Shortlisted 2018
MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
Brand
THE WALKING DEAD
Lead Agency
FOX
THE WALKING DEAD EURO TOUR
The Challenge
The challenge for this project was to develop an activation that would not only sustain the level of interest for the global phenomenon that is The Walking Dead, but which would also be up to the standards and expectations of the
massive following of this show. The cast (and characters) of this show are well loved and known across the world, so in order to truly come up with a stand out activation that would raise the bar for the show’s marketing, we had to
develop a one of a kind project that could go beyond the boundaries of Fox Networks Group’s markets. On top of this, cast members have difficult schedules and are rarely available for such activations.
The Strategy
With record ratings over the past seven seasons and an army of fans from all over the world, it’s no doubt that ‘The Walking Dead’ has become a global phenomenon. Our internal Local, European and Global teams worked together
on the largest and most ambitious press tour in the history of Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa: the #TWDEuroTour. To get the most out of any availability of key cast members, the aim was to take advantage of other
talent engagements and combine this with local activations that would maximise the impact of their arrival.
The Implementation
We capitalized on 25 cast members being brought to London for a non-affiliated fan convention early March. Following this convention, we began the ambitious process of flying 25 cast members across Europe to six major
cities over the course of 7 days. Splitting the cast into three groups (one flying to Munich, one to Warsaw and one to Amsterdam, Lisbon and Madrid) required unequivocal coordination from all the teams. With an approximate budget of $557,000, local teams organised 216 interviews and 16 events.
The Result
In Europe, we had the opportunity to do something special, and our ambition and scale for this event was as big as the show itself: to reach as many fans as possible within one week. Eleven cast members in six cities with over 20
million people engaging with us; the tour exceeded all our expectations and has become the biggest publicity event we’ve held in our organisation’s history.
The tour to promote the second half of Season 7 of The Walking Dead involved a total of 16 events for more than 16,000 fans throughout London, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Madrid, Munich and Warsaw, all in the span of an active week
in early March. The #TWDEuroTour achieved record-breaking numbers for Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa, including 16,420 fans attending the events and 25.7 million people reached on social media (6.2 million video views, and 450,000 likes, shares and comments). In just one week, the tour had 605 affiliates and clients involved.