NBC took to the streets this month to promote its new show, Heist, handing out premiums and driving people to an online sweepstakes for a chance to win $5,000.
Street teams dressed in black suits and dark shades invaded high traffic areas in New York (for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade) and Los Angeles (during the L.A. Marathon) March 17-21 to build buzz around the new show, which premiered last week. Male team members carried Heist-branded briefcases, while females distributed 30,000 faux diamond rings and tennis bracelet premiums. Each premium carried an oversized price tag with tune-in information and a call to action to the Get In On The Heist sweepstakes dangling a chance to win $5,000.
To build further excitement, teams rode around the streets of New York and Los Angles in wrapped vans with the Heist logo and Get in on the Heist theme.
A radio campaign in 10 markets, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta, also supported the campaign. Disc jockeys ran heist trivia games, asking consumers for questions about the great heist and most famous thieves of all time. Consumers with the correct answers received $100 American Express gift cards (nine given away in all). The radio promo drove consumers to the national sweepstakes.
As a result, NBC received 15,000 unique entries and more than 75,000 hits to site, said Sharon Merle-Lieberman, senior director of marketing, The NBC Agency. The company launched the stunt and sweepstake to generate word-of-mouth and buzz for the show, she said.
“The 18- to 34-year-old target is a very buzzy target,” Merle-Lieberman said. “If they get into something, they will tend to endorse it and tell people about it. This was the right idea for the right show for the right target.”
Jack Morton Worldwide, Los Angeles, handled.
Consumers who missed the premiere can catch it via streaming video under the TV section at MSN.com. Under a partnership, MSN.com is streaming the entire episode for free, Merle-Lieberman said. The show’s second episode will be available after it airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.
Heist details the story of a team of career criminals who attempt one of the biggest heists in historyknocking off rob three Rodeo Drive jewelry stores during Academy Awards week. One of the lead detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department is on the case trying to track down the culprits.
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