TV: PART 1 'Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23' - Leasing to viewers and believers

(Poster, Photo source: Apt 23 Facebook)

ABC’s new mid-season sitcom Don’t Trust the B---- in Apt 23 premieres tonight, Wednesday, April 11. Did its digital marketing campaign succeed in finding believers?

Premise: June (Dreama Walker) is "a sweet girl from the heartland" who relocates herself to New York City only to find herself suddenly jobless and broke.

In desperate need of affordable housing, she meets Chloe (Krysten Ritter), the deliciously wicked bad girl in the title, who appears to be the perfect roommate on the surface. After moving in, June soon finds Chloe to be the b---- roommate from hell.

The hook:

(Photo source L-to-R: TresSugar, Chicago Now, Apt 23 Twitter)

• Fun, relatable premise - Who hasn’t had roommate drama?
• Dawson’s Creek’s James Van Der Beek playing and poking fun at himself
• Ritter's abundance of personality and razor sharp tongue

Target audience: Females 18-34 (Secondary: 35-49)

Backed by a strong marketing push, its target audience is aware of Apt 23. Analyzing Apt 23's digital marketing campaign's strategies, let's take a look at what was on target and what were missed opportunities.

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:

'The Thing' (2011) digital marketing campaign analysis

(Movie poster, Photo source: IMP Awards)

The Thing (2011)
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Domestic release date: October 14, 2011 (Wide)
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-fi, Horror
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Christian Olsen

Premise: Paranoia spreads among a team of Norwegian and American scientists, including Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), when they discover something inhuman buried deep in the ice of Antarctica that is still alive and begins consuming then imitating the team members.

The hook:

• A prequel to the John Carpenter-directed 1982 cult classic The Thing
• Deliver scares in time for Halloween (the only other horror movie in wide release, Paranormal Activity 3, is released the following weekend)
• From the producers of the successful Dawn of The Dead (2004) remake and stars genre-favorite actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Grindhouse: Death Proof, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, forthcoming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)

Target audience: Males 17-34
Secondary target audience: Females 17-34, Fans of sci-fi, horror, and the 1951 and 1982 films The Thing is derived from

THE DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Game App - Flame Thrower:

• Free for iOS and Android
• Easy installation and short game
• First-person perspective simulation
• Blast creatures by touching and holding screen
• Must move mobile device 360 degrees to defend one's self
• Difficult to play, low replay value
• Other features: 

• Photo manipulation - "Infect Yourself"
• Fun to share
• Trailer

On Target: As technology increase and there are more leisure options demanding for one’s attention, people want the most out of their time and cram as much as they can into it. Budgeting their leisure time in shorter segments, they prefer “[playing] short, more casual games rather than in-depth time-consuming ones.”

A short, simulated game app where one is a scientist firing at the incoming alien creatures sounds like instant gratification – simple to start playing and takes one temporarily to a different world.

The “Infect Yourself” photo manipulation, which transforms a self-portrait into someone being split open by The Thing creature, is easy to use and fun to share with friends.


Missed Opportunity?: While Flame Thrower sounds ideal, it is an example of a good idea poorly executed. By requiring the player to shift around 360 degrees with the motion of the phone or tablet, the game is impossible to play sitting down.

The most successful game apps offer casual players who might have a few minutes during a class break or waiting in the office lobby an entertainment diversion; Flame Thrower’s game design would put people off by making them stand and spin around. It sounds like a good immersive experience in theory, but it is not practical.

Furthermore, the game has limited replay value, strategy, or goals. As the scientist, the player carries a limited amount of fuel to fire that doesn’t refill and stands static fighting aliens until fuel runs out and they are helplessly killed. A grim ending indeed.

For The Thing online games, prank videos, digital comic book analysis, and Recommendations: