Syfy’s series “Being Human” follows a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost as they each fight their darker instincts and try to live normal lives. For season 2, SyFy wanted to create a promotion around the tagline “Temptation is a Beast,” and encourage consumers to give in to their New Year’s resolutions.
Syfy sponsored the Palms Casino Resort in Vegas’ annual New Year’s Eve Party at its Moon Nightclub, including custom elevator wraps, in-elevator key art, branded table tops, bar signage and napkins, “Being Human” themed drink menus and in-hotel room advertising with branded door hangers and key cards. A Palms building wrap and custom made “Being Human” video was showcased on the hotel’s marquee, casino floor and in-room promotional channel.
A special “Being Human” package offered VIP access to hotel digital and social extensions, including a guide to hosting the perfect “Be Tempted” viewing party, with drink recipes and playlists.
On New Year’s Day, @BeingHumanSyfy started a paid Promoted Trend campaign on Twitter to both promote the premiere and also spark conversation around viewers and their 2012 resolutions. For the first 12 hours, @BeingHumanSyfy promoted #AlreadyTempted, which tied into post-New Year’s conversations about failing to follow through on resolutions.
For the second 12 hours, @BeingHumanSyfy pushed the topic #BeingHuman to sponsor a Twitter conversation around a specific theme or topic related to the show. The hashtags and tweets also drove users to watch a marathon of Being Human Season 1 episodes on Syfy.
Tailored “temptation packages” were sent to a select group of influencers, including actor Neil Patrick Harris, entertainment blogger Perez Hilton and Bravo’s Andy Cohen. The boxes were filled with premium drinks, sweet snacks, gift certificates to coveted hot spots—even cat toys for a particular fond feline fan—all designed to entice recipients to abandon their New Year’s resolutions. Their challenge was to either open the package and immediately indulge in its offerings or resist the temptation through the Jan. 16, premiere of “Being Human.” If they achieved the latter goal, SyFy would donate $10,000 to charities. Perez Hilton and Neil Patrick Harris were the most active tweeters, posting photos and tweeting about their battles with temptation to thousands of followers.
The premiere of Season 2 saw a 12% increase over Season 1, and a 157% increase vs. the week prior. The Twitter initiative drove 20+ million trend impressions on January 2nd alone, kicking off the “temptation” themed campaign with a bang.
The Promoted Twitter Trends, #AlreadyTempted and #BeingHuman, were very successful in driving conversations around the temptation theme. The increase in @BeingHumanSyfy account follows during the promotion period was five times the industry average, while total account mentions were three times the industry average.
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