TV marketers might want to kiss the concept of slow summer seasons goodbye: with 88 new shows this year, summer programming has marketing departments busier than ever.

And that doesn’t even include new offerings from Netflix, Hulu, and other non-traditional providers.

The New York Times reported Sunday that the newfound need to deliver viewers has resulted in a barrage of new promotional campaigns on TV screens, billboards, and mobile devices.

But summer poses extra problems for marketers: In addition to the normal problems of cutting through the clutter and getting seen, they’re competing with the season itself at a time of year when most people tend to think of activities that don’t involve staying inside and watching television.

Among the campaigns that have gone up in recent weeks: new billboards, spots, and posters for season two of Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” that resemble the men’s magazines of the 1950s.

The network also commissioned Tatia Pilieva—the woman whose video of strangers kissing went viral earlier this year— to create a YouTube clip that saw 20 strangers undress and climb into bed.

USA teamed up with one of the hottest storytelling brands at the moment—VICE Media—to help promote its new summer series “Satisfaction,” which centers around a couple trying to save their relationship.

The partnership resulted in a three-episode web series exploring modern love and relationships.

Of course, not all of the summer marketing campaigns this year have gone off without a hitch.

Witness the backlash to FX’s worm in an eyeball billboards for the new drama “The Strain,” which the network eventually had to scale back because of complaints.

Read More: The New York Times

Brief Take: TV marketing departments are flooding the normally sleepy summer months with new promotional campaigns that are exploring new and unique ways to reach viewers during a challenging time of the year.

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