TORONTO – Bell Media has unleashed a multi-tiered marketing campaign in support of HBO’s popular epic fantasy series Game Of Thrones which returns to HBO Canada on April 6 at 9:00 PM ET/MT.
The campaign, the largest in HBO Canada history, is highlighted by an immersive app known as ‘iRiS Game of Thrones: Conquer the North’ available now on both iOS and Android. In Eastern Canada, the app (pictured) is linked to a street-level, out-of-home extension in Toronto that encourages fans to interact with hundreds of transit shelter ads using their mobile devices. Once triggered, the app unlocks exclusive video content and allows users to choose their allegiance to a House of Westeros, and insert a photo of themselves on the iconic Iron Throne. In Western Canada, the app is presented by Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central.
Bell Media is also cross-promoting the show via its television, digital, radio, social, and out-of-home properties as well as print ads in Movie Entertainment magazine and promotion in select Bell retail stores across Canada. The campaign also includes extensive paid media, including dynamic digital billboards in downtown Toronto on the Gardiner Expressway that countdown to the series premiere, and presence at Yonge and Dundas Square.
The overall campaign extends to May when HBO Canada once again hosts Game Of Thrones: The Exhibition which allows viewers the opportunity to get even closer to the show with the display of props, costumes and weaponry. The Exhibition returns to Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox from May 14 – 18, 2014.
“Our overall strategy was to market the premiere of Game Of Thrones season 4 to the level of a massive theatrical release,” said Jon Arklay, SVP, Bell Media Agency, brand, creative and marketing, in the news release. “With its phenomenal success and dedicated fan base, our challenge was to develop a campaign that measured up to the epic scale of the show and our viewers’ heightened expectations. We wanted to discover new ways to connect fans to the show.”
