Read about Netflix’s strategy to get the word out about the Gilmore Girls Revival, as told by the IC PRSSA Blog Team!
By: Rachel Mooney
In recent weeks, it has been hard to miss the Gilmore Girls posts trending on social media, all of the hashtags, plus the countless cast interviews and video promos filling newsfeeds. The promotion of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life did not rest on simply releasing basic updates from its official social media accounts and mock Stars Hollow town website. Outside the walls of the Internet, Netflix took the promotion campaign to next level with pop-up shops and a full Stars Hollow town reenactment with a “Four Seasons Festival.”
Although the content surrounding the show would have caught my attention anyway because of my love for Gilmore Girls, I could not help but admire the level of effective PR surrounding the show—both organic and strategic. The social media savvy fans who flocked to the promotional events turned this campaign into pure PR gold for both Netflix and the crew behind Gilmore Girls.
Netflix was so successful in its social media response because it implemented a PR tactic that encouraged the audience to become a part of the campaign by being involved in the conversation. This was done through the pop-up Luke’s Diners you may have seen promoted all over your social feeds, primarily on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. The pop-up events occurred when Netflix turned 200 coffee shops around the nation into pop-up Luke’s Diners. These shops were strategically filled with “Luke’s” and Gilmore Girls branding just waiting to be spread around social media by excited fans and event-goers.
The social media storm was brewing long before any Luke’s Diner arrived to your neighborhood. As far back as mid-2015 when the Gilmore Girls cast got together for an unofficial event, the buzz on social media began. In October 2015, lead actress Lauren Graham sparked even more Gilmore conversations online with her teasing at a possible reunion event. With the help of an attentive and dedicated Gilmore Girls fan base, Netflix hit the jackpot with its nostalgic target audience who could not wait to post their Gilmore stories on social media.
A few hashtags created to build the Gilmore social media frenzy included:
#GilmoreGirls
#CountdownToGilmore
#GilmoreGirlsRevival
#FourSeasonsFestival
#LukesDiner
#DateNightWithMom
Social media marketing costs very little for a company yet is an investment that can produce large results. The social strategy behind the Gilmore Girls accounts was a prime example on how to resonate with the target audience—from hashtags, to the cast and celebrity involvement on social platforms, to the marketing promos and effective use of visual media. Not to mention the promotion events that allowed that same target audience to not only receive the messages, but to also engage and share their own experiences of Gilmore Girls to further promote the Netflix event. By simply creating the buzz around the show’s revival and capitalizing on the dedicated fandom, Netflix had a perfect set up for its social media success leading up to the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiere.
Sources:
http://www.adweek.com/news/television/netflix-brings-gilmore-girls-life-lukes-diner-pop-ups-173875
http://www.echostories.com/social-media-campaign-gilmore-girls/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLL60ZfjHs0/
http://tvline.com/2016/11/11/gilmore-girls-festival-of-the-four-seasons-tickets-dates/
Ithaca College PRSSA 