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Brand StorytellingIntegrated Marketing Communications

Business School

Summative Assignment

Module leader: Dr. Mariann Hardey

Word count: 2440

Anonymous Code: Z0943955

May, 2014

Introduction! 2! MARKET OVERVIEW! 2! HBO - The Brand! 3! HBO Brand Identity! 3! Communication! 4! Storytelling! 5! IMC: Limitations, Identification and Response to Negative Content! 7! References! 11

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! !Introduction The idea that humans act as agents in creating meaning in their respective lives is

far from being an anomaly. The likes of Jean-Paul Sartre (Sartre and Barnes, 1992), Kurt

Vonnegut (Vonnegut, 1979) and Friedrich Nietzsche have offered variations of this riveting

idea. From this philosophy emerges the concept of giving to and finding meaning in our

lives exists in the context of consumption as well, by considerably contributing to one’s

identity (Belk 1988). According to Raaij (1993), Only when consumers allocate meaning to

their possessions do they receive its value, and until then, a possession is devoid of

meaning. This paper attempts to analyze, critically assess, and evaluate HBO’s recent IMC

(integrated marketing communications) activities and how they aid consumers to create

meaning in a culturally constituted world, in addition to overviewing the communication

profile and competitiveness of the brand. A storyboard will be developed in order to reflect

on the storytelling of the HBO brand themes, mainly focusing on HBO’s most recent

campaign for HBO GO.

!MARKET OVERVIEW ! Viewing video content through a subscription video account is a burgeoning trend,

as nearly half of online adults (46%) in the US had watched video content in such a

manner January 2014, while more than 70% did so when looking at the 18-34 age group

(Mintel, 2014), which are the main target group of the latest HBO GO campaign. In April

2014, interest in HBO Go has been its highest since its launch year, according to Google

Trends, which can be attributed to both its HBO GO campaign in addition to the

proliferating following of its TV series Game of Thrones, who’s fourth season had aired in

the first week of April 2014 (Figure 1).

!

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HBO has the respect of its competitors, as Netflix co-founder, Reed Hastings, has

recently cited HBO as the model his company most wants to match (Stock, 2014), and that

speaks a lot, especially when consumers are aware of a competitor’s admiration towards

HBO.

!HBO - The Brand ! Since its inception in 1972, HBO has been a pioneer in TV entertainment, airing a

string of critically acclaimed original series, such as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and

more recently, Game of Thrones and True Detective. HBO is indispensable in helping

cable companies attract and retain subscribers. The entertainment industry is constantly

subject to technological shifts (Barney, 1995), and people now more than ever want to

watch what they want, when they want, where they want; and HBO continuously lives up

to its standards of being at the forefront, keeping up with and even shaping trends, both in

consumer choice (Bettman and Zins, 1977) and innovation (Bridgewater and Doyle,

1998)).

HBO Brand Identity!! In addition to ceaselessly producing enticing content, HBO’s image has also been

consistent throughout the years. For example, HBO’s current slogan “It’s HBO” is an

adaptation of an older slogan of theirs "It's Not TV. It's HBO." These slogans communicate

an indistinguishable message that HBO is a cut above the usual TV programming. HBO

has also had a consistent logo throughout the years, as evident in an “HBO 1983 intro”

video on Youtube which displays an HBO logo that has been virtually unchanged to this Page � of � !3 15

HBO GO

Game of Thrones

Figure 1: Trends: April Interest (Source: Google Trends)

day, and this signaling consistency to consumers (Erdem and Swait, 1998) which they can

identify with ease.

! For HBO, much like any of the leaders in the marketing innovations, a main

objective is to build an ongoing relationship with particular groups of consumers

(Blackston, 1993), so that the brand communicates meanings which permeate through

culture autonomously - notwithstanding the company’s products - and serve as a key

resource in the consumer’s repository of creating a social identity (Stets and Burke, 2000).

However, it is difficult to achieve such a status in the entertainment industry, as consumers

want to be persistently amused. Hence, HBO constantly adapts its programming

strategies, redefining its brand in according to the dynamic conditions affecting all media

companies. HBO is positioned to pursue innovations in a way that the broadcast networks

are not.

! Despite more companies following suit, HBO remains the market leader, generating

$1.8 billion in operating profit in 2013, as revenue grew 4% to $4.9 billion (Sharma and

Rubin, 2014).

!Communication ! With a ubiquity of styles and ideologies pervading our postmodern era (Raaij,

1993), a myriad interpretations and meanings can be ascribed to symbols as

suggested by consumer culture theory (CCT) (Arnould and Thompson, 2005).

Individualization and the never-ending search for uniqueness is a staple of our

modern societies (Naumann and Hufner, 1985). However, there are archetypes that

bind us together (Jung, 1916/1959), and this generation has been brought together

in multiple ways due to globalization and the emergence of the seemingly

homogeneous consumer culture.

! CCT displays that cultural meanings are derived from a consumer culture

market. McCracken (1986) elucidates that one way to transfer meaning from a

culturally constructed world is through advertising, and HBO does tremendously

well in conveying its brand identity to the consumer; it is an entertainer, and it’s the

one that knows what’s going on (See Figure 2: Storyboard).

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HBO is highly adaptive to consumer needs, and is consistently at the forefront of

innovation, and their communication themes deliver such messages accordingly through

content and advertising.

! Additionally, HBO promotes the creators of their shows. For example, writer and

producer David Chase became very well-known with the Sopranos and was constantly

making headlines. In similar light, author George R. R. Martin has only come under the

spotlight with the release of the Game of Thrones series, despite the first book being

published in 1996. This attention to the author has inevitably created a sense of resonance

(CITE) among book readers and affiliation to the show and by extension, to HBO. This

elevation of the creators can be described by Bourdieu's and Johnson’s (1993) “social

alchemy”; in promoting the creators of its shows, HBO plays a part in making it possible to

believe that TV series can be perceived as a works of art, and HBO which distinguishes its

brand by encouraging the quality of artistic achievement.

! HBO benefits greatly from PR, mainly through critics, reviews, and audience

feedback on their shows, be it in magazines, newspapers, or online articles or social

media. HBO take the praise they receive and use it as a way to draw attention to their

shows. Subsequently, through word of mouth (Sernovitz, 2009), defining and reinforcing

the brand. By drawing attention to the aesthetic claims of TV critics, HBO provides a

degree of legitimacy to those who distinguish TV series as works or art. This helps make

critics more effective agents in the production of present-day TV culture. Not only that, but

HBO had promoted Game of Thrones on multi-million player base online video-game

League of Legends. Ultimately, HBO aids in shaping consumers capable of recognizing

the HBO series as a work of art, and HBO becomes the exhibition that houses most

bewitching works of art, attracting and retaining customers.

!Storytelling!! As an example of HBO’s To aid storytelling, the latest campaign of HBO GO will be

analyzed (Figure 2: Storyboard). In this hilarious HBO GO ad campaign, developed by SS

+K agency, various scenarios are presented in which agonized teen siblings are paired

with at least one or both of their inquisitive, well-meaning and over-sharing parents

resembling parental archetypes (Jung 1916, 1959), when sexually explicit scenes from

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HBO shows such as True Detective, Girls, and Game of Thrones come on TV. HBO has

smartly captured this distressingly awkward experience in a series of new ads promoting

its HBO GO streaming service by promising that HBO Go’s availability on many different

devices would allow them to watch the shows “far, far away from your parents”. These

situations are also a contemporary internet meme in the form of “that awkward moment

when…” leading to further identification with the actors.

!

!

The same actors play the family members playing in all the different ads, which aids

the audience in empathizing and relating with them. The general theme of the ads is two

youngsters and their out-of-touch parents have a variety of cringeworthy conversations as

they watch HBO shows in the living room. One ad shows the father talking to his son,

reminiscing on the women he could have bedded but chose to be loyal to his wife instead.

All during an infidelity sex scene from True Detective. Inevitably, the son would much

rather avoid such a one-sided, awkward conversation and watch his favorite shows “far far

away from his parents.” Page � of � !6 15

Figure 2: Storyboard

1. Mom and daughter watching TV 2. Lesbian scene on “Girls”

3. Awkward moment ensues, with some lecturing on sexuality from mom

4. Frustration for daughter. How will she act? a: keep repeating behavior? b: Go with HBO GO and watch TV far, far away from her parents

! Storytelling as such, includes conversations between consumers and brands (Wang

et al., 2007; Zaltman, 2003). HBO implies that it understand social phenomena, such as

generation gaps and consumer preferences, which enhances its brand image. Bagozzi

and Nataraajan’s (2000) suggest that people need guidance in finding what makes them

happy, and this is precisely where marketing comes in. By eliciting behaviors similar to

consumers, HBO GO ads create feelings of trust (Aaker 1997), and by offering a solution

to a common problem youngsters can readily relate to, HBO GO offers them a way to

manage and resolve their life themes (Fournier 1998).

! The ads intelligibly tell a story, which is important for HBO, as human memory is

episodic and narrative processing intensifies the connection and congruence between

consumers and a brand, as people interpret the meaning of their experiences through the

lens of their own experiences and fitting them into a story (Woodside, 2010). Furthermore,

the controversial humor, which underpins some taboos in American culture forms an even

stronger rendition into long term memory (Sabri 2012).

!IMC: Limitations, Identification and Response to Negative Content ! As modern-day consumers drift away from physical discs and continue to look for

unique content, HBO has been targeting a vast array of consumers, and attempting to lure

in prospective customers by offering very convenient technologies that epitomize the

convenience of the 21st century. HBO has also communicated to consumers using

integrated marketing modes of communication, and the billboards, print ads in magazines

and newspapers, and on the internet through their website and social media vehicles such

as Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook. All modes of communication deliver coherent

messages that are consistent with the brand identity and its well-established image. Wang

et al. (2007) show that marketers attempt to create social roles for brands in commercial

websites increase consumers’ interest, attention, and feeling of control. One interesting

campaign is Bell Media’s app iRiS Game of Thrones: Conquer the North, which engages

fans of HBO’s fantasy series Game Of Thrones. The campaign’s “overall strategy was to

market the premiere of 'Game Of Thrones' Season 4 to the level of a massive theatrical

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release,” said Jon Arklay, Senior Vice-President of Bell Media Agency for Brand, Creative

and Marketing, as they had wanted to tap into new ways with which they can connect fans

of the show (Bellmediapr.ca, 2014).

! In addition, HBO use the power of celebrities (Alsmadi, 2006) to promote their

shows. Kit Harington (Jon Snow) recently commented on the show, saying "it doesn't stop,

either. It's getting worse ... There's some scenes this season, and there's parts of it that go

even darker… What I wonder is how people can deal with something going dark and dark

and darker. Being unrelenting in how pessimistic things are. They really push it.” (Christian

Post, 2014).

! As for HBO GO, the application is available on iPad, iPhone and Android devices,

and was downloaded over one million times in its first week, and had over three million

downloads within a two month span. In subsequent years, HBO GO also became available

on gaming consoles, and in January 2014, Sony announced that HBO GO would be

available as apps for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 systems. More recently, Amazon

had announced in April 2014 that HBO GO would be available on the Fire TV by the end of

the year (Wagstaff, 2014). HBO is evidently using multiple vehicles to deliver its content to

consumers at their convenience. ! However, a potentially harmful practice by consumers is sharing HBO subscription

passwords, but CEO Richard Plepler has said he doesn’t care if young people share

passwords to use the service (Lynley, 2014). The HBO GO service has crashed multiple

times this spring due to high demand for shows like True Detective and Game of Thrones,

possibly due to the high traffic on streaming the episodes, which is inevitably increased by

the number of non-subscribers who are actually using the service, ruining the experience

for paying subscribers, so perhaps Mr. Plepler has something be concerned about. ! On April 6, 2014, users of its HBO Go streaming service who showed up at 9pm

Eastern time, so they could watch the much-anticipated season premiere of “Game of

Thrones,” were greeted with error messages and crashing apps. In response, HBO sent

out apologetic tweets, and in the end got things running again. Time Warner CEO Jeff

Bewkes also responded by reassuring customers that HBO GO would improve its tech

after the service had failed in March with True Detective (Sebastian, 2014). However, the

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same issue reappeared within the span of a month, leading to harsh customer backlashes

(Figure 3).

This failure of the service can be deleterious to the brand and its profitability, as

some subscribed customers are actually advocating piracy (Figure 4).

In theory, the only people using HBO GO at the moment are paying HBO

subscribers. If HBO GO is down, they have the alternative of watching Game of Thrones

on their TV sets, although that is contrary to what HBO GO ads try to portray and

communicate. In practice, many people who use HBO GO aren’t paying subscribers. They

are people who have been lent a password from a friend, meaning that if HBO GO crashes

during a Game of Thrones episode, there is no alternative for them. If HBO is serious

about the success of the HBO GO streaming-only service, not seriously addressing such

issues could be hazardous with regards to building faith and trust in the service and even

the brand.

! That being said, a recent sentiment analysis shows that HBO GO and HBO have

fairly positive sentiment (Figure 5).

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Figure 3: Tweets

Figure 4: Backlash

! CEO Plepler had said that HBO is “in the business of creating addicts” (Lynley,

2014), and HBO have been doing just that, as evident by the sheer numbers of their

subscribers in the US and worldwide, and the amount of anticipation for its shows. And in

the face of HBO’s longterm strategic planning, Plepler says “are we always thinking about

optionality, of course we are always thinking about optionality… if the arithmetic changes

and made sense in a different way we are not going to be caught without the ability to

pivot.” (Lynley, 2014).

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Figure 5: HBO GO Sentiment Analysis (Source: http://www.sentiment140.com)

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