THE MARATHRON

TitleTHE MARATHRON
BrandSKY ITALIA
Product/ServiceGAME OF THRONES
Category A06. Media & Publications
Entrant M&C SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
Idea Creation M&C SAATCHI Milan, ITALY
Media Placement SIMPLE AGENCY Milan, ITALY
Production UTOPIA Milan, ITALY
Credits
Name Company Position
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.