Web Series: 5 ways 'Dating Rules' can keep audiences falling deeper in love

(Photo source: Dating Rules Facebook)

With a high concept and starring a recognizable cast, Alloy Entertainment’s branded web series Dating Rules From My Future Self launched in January to great fanfare.

Revolving around twenty-something Lucy (Shiri Appleby) who receives texts from herself 10 years in the future that help her navigate her current love life, the effortlessly charming and addictive nine episodes, each five-to-nine minute long, made up the first season and attracted over 500k to 700k viewers each at press time.

Using Facebook and Twitter, Dating Rules’ digital marketing campaign focused on the relatable trials and tribulations of dating by giving fans advice much like Lucy’s future self.

Dating Rule of The Day (Photo source: Dating Rules Facebook)

The social networks posted a “Dating Rule of the Day” with an accompanying sharable captioned photo; these were humorous yet truthful and applicable. Fans could also email “#futurelucy” for relationship advice.

Dear "#futurelucy" (Photo source: Dating Rules Facebook)

Moreover, Dating Rules' Facebook shared appropriate articles such as “25 First-Date Dos and Don’ts” and “10 Things You Should Never Say To A Guy” from third-party websites. Appleby and cast member Alison Becker also participated in a live Ustream chat and answered questions about love and what it was like working on the show.

Finally, some of the advocates Dating Rules sought were entertainment websites Entertainment Weekly (an exclusive trailer), TheTVAddict, and Collider (Appleby gave interviews), celebrity gossip tabloids The Celebrity Stone and Cupid’s Pulse, and love and relationship advice hub YourTango (Appleby gave an interview and wrote an article about her personal breaking up experience).

Appleby's article on YourTango

Heading into Season 2, Dating Rules' digital marketing campaign can delve even deeper into emotionally connecting with its millennial audience by continuing to explore the commonality of breaking up using other cost-effective social media tools such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Spotify.

Below are five recommendations that will lead 'Dating' audiences to engagement:

'American Reunion' digital marketing campaign: Excited for one last piece?

(Facebook cover, Photo source: American Pie Facebook)

It's been over twelve years since Universal Pictures released American Pie and it became the teen comedy classic that depicted and defined Generation Y. Now the entire gang is back for their high school reunion in American Reunion on April 6.

The box-office hit Pie became a franchise that spawned two sequels, American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003), and four direct-to-video spin-offs.

Reunion's one-sheet pays homage to the original Pie (Photo source: IMP Awards)

With the franchise's rich library of material and built-in fanbase, American Reunion’s remarkably extensive digital marketing campaign aims to engage fans with a slice of nostalgia in different ways while replicating the brand's gross-out humor to entice newcomers.

Did the campaign succeed in getting fans salivating for more Pie? Let’s take a look and see if the strategies made this a Reunion worth waiting for.

TV: 'Ringer' - the ultimate double cross-examination on interactive campaign

Marking the return of cult classic Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar to the small screen, The CW’s drama Ringer was one of the most buzzed about shows heading into the Fall television season last year.

Taken from IMDB, Ringer is about “a young woman on the run from the mob [who] poses as her wealthy twin sister to try and evade them, but soon discovers that her sister has a price on her head as well.”

The highly anticipated series arrived with much fanfare, including the cover of Entertainment Weekly

The series premiere attracted 2.74 million total viewers and 1.2 ratings in the coveted 18-49 demo, which was tepid considering many were expecting Buffy-like numbers. Originally conceived for sister network CBS, Ringer had a more mature tone and cast that looked like it could also broaden CW’s audience outside their core teen females.

Subsequently, the series has had a rocky fall throughout its season with hemorrhaging numbers that never matched its premiere high.

The cast and concept skewed older than the typical CW fare (Photo source: Ringer Facebook)

To build awareness for the premiere, Ringer employed a flashy interactive marketing campaign that connected outdoor advertising with social media while having fun with its identical twins premise.

Could a stronger digital marketing campaign have doubled the premiere’s success? And could anything have kept week-to-week interest in Ringer reverberating? Let’s take a retrospective look at this particular strategy's strengths and weaknesses.

QUICK TAKE - 'Silent House' digital marketing campaign: Are audiences listening?

(Movie poster, Photo source: IMP Awards)

Open Road Films / Liddell Entertainment’s horror film Silent House utilized three key elements in its digital marketing campaign: a mysterious official site, an interactive trailer and portal, and a Twitter contest mirroring the film’s real-time continuity.

Opening on March 9, the R-rated Silent House was inspired by true events and a remake of the Uruguayan Spanish-language film The Silent House (La Casa Muda), which was met with mostly positive reviews. At last year's Sundance Film Festival, this remake was also one of the two films headlined by Elizabeth Olsen; her breakthrough performance in the other film Martha Marcy May Marlene won universal acclaim, was nominated by a barrage of critics associations, and instantly propelled Olsen as a future star to watch.

The Devil Inside and The Woman In Black scared up $33.7 and $20.9 million openings, respectively
(Photo source: IMP Awards)

With two horror films, The Devil Inside and The Woman In Black, opening to large numbers in January and February, respectively, and receiving middling to downright nasty CinemaScores, one wonders if moviegoers are currently suffering from disappointing-horror films fatigue or are only hungrier for scares that deliver.

Is Silent House’s digital marketing campaign loud enough to get audiences screaming for tickets? Let’s take a look.