With last year’s winners being “Sex Education – Season 4” (Netflix France) and a Jury Special Mention going to “Dark Hearts- Season 2” (Newen Connect France), Laurence Herszberg, Founder and General Director of Series Mania, today announced House of the Dragon – Season 2 (8 x 60’) from HBO & Max as winner of its third annual “Best Marketing Initiative Award,” a prize awarded by Series Mania to celebrate creativity in series’ marketing. It is not only for the promotion to the viewing audience (BtoC), but also all initiatives undertaken by producers and distributors to raise awareness toward commissioners and buyers (BtoB).
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The final jury team, including Stewart Clarke, Senior Vice President, Content, International, Deadline; Manori Ravindran, London Correspondent for The Ankler, and Valentin Richardot, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, J’ai Un Pote Dans La Com, looked for the best marketing promotion, which included communication campaigns, experiences, digital/social initiatives, or a visual or promo/trailer developed for the launch of a new series or a new season, and awarded the prize to Marina Maslać, Brand and Content Marketing Director EMEA, Streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery this afternoon as part of the Series Mania Forum.
This was the globalcampaign for the Season 2 premiere of HBO Original series House of the Dragon. The official description for the campaign was “How a Global Call-to-Action Ignited the Realm by Dividing the Fandom into #TeamBlack and #TeamGreen.” The Season 2 premiere on June 16, 2024, became the biggest streaming day in Max’s history, and the season went on to average 25M viewers per episode.
The mission for campaign was to ignite the fervor of the global fanbase to choose a side. HBO & Max launched a bold, interactive campaign that rallied the realm of fans, brands, and iconic landmarks around the world to pledge their allegiance to either Team Green or Team Black, re-establishing the authority of the Game of Thrones franchise in a cluttered streaming landscape.
The campaign was a multifaceted creative endeavor that spanned every platform and medium. From innovative first-to-market partnerships to viral activations, HBO & Max built a kingdom of anticipation and excitement. Their efforts included collaborating with iconic NYC institutions for exclusive, media placements and orchestrating a seamless blend of CGI and real-life events around the world – including a 270-foot dragon coiled around the spire of the Empire State Building.
House of the Dragon was chosen out of the top five finalist for this award at Series Mania. The four other finalists included:
Blur
Activation country: Belgium
By: Sputnik Media & DPG Media
Gąska
Activation country: Poland
By: Amazon Prime Video, BDA Creative GmbH, Smakjam, Bespoke, KoMMitet PR
Parliament
Activation countries: France & Germany
By: Cinétévé, Studio Hamburg Enterprises, France TV Distribution
The Source”
Activation country: France
By: DDB Paris
