tweets are used to influence and convert new viewers.

Celebrity Fan Posts
CONTENT BUCKET : 10
To use the comments and tweets by celebrity fans endorsing GoT, to influence viewers and
generate further interest.
When a celebrity tweets out something, the huge fan base that he/she has, gets influenced
or at least curious to see what it is that they are tweeting about. These tweets have been
interestingly compiled into stories on publications and blogs like huffingtonpost.com, etc. just
a few weeks before the launch of GoT, to showcase the kind of elite brand endorsers and fans
that GoT has.

BEHIND the Scenes
CONTENT BUCKET : 11
Points to note:
• Scenes from the shoots, details of the costumes and the sets
and even knowledge of the locations makes viewers and fans
feel involved and connected with the show.

BEHIND the Scenes
CONTENT BUCKET : 11
To build a connect with the audience and create buzz and hype about the ‘scale’ of the show.
Seeing the events, the hard work and the scale ‘Behind the scenes’, makes viewers and fans
appreciate the show / movie even more and they tend to build a stronger bond with the
show.
Showcasing the locations also makes the crowd local to those places, or people who have
been to those places relate to the show very personally, then creating stronger relationships
with fans.

AUTHOR Interviews
CONTENT BUCKET : 12
Points to note:
• A lot of celebrities are GoT fans and their comments and
tweets are used to influence and convert new viewers.

AUTHOR Interviews
CONTENT BUCKET : 12
To attract the book readers and get them to become fans of the TV series as well.
A lot of the Game of Thrones book lovers, do not watch the TV series because they think
there are too many alterations and deviations from the book.
Hence, interviews and videos of George RR Martin, the author of the books, are leveraged in
order to attract the book readers to watch the TV shows as well.

EVENTS News
CONTENT BUCKET : 13
Points to note:
• Red Carpet coverage, Premier of GoT, Exhibitions, etc. are
used to crescendo the hype just before the season launch.

EVENTS News
CONTENT BUCKET : 13
To take the excitement and buzz to a full fledged peak before the break of the new season.
Peaking all the build-up till now.

Brand Audit
Strategic
Objective
Content
Development
Content
Distribution
• Characters
• Trailers
• Books
• Past seasons episodes
• Celebrity author
• Actors / celebs playing the
characters
• Costumes and sets
• Language (Dothraki), house
names and fantasical places.
• Behind the scenes footage
• Deleted / edited scenes
footage
• Targeting book
readers, who are
rejecters of TV
series.
•TRP increase
• Increasing fan base
• Create a massive
hype and buzz
around the launch
of the new season
• Merchandise sale
• Owned
 Spoilers and deleted scenes,
Trailers
 Dothraki language tutorial
 Costumes and details
 behind the scenes
 Actor / director interviews
 Author interviews
 Character Biographies, inside
stories that the TV series couldn’t
capture.
• Paid
 Advertorials, stories (in other
publications)
• Co-created
 co-created with other brands –
don’t know for sure)
• Fan Created
 GoT’s biggest asset.
 Pro-active fan created content.
(apps, blogs, fan pages)
 Contests & Gamification
 Celebrity Fans – tweets, mentions,
etc.
Content Anchor:
Official Blog, official website
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Instagram
Pinterest
Media Platforms (Media
houses and other blogs:
Huffington post,
mashable, scoopit.uk,
about.com, etc.)
Mobile apps and online
quizzes and games
LISTENING (We have not focused on the listening part for GoT since we do not have access to their data)
Hence, the Game of thrones’ content strategy framework…
Not comprehensive,
due to the lack of
access to data.
Brand content assets: Brand content assets:

A quick look at IPL in contrast…

WHAT IS IPL 2015’s Digital Content
Marketing Strategy for it’s pre-
launch?

CONTENT STRATEGY – IPL2015 Pre-launch
Brand Audit
Strategic
Objective
Content
Development
• IPL teams
• International
cricket stars
• New and up-
coming local cricket
players
• Past seasons of IPL
• Practice session
footage of different
teams
• Events footage of
different teams over
the years
• Team owners who
are stars
• Cricket Statistics of
past many decades
• Owned
 Snippets of the past
 Player / team owner interviews
 Dressing room sneak peek
 Practice session sneak peek
 Promos and ads
• Paid
 Advertorials & Press releases
• Co-created
 IPL has brand partners like Pepsi, Hotstar, CEAT tyres,
individual teams, etc.
 Most co-created content, contests, etc. are during the
season… not in the pre-launch phase – why?
• Fan Created
 Fan created content is limited to tweets, contests, fan
polls, etc. during the season… Why nothing pre-launch?
(see GoT)
 Celebrity fans are leveraged by individual teams during
the matches, in stadium. Why not earlier to create pre-
launch content and buzz?
Content Anchors:
Website
• TRP increase
• Ticket sale
• Merchandise
sale
• Get the fan base
energized:
Just finished the
World Cup and over
4 months of back-
to-back cricket
seasons… need to
counter fatigue
even among the
viewers

Cricket Stars
•Interviews
•Fun facts
•Personal lives
•New and upcoming local boys
•Photos
•Birthday Wishes
• Auction Info
• Announcements
• Schedule
• Statistics
IPL events and
footage:
• Team events
• Promos
• Best moments from past
seasons
• Dressing room and
practice session moments
• Photo and video archive
IPL celebrity owners:
• Team owner interviews
IPL News:
CONTENT BUCKETS:
Existing Content map

IPL Events & Footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KpBgUNpfUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzGbRLQtbZk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZrq_ygvTRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TpRYB0P4Hk
Promos & Ads

IPL Events & Footage
Everything on the IPL website – not distributed well on social media

CONTENT STRATEGY – IPL2015 Pre-launch
In summary

Brand Audit
Strategic
Objective
Content
Development
• IPL teams
• International
cricket stars
• New and up-
coming local cricket
players
• Past seasons of IPL
• Practice session
footage of different
teams
• Events footage of
different teams over
the years
• Team owners who
are stars
• Cricket Statistics of
past many decades
• Owned
 Snippets of the past
 Player / team owner interviews
 Dressing room sneak peek
 Practice session sneak peek
 Promos and ads
• Paid
 Advertorials & Press releases
• Co-created
 IPL has brand partners like Pepsi,
CEAT tyres, Hotstar, individual
teams, etc.
 Most co-created content,
contests, etc. are during the
season… not in the pre-launch
phase – why?
• Fan Created
 Fan created content is limited to
tweets, contests, fan polls, etc.
during the season… Why nothing
pre-launch? (see GoT)
 Celebrity fans are leveraged by
individual teams during the
matches, in stadium. Why not
earlier to create pre-launch content
and buzz?
Content Anchors:
Website
No Official Blog?
• TRP increase
• Ticket sale
• Merchandise
sale
• Get the fan base
energized:
Just finished the
World Cup and over
4 months of back-
to-back cricket
seasons… need to
counter fatigue
even among the
viewers
Content
Distribution
Biggest weakness for
IPL2015 Pre-launch.
Content from the
website not distributed
well, nor leveraged,
except on the facebook
page – that too very
minimally.
Media Platforms (Media
houses and other Blogs:
TOI.com, Huffington post,
mashable, scoopit.uk,
about.com, etc. – Not
targeted.)

IPL, seems to have a lot of content (& Even more Content Possibilities)
but has failed to see the importance of building a pre-launch buzz by
properly distributing it on social media…

Cricket Stars
•Interviews
•Fun facts
•Personal lives
•New and upcoming local boys
•Photos
•Birthday Wishes
•In-team relationships of international rivals
•Relationships between Team India players playing in
different IPL teams
• Auction Info
• Announcements
• Schedule
• Statistics
IPL events and existing footage:
• Team events
• Promos
• Best moments from past seasons
• Controversial match moments
• Sledging in-match moments
• Dressing room videos
• Practice sessions moments
IPL celebrity owners:
• Team owner interviews
• Team owners preparing
IPL News:
Fan created pre-launch
Content:
• Contests for fan created IPL art
• Celebrity fans: Which bollywood
celebrity is supporting whom? How?
What are their plans?
IPL fashion: ( To get the huge
women’s fan base engaged)
• IPL fashion tips
• Fitness and sports wear tips for women
• What should one wear to the stadium?
• Crickets’ fashion quotient
Gamification & Kids
• IPL online games
• IPL comic strips
More content development possibilities for IPL2015:

NO Pre-launch content marketing initiatives – still showing 2014 activities!
3 days before the IPL, and still
showing last year’s posts!

IPL season 8 has not focused
enough on #EXHAUSTION
Australia tour, ICC World Cup and Now IPL. Its been
4 months back to back cricket and even fans might
be exhausted. So IPL should be much more active
on all social media to keep them engaged.

While the individual IPL teams seem to have done a better job, even they have
started the pre-season content marketing initiative too late and not
comprehensive enough.

Howl…
Strategic Instigations for brands

GAME OF THRONES - Content Marketing Strategy Instigations

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