Generating buzz for a serial killer
Disclosure: I don’t have Showtime, so I’ve never watched Dexter. This post isn’t so much about the show as it is about the buzz surrounding the show.
Admittedly, I am not the pop-culture maven that my co-worker Sarah Wurrey is, so it feels somewhat awkward for me to write a post about a TV show. However, as a PR practitioner, I am impressed with the buzz surrounding this show—especially as it appears that a good portion of it is actually fan-based. The show’s promoters are capitalizing on the buzz by staging some creative, albeit icky, ideas like turning the water in city fountains blood-red. (Ew.) They’ve also set up a Flickr group so that fans can share photos taken in each of the 14 cities that Pop2Life selected for the promotion.
(The Hollywood Reporter notes that executives from Showtime state that red was chosen because it is their corporate color, not because it looks like blood. I’m not sure I buy that, but whatever…) Five of the fountains, including the one in Boston, were built specifically for this promotional effort. I’m guessing that some cities didn’t want the tourist areas that fountains are typically located in to be associated with a television show about a serial killer. Given Boston’s previous responses to viral marketing efforts, I will give this company credit for doing their legwork (and using their heads) to make sure that this went as smoothly as possible.
After reading Bostonist’s post on the issue, I did some poking around and reading some of the reader comments on items like the story in USA Today. Watchers are passionate about the show and anxious for the new season to begin on Sunday. Even more interesting is how some people indicated they’d come across the show—something I’d wondered about since not everybody has Showtime—quite a few stated that a friend with Showtime recommended it (word-of-mouth), they rented the Season 1 DVDs, and are now hooked. Others watched it via On Demand. Since neither of these avenues is a first-run scenario, it is further evidence that time shifting will continue to rise in importance both for viewers and for television producers.
Also, is it me, or do there seem to be an inordinate number of new series out there about death? Reaper, Pushing Daisies, Dexter—is this all a result of Six Feet Under and Dead Like Me, or am I just now noticing a trend that’s been around for a while?
