Revealing Penny Dreadful's story and characters.

BACKGROUND

Showtime came to Trailer Park to create buzz about their new “psychosexual literary horror series,” Penny Dreadful premiering in Spring 2014. The show reimagines characters from classic horror literature, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The show’s cast includes Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, and others, as an assortment of new and classic characters within the darkest corners of London in the early 1890s. The series was created and written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan, known for Gladiator, The Aviator, and Hugo. Showtime and Trailer Park worked together to create a digital campaign intended to build a fan base from scratch by intriguing and enticing people into the world of Penny Dreadful.

OBJECTIVE

Position Penny Dreadful as THE next major franchise for the network. Generate massive awareness and encourage audience participation.

CHALLENGE

How do we make classic horror literature, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, new again and relevant?

OPPORTUNITY

The finale of Dexter has left Showtime fans craving for the next great bloody thriller, which Penny Dreadful delivers perfectly.

MY ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Owned client relationship

• Oversaw the entire campaign, from planning, creative development, production process, to media planning

• Managed and tracked marketing and production budgets

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Generated $300K+ in incremental revenue for the agency

• Successfully launched the campaign and exceeded client expectations

• Gained client trust and helped secure Trailer Park a seat in the promotion of the next Showtime's TV series The Affair

INSIGHT

Horror is hot in today's culture. Consumers are drawn to the intrigue of the supernatural and its worlds.

STRATEGY

Bring to life the supernatural world of Penny Dreadful and allow people to experience it in a modern way.

REASON TO BELIEVE

Penny Dreadful is a NEW take on a classic literary drama. The action may take place in the late 1800s but the characters deal with timeless issues and universal themes that resonate today.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

First, our Strategy team unearthed core audiences who would watch the series and the elements that most appealed to them. Using those insights, our Digital team created Penny-Dreadful.com – a responsive website that works across devices. The site immersed visitors in the dark, disturbing world of 1890s London, revealed the show’s story and characters. It also featured several highly interactive pieces that pulled the visitor deeper into the show’s dark story and imagery, including a Tarot Card reading and a detailed isometric map of London. We produced a series of display and banner ads that featured the key characters and evoked the drama and eeriness of the series. We also devised a comprehensive social media strategy, including a detailed playbook that guided daily social management activities across various channels including Facebook and Snapchat. We actually launched Showtime’s first Snapchat account. I served as the digital lead and brand director. Below is the case study video and a campaign snapshot.