| Title | THE MARATHRON |
| Brand | SKY ITALIA |
| Product/Service | GAME OF THRONES |
| Category |
A06. Media & Publications |
|
Entrant
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M&C SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
|
|
Idea Creation
|
M&C SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
|
|
Media Placement
|
SIMPLE AGENCY Milan, ITALY
|
|
Production
|
UTOPIA Milan, ITALY
|
Credits
| Luca Scotto Di Carlo |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Executive Creative Director |
| Vincenzo Gasbarro |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Executive Creative Director |
| Daniele Dionisi |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Creative Director |
| Paolo Perrone |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Creative Director |
| Federica Scalona |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Copywriter |
| Lorenzo Guagni |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Art Director |
| Fabio Furnari |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Digital Designer |
| Luca Capretti |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Digital Designer |
| Roberta Aiello |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Account |
| Martina Colombo |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Account |
| Serena Giovinazzo |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Social Media Manager |
| Massimo Capucci |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Head of Planning |
| Stefania Sabbatini |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Digital Production Director |
| Chiara Lops |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Digital Producer |
| Federico Fornasari |
M&C Saatchi Milan |
Production Director |
| Francesco Di Trani |
Utopia Production Company |
Executive Producer |
| Guja Quaranta |
Utopia Production Company |
Producer |
| Vincenzo Gasbarro |
Utopia Production Company |
Director |
| Lukasz Pruchnik |
Utopia Production Company |
Dop |
The Campaign
When a great TV series kicks off a new season, real fans get ready by re-watching previous episodes, while new fans look for easy solutions to catch up.
Sky is here for both.
However, when it comes to the most spectacular TV series ever, a marathon-viewing session on the sofa just isn’t enough.?For Game of Thrones, any marathon needed to be as spectacular as the series itself. So here is The Marathron. A group of marathon runners crossed Italy following a huge screen mounted on the back of a lorry that broadcast all the episodes of the previous seasons.?An extraordinary feat that lasted the duration of the entire first six seasons and proved the passion for Game of Thrones knows no limits.
Execution
We turned a truck into a giant mobile screen then we selected a group of marathoners addicted to TV series and challenged them to run across Italy behind it, while watching the first six seasons of the most followed series in the world.
The epic venture started in Rome on July 2nd and continued for two weeks despite heat and fatigue through Italian countryside and burgs. The finish line was set in Milan, in front of the ancient Sforzesco Castle (at the heart of historic city centre).
The last stage was open to all fans who registered on our platform and eventually involved hundreds of Game of Thrones fans. The stage started from Sky Headquarters, passing through the most evocative locations of the city, whilst the moving screen would broadcast the sixth season’s final of Game of Thrones. All runners were then honored during a huge closing ceremony.
A massive buzz and word of mouth generated, along with a stunning media coverage (both local and international press).
Over 4.000.000 views of the Marathron contents
20.000.000 total media reach
OnDemand downloads increased 60% vs Season 6
Audience increased 48% vs Season 6?
The Situation
For the big launch of Game of Thrones season 7 (a Sky exclusive) and re-launch of Sky’s boxsets offer (including full on demand access to previous GoT seasons) we created a stunt that turned people watching a TV series into a series to watch. A giant screen into a tool to create content for all our screens. An idiomatic expression into a real event.
A content generator event designed to drive traffic on a dedicated web platform (sky.it/marathron) where users were able to explore Sky’s TV series and boxsets offer and register to join the run.
The Strategy
We wanted to engage with TV series lovers, both Sky clients and prospects.
To this end we approached the stunt as a content generation activity in order to address our core targets via social channels (owned and paid) and TV series blogs.
Instagram stories and daily video highlights were released during the marathon and spread around to keep followers updated. All videos drove fans to our dedicated website where they had the opportunity to register and join us for the last stage in Milan.
The website also provided fans with a variety of extra content dedicated to previous Game of Thrones seasons (and other TV Series), along with a promo offer linked to Sky On Demand boxsets.