His Dark Materials
HBO
Issue 54 | March 2020
Agency
360i
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Menno Kluin Executive Creative Directors Sam Shepherd, Frank Cartagena Creative Directors Andrew Hunter, Doug Murray Senior Copywriter Dany Rothemund Art Director Sarah Arrington Design Director Brian Gartside Designer Sophia DelPlato Porcelain Artist Kate Macdowell
Production Team
Project Director Melissa Cohen Project Manager Kevin Tamayo Head of Integrated Production Carissa Ranelycke Executive Producer Kristina Kane Senior Producer Adrienne Darnell Head of Graphic Studio John Kinsella
Other Credits
Group Director, Brand Mgmt & Growth Dani Calogera Associate Director, Influencer Marketing Joy Glass Director of Business Affairs Andrew Zinker Client VP Interactive Design, HBO Cathy Lee Senior Interactive Designer, HBO Tom Haskard Interactive Designer, HBO William Schretzman EVP Program Marketing, HBO Zach Enterlin SVPs Program Marketing, HBO Jim Marsh, Sono Mitchell VPs Program Marketing, HBO Emily Giannusa, Steven Cardwell Director Program Marketing, HBO Mark Doumet Senior Manager Program Marketing, HBO JR Tungol Director of Content, HBO Shanna Yehlen Content Coordinator, HBO Marissa Blanchard
Date
December 2019
Background
In the new HBO fantasy drama, “His Dark Materials”, based on Philip Pullman’s beloved trilogy, every character had their own daemon: a physical manifestation of their soul in the form of an animal.
Idea
To promote the highly anticipated season finale, 40 superfans of the novels were surprised and delighted to be sent their very own handcrafted personal daemon, handcrafted by artist Kate McDowell.
Each sculpture was unique to the influencer, based on their unique social media persona, made up of likes, interests and activity.
For example: group photos + a big following —> social = arctic wolf.
The intricate porcelain figurines were each delivered in a beautifully laser engraved and highly detailed wooden box inspired by the show’s “alethiometer” (truth reader), along with a personal letter explaining why the fans had received their specific personal daemon.
Results
Fans were overjoyed by the surprise delivery, sharing their excitement across Instagram and Twitter with their followers.
Influencer Brandon Nance “unboxed” his delivery live on Twitter, exclaiming that it was “the best marketing I've ever seen.” The campaign garnered organic press coverage from notable creative outlets, including Campaign and Muse by Clio.
Our Thoughts
If you wanted proof of how very important influencer marketing has become, here you have it. Influencers are filters. If they like an advertising idea, they’ll share it with their followers. It’s not just that Brandon Nance is providing HBO with an audience they probably wouldn’t be able to reach without him, he’s also lending it credibility.
But to get them to give you their followers, you have to give them something worth sharing and that may cost you some money.