Anyone buying a magazine, surfing the Internet, or driving down the freeway is going to have a hard time missing James Spader’s picture in the next couple of weeks.
The AP reported Monday that NBC is rolling out a big marketing and promotion push befitting a top-rated hit show, with fake Blacklist-branded magazine covers, murals, and billboards.
NBC Entertainment marketing boss Len Fogge told the wire service that the campaign “speak[s] to the importance of the series” to the network.
The success of The Blacklist was one of the major factors that propelled NBC from the Nielsen basement to the top spot in the young adults demographic last season.
Among the campaign elements:
-Mock covers on the flip side of 10 magazines, including Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Wired and The New Yorker. Playboy will feature a Blacklist ad on the front cover.
-Murals of Spader’s character Raymond Reddington created by six artists in major cities
-Reddington’s one-liners will be set to “Back in Black” and played on NBC and on sister cable channels.
-LA and NYC will get billboards spotlighting the magazine campaign.
NBC had already given the show a big push at Comic-Con early this summer, with a prominent takeover of a restaurant in the prime spot directly opposite the San Diego Convention Center, shuttle buses papered in Blacklist graphics and lots of display ads around the city.
Read More: AP via TV News Check
Brief Take: The Blacklist was the clear breakout success of last year’s broadcast debuts, and NBC is hoping this big push will ensure that Spader & Co. continue to deliver Nielsen numbers in the show’s sophomore season.
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