Winter is here!

Shyam

Game of Thrones (or GoT as it is fondly referred to) has been incredibly successful in captivating audiences the world over. The reason for this is the solid storyline, strong characters, stunning visual effects, and the ability to keep viewers guessing.

The fanfare and GoT’s massive fan-following are well-deserved, but the team behind GoT (360i) has not rested on its laurels. Much effort has gone into marketing GoT on the digital platform. The numbers speak for themselves.

                                                                          (Image Source: https://insights.newscred.com/5-things-to-pillage-from-game-of-thrones-content-marketing-strategy/)

What are they up to in the digital space? #

#RoastJoffrey

Who likes King Joffrey anyway? The sociopathic King Joffrey was brilliantly portrayed by actor, Jack Gleeson, complete with a cowardly and venomous personality. The team took advantage of the fans’ hatred of this character and launched the #RoastJoffrey hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Vine. Within forty-eight hours of the campaign, fans responded with over 60,000 “roast posts” and had over a million interactions.

Valar Morghulis #

Once he is done with the actual series, George R.R. Martin (or GRRM, as he is referred to) could write a book on the art of killing main characters. Every season, fans have been left bewildered and heartbroken as they helplessly watch their favourite character bite the dust. GoT cashed in on this with the Beautiful Death website. The website displayed 3D art representations of the character deaths in GoT thus far. While you’re on their website, you could also check out some of the featured fan submissions. The fans have truly outdone themselves, resulting in some brilliant artwork.

Take the throne #

Missing out on Sunday socialising because you just have to catch the latest episode of GoT on Monday morning? Tweet your woes with the #Takethethrone hashtag to have your sacrifice etched on the Iron Throne.

S4 Livestream
Ever wished you could be a part of the Season Premiere event of a show? Well, HBO live-streamed the Season 4 Premiere event of GoT on Facebook. They also got on to Meerkat and Periscope before everyone else. This earned 493,500 live tweets, making it one of the best Twitter moments of the year.

The official blog!
Spicy behind-the-screen updates? Of course!

Everything you needed to know about GoT, right from the horse’s mouth. Want in on the gossip? This is where you’ll find it.

The not-so-micro-site
Get your fill of articles, sneak-peeks, and announcements galore!

YouTube
This is one place where the fans have beaten even HBO! Reportedly, 89 percent of views for show-related videos came from user-generated content (UGC). The 180 million views amassed by HBO on YouTube pales in comparison to more than 1.4 billion views of fan-made content.

Offline Fanbait #

Newspaper Ads
Old fashioned? I think not. Innovative? Definitely!

This advertisement in the New York Times, that appeared in February 2013, sent fans into a frenzy, and the rest to Netflix, successfully propelling the thriving fan base to new heights.

In addition, GoT is now on all the digital channels—-YouTube, Instagram, Vine, and even Google+. Yes, really!

Fan Theories

Every fanbase has its theories. Some popular, some not so much. The creativity and observation skills of GoT fans are second to none. This has led to multiple fan theories, with each attempting to one-up the other. Some are from the books, some are from the series, and there are a dedicated few that come up with theories based on both sources.

Most writers of the fantasy genre have chosen to remain silent on these theories, but a few fan the flames every now and then. One example is J. K. Rowling, who continues to answer fans’ questions on Twitter. GRRM has also taken notice.

His response in an interview with Time Magazine:
“So many readers were reading the books with so much attention that they were throwing up some theories and while some of those theories were amusing bulls**t and creative, some of the theories are right.”

Way to keep us on our feet, GRRM.

Tell us what you think. We’re always happy to receive your comments.

Shyam, from Projects, is our in-house tech-lover. A voracious reader, he stays up-to-date with what’s what in the tech world and, given his penchant for writing, contributes regularly to the Influx blog. Shyam has an engineering degree in computer science.