Cause-related advertising has shifted
toward finding new ways to target advertisements to specific audience groups in
recent years. Nonprofits are trying to differentiate their causes from others
vying for attention, a difficult task in today’s media saturated society. The International
Rescue Committee launched a campaign March 14th in hopes to do just
that, in reaching out to fans of pop culture.
The popular HBO television series “Game
of Thrones” has teamed up with the International Rescue Committee in order to
raise money for real-life victims of conflict and exile. “Game of Thrones” is
an epic fantasy series featuring story lines about civil war and banishment,
making for a perfect partner for the humanitarian relief organization aiding
refugees. This campaign will feature actors from the extremely popular show in
online videos, raffle off celebrity-related experiences, and offer the chance
for show merchandise for donations. Ads will appear exclusively online on the
International Rescue Committee microsite, YouTube channel, and social media
platforms.
The campaign will run through the series 6th season starting April 24th; however, the first public service announcement of the campaign has already been released. The video features actors and actresses from the show speaking individually about the struggles of refugees hoping to escape war, famine, and destruction. The campaign urges viewers to “rise up” and donate, utilizing the tagline “Rescue has no boundaries” and the hashtag #RealmToTheRescue.
The campaign will run through the series 6th season starting April 24th; however, the first public service announcement of the campaign has already been released. The video features actors and actresses from the show speaking individually about the struggles of refugees hoping to escape war, famine, and destruction. The campaign urges viewers to “rise up” and donate, utilizing the tagline “Rescue has no boundaries” and the hashtag #RealmToTheRescue.
This campaign is a smart
decision for the International Rescue Committee. Not only does “Game of
Thrones” have enormous popularity, but also a parallel of stories exists
between the show and reality. A fictional story of displacement and conflict
joins forces with a real-life story of the similar struggles, hopefully making
it easier for audience members to create a connection to the cause and be
prompted to donate. “Game of Thrones” fans make up a huge target audience in which
the IRC now has access to, bringing the cause to the audience, rather than the
audience to the cause. Actors in the video emphasize this story is not fantasy
and they can be the heroes, rather than simply watching them on TV. Three other
videos are set for release, which will take a lighter tone than the initial
video. A lighter tone, along with the introduction of “perks” of winning show
prizes, used for this younger audience will most likely be more successful than
the initial serious tone video. Fans of entertainment want to be entertained;
therefore, the IRC needs to provide something interesting to this audience in
conjunction with their message in order for the campaign to be effective.
To
learn more about the International Rescue Committee and the campaign visit their website.
I think it's really interesting that Game of Thrones is pushing an ad like this. Given the nature of the show it's ironic that the advertisement here is helping real life victims of conflict and exile. This is obviously a very emotional commercial which grabs the audiences attention effectively.
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