The CW turned to technology for an unusual campaign to promote its new television series Ringer, which begins airing Sept. 13. To build interest in the mystery drama about long-separated identical twins, both played by no-longer-Buffy Sarah Michelle Gellar, the network worked with Omnicom Group’s OMD to create an experience with strong viral potential.
Playing on the show’s premise, the promotion created two installations that look like two-way glass seen from the mirror side. As reported by AdAge, one is on Park Avenue in New York City, and one is in a heavily trafficked pedestrian shopping district in Santa Monica, California.
People can strike a pose in front of the mirror, which seconds later appears next to their live reflection looking like twins. The experience can be captured on the user’s mobile phone as a photo or video, ready to be posted on Facebook or shared with friends in other ways.
“It used to be all you had t do what get a ‘day and a date’ message in there, and you were done. Now you have to get an emotional connection with the show to the audience, because they’re going to watch it when they want and how they want,” Rick Haskins, The CW executive vice president, digital, new technologies, marketing and brand strategy, told AdAge.
The CW invites users to accept future messages from the network, but without this permission it will not retain the contact information.
Ringer made its public debut at Comic-Con, which combined with this promotion demonstrate that CW is making an effort to reach its audience in non-traditional ways, as is now necessary to reach a substantial number potential viewers.
Related Links:
AdAge – http://tinyurl.com/3geuxhd
http://www.cwtv.com/shows/ringer
Photo and video of Ringer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, courtesy of The CW
