The launch campaign for TV series Game of Thrones had
a dual goal

To excite the highly committed existing fanbase of the books
and to promote the show to a wider audience.

These contrasting objectives were managed with a multichannel, multisensory campaign

The campaign could be experienced as a whole or on a modular basis –
‘The Maester’s Path’. A five-week long sensory exploration of the fantasy
world of the series was created. Smell was the first sense, with scent boxes
sent to journalists, bloggers and other influencers. The content invited those
who received them to play an online game, in which they had to share key information with each other and visit multiple sites in order to cobble together
all the information needed to solve the game. The reward was a preview clip
from the show.

Having garnered publicity, the exploration of the other senses was open to
wider audiences using online, mobile and experiential such as an iPhone app, online flash game, and traveling food trucks serving free food inspired by
Game of Thrones.

The campaign spoke to different audiences on different levels and catered to the audience’s ‘T-shaped attention span’ with each level containing a deeper degree of engagement in the form of puzzles and challenges prompting fans to work together to unlock preview content and rewards.