House of the Dragon: Inside a campaign that breathed fire into the show's popularity

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery in an earnings call stated that the marketing push of House of the Dragon is the biggest campaign in HBO’s history.

From collaborating with delivery app Swiggy to roping in Sara Ali Khan and Jahnvi Kapoor for a social media campaign, Disney+ Hotstar has gone all out to market the much talked about HBO series- House of the Dragon which premiered on the platform on August 22.

“Our intent was simple – give fans of Game of Thrones the prequel they were waiting for while bringing in newer audiences by maintaining that House of The Dragon was a standalone series within the Game of Thrones universe. We made sure to craft a campaign that addressed both these audiences differently without alienating either one,” said Sidharth Shakdher, Executive Vice President, Disney+ Hotstar.

To promote the prequel for the well-loved series, the platform took up a multi-proged approach to create buzz and lead social media conversations. For instance, as part of this collab, the Swiggy rider has been turned into a "dragon rider". App users may notice a tag line on the top of the order "Fire will reign, hunger will not. Our dragon rider is on the way!"

According to Shakdher, Disney+Hotstar created a multi- layered campaign using Indian pop-culture to build the intrigue around the dragons being featured in the show. “Our campaign included a quirky video with musician Anu Malik to build on his iconic catchphrase – Aag Laga Di, a collaboration with food delivery service, Swiggy, to turn the icons on their delivery maps into dragons, and animated dragon projections in malls and prominent locations in key cities.”

He added: “These initiatives not only helped us drive awareness and intent, but also generated great word of mouth and interesting social media chatter around the show’s launch. Our marketing innovation on the campaign, in fact, went viral on social media, and helped us create tremendous impact.”

The OTT platform also launched a marketing campaign for the series with BFFs Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor who were recently seen sharing the ‘Koffee With Karan’ couch, sharing their excitement to watch the series. In a video posted on their social media handles, the actors were seen discussing the series. When Janhvi, a ‘Game of Thrones’ fan, went quizzing Sara about the show, Sara replied ‘House of the Dragon’ was a new and different show and watching ‘Game of Thrones’ was not mandatory.

Shakdher mentioned that for audiences that had not been a part of the Game of Thrones fandom, they wanted to position the show as a standalone series within the Game of Thrones universe.

“To encourage sampling and to drive messaging around the simulcast of the show across US and India, we collaborated with A-list Bollywood celebrities like Sara Ali Khan and Jahnvi Kapoor for a social media campaign to build a local connect. An important aspect of building intrigue around a fantasy show is that people connect with individual elements within the content. Creating a mythology around symbols helps in creating fandoms, in giving audiences a tangible aspect of the show to connect with. Therefore, it was natural for us to leverage the symbolism around the dragons to drive visibility and brand recall.”

He further explained that when it comes to promoting the prequel for a well-loved series, there are multiple things one must consider. Game of Thrones already had a sizable fan base in India. Capturing the attention of ardent followers was important but it was also vital to bring in the first time viewers by leveraging the uniqueness of the show and welcoming them to the universe.

“Our approach included multiple touchpoints with massive pop-culture moments to address and engage these two very distinct sets of audiences. The idea was to inspire viewers – both old and new – to become a part of this fandom. House of The Dragon is a visual spectacle! One of the strongest points of the show rests within its masterful art direction, awe-inspiring set pieces and the sheer spectacle of the fantasy world the story is set in.”

He further added, “We knew that giving key opinion leaders a peek into the show’s grandeur will lead the conversations in media and on social media. Ahead of the launch of the series, we organized a grand premiere to create an immersive experience. Here, we provided early access to the first episode of the highly anticipated series for key celebrities, influencers and media who were fans of the Game of Thrones series and carried a positive predisposition towards the new series.”

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery in an earnings call stated that the marketing push of House of the Dragon is the biggest campaign in HBO’s history, and it’s already paying dividends, he said. According to media reports, HBO has spent over $100 million (Rs 10 crore) on the series marketing push. 

Speaking of how big this is for Disney+ Hotstar, Shakdher shared that House of the Dragon as a series is one of the biggest international titles that the network have on the platform at the moment, especially since fans of the franchise were eagerly waiting for other installments. “Consequently, the marketing campaign was designed to match that scale. We have pulled out all the stops for this one and are excited to see where it leads us.” 

For the marketing campaign specially for the series, the platform used multiple media touchpoints for driving the campaign around House of The Dragon. “Each media has its own purpose and was specifically chosen to create a holistic campaign. While print was leveraged largely through PR, digital was a mix of branded content and influencer engagement along with a robust digital plan.”

Shakdher shared that platform used OOH in interesting ways, creating experiences and tangible assets through animated displays and immersive events to engage audiences.” Impact was delivered through digital innovations. Strategic brand partnerships and collaboration with a radio channel helped further amplify our message.”
Based on George R.R. Martin's book ‘Fire and Blood’, the 10-episode series is a remarkable, turbulent story about the House of Targaryen, set 200 years before the events that captivated global audiences in Game of Thrones. The series is a gripping saga that takes us deep into the extraordinary world of Westeros and explores the Targaryen family - the all-powerful dragon riders who are the seemingly invincible rulers of the seven kingdoms.