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.
DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Seeing Double:
Two interactive “windows” situated for four weeks in high-traffic areas in New York and Los Angeles allowed people passing by to create videos and take pictures with their “twin.”
Participants were then invited to send the videos and pictures to their cell phones or Facebook account.
On Target: Created by Inwindow Outdoor with OMD, the double image technology window definitely makes an impression.The augmented reality of seeing a mirrored image of one’s self walking past each other in a video or photo is pretty cool (and somewhat creepy). It is a guaranteed conversation starter that people will want to share on Facebook and their social networks with their friends.
Watch the window in action:
Missed Opportunity?: While the windows make a splashy statement, their high cost is probably what hinders them from being established in more cities.Located in only two major cities limits the audience reach, despite people sharing the recordings and pictures taken with it online with their worldwide friends.
The windows get the message across that Ringer is a show about identical twins. But so what? People know and have seen twins before. What makes Gellar’s Siobhan and Bridget being twins special?
The interactive window may wow and temporarily entertain people, but without providing a strong emotional tie to the show it’s promoting, that audience may not necessarily care or remember to tune in.
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The intrigue of Ringer is not Gellar playing twin sisters, but that one sister saw the opportunity to assume her privileged twin’s identity and takes it.
People often say, “in another life,” but on the show, Bridget seizes the chance and begins living out a fantasy lie. She goes from a down-on-her-luck stripper on the run to having the wish fulfillment of her sister Siobhan’s (seemingly) glamorous Upper East Side lifestyle.
It is this pure escapism viewers are enthralled by, and if the digital campaign strategies can tap into that, people may have a compelling reason to tune in.
What if...? A snapshot of two lives:
If the interactive windows had a split screen with one image of the participant in the augmented reality of a posh setting, wearing a suit or evening gown, and looking and/or standing next to the twin image of him/her in street clothes, it would hit the bull’s eye on Ringer’s appeal.
When people share their video or photo on Facebook, Twitter, or email, it can come pre-filled with fun statements such as, “I was shopping in Santa Monica today, and you would not believe what I saw through a restaurant window…”
It would prompt fun responses from friends and emotionally connect the participant and viewers to Ringer’s film-noir, Hitchcock-esque premise. How cool or eerie would it be if one saw their doppelganger (who’s living the lifestyle of the rich and famous) walking past them at the mall?
Twinning - photo app:
Since the interactive windows would be unable to reach everyone, especially those not near a major shopping mall, the twin-image trickery fun can be brought online on a smaller scale.
Unless there is a low-cost, feasible, and most importantly, easy way to allow people to use their webcams to create twin videos, a photo application can be created to blend two uploaded photos (or taken with a web cam) together to give the impression of twins.
(Photo source: Ringer Facebook)
Though people can take any type of photo they like, Ringer can provide instructions and suggestions on dressing up or posing as two drastically different twins like Siobhan and Bridget.
"Did I mention.. I have a twin?" These twin photos can make for amusing sharing. Ringer can even spawn the new photo trend called "twinning"!
Diary of a compulsive liar:
Ringer is a soap opera built on suspension of disbelief, so it would not be unbelievable for Bridget to have a "private" account on a social media site and blog about how she’s adapting to her double life.
It's baffling how easy it is for Bridget to transition into her sister’s identity, so following her blog can pencil in the details we don't see on the show. For example, Bridget can document photos of the lavish dresses, shoes, and jewelry discovered in Siobhan's closet, how she covered up slip-ups when going out with Siobhan's friends she has never met, and her views on how much things differ from her days of exotic dancing.
Bridget's journal will engage fans between episodes, and invite them into Siobhan's world through Bridget's eyes. Readers will see the parallel of things mentioned on the blog in the show and vice versa.
USA Network's Covert Affairs microblogged an alternate plotline on Twitter, where fans could contribute and influence the story. Syfy's Haven also had two character Twitter accounts interacting with an unknown user, crafting an off-camera storyline.
The real Siobhan must've been active on social networks, right? Perhaps there can be a Bridget posing as Siobhan journal/Twitter account filled with tons of inconsistencies when talking to Siobhan's "friends", and even a "private" account of the real Siobhan commenting to her followers about reading the whole fiasco Bridget is stirring up online.
It would be a little insane, but isn't that why Ringer fans love the show? NBC's equally over-the-top late soap Passions released a tie-in novel "written by" the show's character that became a real-life New York Times Best-Seller.
Comic recap:
Missing an episode is tough on this serialized drama since there are so many twists and turns jam-packed into an episode. It may be the reason the series has been dropping viewers and making it difficult for new ones to jump aboard.
A comic book-style recap with panels and complete with (snarky?) insightful comments might just be the thing to intrigue newcomers and keep those who missed an episode up to speed.
While offering a short video recap is definitely helpful, it doesn't give an exciting reason to watch and tune in.
A fun way of recapping each episode will encourage readers to watch the show live so they will understand the recapper's witty references and comments related to the live-action show when reading it the next day.
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