SKY, who owns the exclusive rights to broadcasting the hit tv show Game of Thrones, worked together with DDB, a top communication agency, to create a unique and effective advertising for the new season of the show. They needed to attract new audiences and decided to advertise it in New Zealand by building a 4 meter King Joffrey statue in a prime location in Auckland. The twist was that every time someone used their official hashtag #bringdowntheking, the rope around the statue’s neck would pull tighter, eventually bringing the king down.

The marketing stunt was a great way to appeal to people’s emotions and get them to interact on social media. This was also a well-thought publicity stunt, since it clearly relied on people’s hatred towards the character. The audience really did want to be a part of bringing down the king. By relying on people’s emotions and their willingness to act on them, was a brilliant move by the communication agency. It was an efficient way to make the audience to do the tweeting, therefore reaching an even wider audience. The uniqueness of the character related well with the uniqueness of the publicity stunt.
Click here to watch the moment of the statue falling

To be continued…