What do Oreos, Mountain Dew, Shake Shack and Mack Weldon have in common?
No, they’re not items from my Amazon wish list. Not all of them anyway.
These are five brands that have tapped into the zeitgeist and attached themselves to the pop culture phenomenon that is the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. They’ve all launched special promotions and packaging that coincide with the launch of the popular show’s final season, the record-setting finale of which aired Sunday, May 19.
That’s a lot of eyes, something that brands couldn’t ignore. Motivating consumers and generating fresh enthusiasm can be as challenging as fighting off the army of the dead. But to paraphrase Cersei Lannister, when you play the Game of Thrones, brands win when you buy.
How are these brands cashing in on the pop culture phenomenon?
Oreos introduced special packaging with GoT-inspired graphics, while the cookies are carved with the crests of the show’s key families.
Mountain Dew launched a commemorative can.
Shake Shack added menu items – the Dragonglass Shake and the Dracarys Burger, the latter named for the word that compels dragons to spit fire.
Mack Weldon paired color combinations of their underwear to match the colors of each family’s banner.
And these are just a select few examples. Other brands are also jumping on the bandwagon. I’m surprised we haven’t seen:
The King in the Northface
A Song of Ice and Fire Wok
A Lannister Always Pays His Debt Consolidation USA
The Watchers on the Walgreens
Burger King’s Landing
The possibilities are as endless as the unfinished novels!
In eight seasons dating back to its debut in 2011, Game of Thrones has become a pop culture phenomenon. It’s one of those shows that incite genuine discussion – arguments, theories, speculation. It is a shared cultural moment. On April 7, 2019, the premiere of the first episode of the final season drew more than 17 million viewers. The finale garnered more than 19 million, the most in HBO’s history. That’s a lot of eyes. And that’s the kind of attention that brands notice.
Which is why so many brands signed up for a visit to Westeros. There may not be another show that creates mass zeal quite the way this show did. In an era where so much television viewing has become a bulk consumption affair, Game of Thrones served as the last vestige of that once prominent TV landscape – the “water cooler show.”
With the final episode complete and the series now written into the history books, brands like those mentioned above linked themselves to that popularity in an effort to appeal to us “Thrones Junkies,” zombies like so many in the army of the dead consuming anything and everything related to the show.
Using a little foresight and creativity, brands seized the moment and capitalized on a cultural phenomenon. Marketing tie-ins to movies and TV shows are nothing new. But the way that brands have latched on to the power of the Thrones juggernaut continues to prove the power of marketing in the moment and seizing the public’s zest for entertainment.
As Game of Thrones had long promised, Winter is Coming. In fact, it’s here. And brands have come with it, selling their wares to the Seven Kingdoms and beyond.
When the final numbers are tallied, which brand will sit upon the Iron Throne when all is said and done remains to be seen. But for a six-week span, these brands joined the army of one of the most popular television shows in recent history, all hoping to heat up sales like dragon fire.
How can your brand be the king on the Iron Throne? Send a raven to Matthew of House Fey … or call 913-236-8988 or email mattf@jschmid.com for more about seizing the marketing moment.
Tags: Brand Campaign, branding, GOT, marketing, Matt Fey, pop culture