8 PR lessons from “Game of Thrones”
Game of Thrones goes down in history as one of the most watched television series yet. But the HBO fantasy drama series was also known for its very creative press junkets.
After eight amazing seasons — albeit some lows in the series finale — here are eight public relations (PR) lessons from “Game of Thrones.”
Have a good product
At the end of the first season of “Game of Thrones” (GoT), the powerful storytelling, rich dialogue, compelling acting and production design hinted that the series was one to watch. And season after season, the showrunners continued to raise the bar.
A good product drives talkability and so did “Game of Thrones.” In the years to come, the series would drive conversations organically. The pervasion of social media made it even more so with conversations going viral globally.
Have a consistent message
The GoT premiere episode was titled “Winter is Coming.” After it set the tone for what was to come, “Winter is Coming” became a catchphrase associated with the series. For years to come, this message was communicated creating a very heightened expectation of the Night King’s arrival.
For non-fans of the show, all you need to know is that it is important to have key messages that you communicate consistently. And over time, those keywords or phrases will be associated with your brand.
Having a confident leader speaks volumes
Although the Night King was a dreaded villain, it was difficult to not admire his confidence and how regal he was, especially in season 8 as he walked majestically to kill Bran Stark, guards behind him.
They say ‘the message is the man,’ as such a confident business leader sends a positive message about the business. More so, he rubs-off on the management team.
Use PR stunts effectively
In 2017, White Walkers led by the Night King rode on horsebacks in London to promote season 7. They even made a stop at Buckingham Palace and loads of fans took pictures of them. That PR stunt went viral.
To promote season 8, Maisie Williams — who plays Arya Stark on the HBO series, appeared on “The Tonight Show” in the US. She gave a spoiler alert but only those who watched till the end knew it was an April Fools’ prank. It went went viral. The stunt was particularly effective because of Maisie’s delivery and the timing.
Design creative merchandise
“Game of Thrones” also has some of the most creative merchandise. From babies’ onesies captioned ‘Poop is coming,’ to adult tees captioned, ‘Not Today’ or mugs with the caption ‘I drink and I know things.’
The point to note is that GoT didn’t just go for generic lines but have tapped into the rich dialogue from the series to develop very attractive merchandise that are hard to ignore.
Surprise your audience
In GoT season 8, episode 3 titled “The Long Night” aka “Battle of Winterfell,” fans of the series expected Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to kill the Night King. But to our pleasant surprise, it was his sister — later revealed as cousin — Arya Stark who did. It generated a lot of buzz, also polarised opinions. But ultimately, there was talkability.
Throwing a curve ball every now and again is important to keep your audience engaged.
Choose your media wisely. Great interviews go viral
There had been re-enactments of scenes from GoT on Saturday Night Live (SNL) before but Kit Harington’s 2019 appearance was particularly special.
In a promo video, SNL’s Leslie Jones, a GoT fan, got Harington to re-enact Cercei Lannister’s Walk of Atonement. The promo video went viral.
Speak in soundbites, they make headlines
In Journalism, a soundbite refers to an extract taken from a speech or interview for its conciseness. GoT was also famed for soundbites which are very popular with fans. In season 8, episode 3 — “The Long Night,” in response to the question ‘what do we say to the god of death,’ Arya Stark responded, ‘Not Today.’ #NotToday trended after the episode and joined the list of favourite GoT quotes.
Speaking is soundbites is a useful skill which spokespersons should imbibe because they are an easy way to make news headlines.
What PR tips did you get from the series?
