Web Series Advertising Hits the Streets for In The Moment
Say what you want about Dr. Horrible’s success — but did it ever get a bus stop ad? Three months ago, when I reviewed the gay soap opera In the Moment, produced in part by the city of West Hollywood, Calif., I commented that the series and accompanying social networking site were heavily targeted to the gay community that resides here. But I didn’t ever think I’d see posters for the show while jogging along Santa Monica Blvd.
The strategy, to me, works because it’s a way of reaching out to people who may not spend a lot of time seeking out online video content but would enjoy the show. (Billboards and posters in this area are often focused in this way — currently, at the intersection of Santa Monica Blvd. and Fairfax Ave., the In the Moment bus stop ads are alternated with posters for Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno.)
But is this the first ever outdoor advertising campaign for a web series? And is it something we’ll see more of in the future? Discuss in the comments.
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Hey Liz,
Truly inspiring!
Published this on my site http://www.webseriesmagazine.com.
Must be a fake pic. People in LA don’t ride the bus. Are those extras sitting on the bench?
Certainly something for the New York web series producers to think about, considering we live on buses and subways! I’ve often thought about this….how traditional marketing for TV & film can crossover for web shows. I still struggle with this. This group got it right, it’s a show for a specific audience, and they found a way to get seen in a traditional way.
TheWB put up posters for our show, “Sorority Forever,” as well as “Joni and Susanna” around parts of Hollywood and New York City. I also saw guerilla outdoor marketing in Westwood for the webseries “Vampire Killers.” I agree that it’s an incredibly important step for new media – the trick is to make sure they go home and watch your show (and then keep watching it)!
@Chris – Did they do any analysis to see if the posters worked?
@David – How cool. Are you still working on WhirlGirl?
Everything old is new again… On August 1, 1999, Showtime launched a major advertising campaign for the network’s weekly online series “WhirlGirl” that included advertising on billboards, commuter rail, telephone kiosks, bus shelters and wild postings in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver and San Francisco.
Original announcement, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_July_27/ai_55271919/
Pics,
http://www.whirlgirl.com/images/whirl50st_best.jpg
http://www.whirlgirl.com/images/whirlgirl_phonebooth.jpg
Sundance channel had a rather robust promotion for the fantastic GREEN PORNO that was on buses and billboards. Still exciting to see others catching on though. Significant amounts of traditional (and still hugely important) marketing is consistently overlooked in major webseries launches as key to their success.
Baby steps are good steps though!
Hey Liz – WB would have more information about that. But in my microcosm, I got A LOT of feedback on both coasts from people having seen the posters.
This is fantastic!
I’m interested to see how they’re going to measure success with this campaign.