Taking a bite out of 'Snow White and the Huntsman' apps

Universal Pictures’ Snow White and the Huntsman (SWATH) perched on top of the box office throne on its June 1 opening weekend, crowning itself with a majestic $56.1 million.

The 2D Kristen Stewart/Charlize Theron/Chris Hemsworth-led action-fantasy reimagining of the classic fairytale cracked The Avengers’ five-week domination that poisoned summer tentpoles MIB 3, Battleship, The Dictator and Dark Shadows’ expected big openings.

(Movie poster, Photo source: IMP Awards)

Of the two high profile Snow White projects this year, SWATH benefited from its darker tone that appealed to an older 18-34 audience and both females and males; the ax-wielding Huntsman’s (Hemsworth, white-hot off The Avengers) title billing kept this fairy tale from being perceived as "just for girls." The other Snow White, Relativity Media’s comedic Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins in March courted families with colorful costumes and died a quick death after receiving middling reviews and box office receipts.

(Photo source: Mirror Mirror official Facebook)

SWATH’s digital marketing campaign effectively touched many bases from Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook (that included an app for fans to collect badges). Two iOS game apps were also released, Escape The Dark Forest and Snow White and the Huntsman – Storybook, and both are rich visual and interactive tools to engage.

Were these two downloadable apps the fairest and most effective of them all? Let’s take a bite and find out:

TV: PART 2 'The Client List' - Recommendations to be appointment television

RECOMMENDATIONS

Hot off the press today comes news The Client List has been renewed for a second season with an increased episodes-order to boot. It's no surprise, given the series is pulling in consistently strong ratings and finished last week as the "No. 1 drama on basic cable among adults 18-49."

(Poster, Photo source: IMP Awards)

Client List's digital marketing campaign is straightforward and effective, but aside from character-microblogging on Twitter, light on emotional engagement.

Igniting heated discussions and offering advice benefiting its target audience will remind fans The Client List is the can't-miss appointment they wait all week for.

Below are three recommendations to spice things up:

TV: PART 1 'The Client List' - Offering to rub viewers in all the right places

(Poster, Photo source: IMP Awards)

Lifetime’s The Client List takes the 2010 television film of the same name, which garnered star Jennifer Love Hewitt a Golden Globe nomination, and turns the premise into a weekly TV series.

The extremely watchable, entertaining, and sexy series premiered on April 8 to "solid" numbers and has continued to lure clients back.

Premise: Taken from the synopsis, the show follows a Texas housewife and mother Riley Parks (Hewitt) who, "after being deserted by her husband, ends up working at a day spa that offers more services than she initially believed."

The hook:

(Photo source L-to-R: IMDB and CBS, Client List Facebook, Client List official site)

• Jennifer Love Hewitt starring vehicle. Hewitt's coming off her last series, CBS's Ghost Whisperer, where she cultivated a following for playing empathetic and amicable Melinda Gordon for five seasons.
• Intrigue - how far will a woman go in this economy to provide for her family? Also, an insight into a hush-hush profession many are unfamiliar with but interested in watching.
• It's fantasy fun - handsome men, chisel torsos, and sex - with a conscience.

Target audience: Females 18-34 (Secondary: 35-54)

Though Client List’s premise may seem lascivious on the surface, the series is in line with the network’s brand: it boosts a steamy setting and fun cast, yet hits an emotional core showing a woman struggling to protect her family and stay true to her morals at the same time.

Let's take a look at the digital marketing campaign and review what kind of services Client List is offering to keep viewers panting for a return visit.

TV: PART 2 'Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23' - Recommendations for Rent

(Photo source: Apt 23 Facebook)

RECOMMENDATIONS

Premiering to OK numbers last Wednesday, Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23 can hang onto current tenants while attracting new occupants by further connecting to the show’s snappy humor and relatable premise in its digital marketing campaign.

Below are five recommendations:

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.

TV: 'The Lying Game' – Framing series into audiences' favorite secret to share

(Poster, Photo source: IMP Awards)

Hitting its stride last winter season, ABC Family’s The Lying Game emerged as one of cable’s Top 3 scripted series in the coveted Females 12-34 demo.

It’s easy to see how The Lying Game succeeded in retaining viewers and hooking new ones over TV’s other twin-swapping drama; buoyed by a Pandora's box of plot twists, cliffhangers, and interesting supporting characters, the series has fun with its dark premise and never takes itself too seriously.

Sutton (left) and Emma prepare to switch places (Photo source: ABC Family's The Lying Game Facebook)

Based on Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard’s book series of the same name, the plot “centers on Emma (Alexandra Chando), a kind-hearted foster kid who finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton (also played by Chando) that was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life.”

The sisters swap places so Sutton can go on a quest to find their birth mother; as they get closer to discovering the truth and answers to the mystery surface, someone begins to make sure the secrets stay buried at all costs.

Two The Lying Game official sites: ABC Family and Alloy Entertainment

Two website portals support the show, network ABC Family for the TV series and production company Alloy Entertainment for the book/TV series/brand; they each have separate Facebook and Twitter accounts, and recaps, games, quizzes, cast Q&As, heartthrob polls, fashion and trend engagement make up their digital marketing campaign.

Sample engagement of a shared memes on ABC Family's The Lying Game Facebook

With all-but-official news for a season 2 renewal, below are six suggestions to connect new and existing fans deeper to The Lying Game’s tangled web of lies. The more engrossed fans become, they more they will want to pass along the juicy secret that is The Lying Game.

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: