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Amazon to focus marketing on Studios brand following Golden Globe wins

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

January 13, 2015 | 3 min read

Amazon is looking to bump up marketing around its TV and movie streaming service Prime Instant Video after winning two Golden Globes for its original series Transparent.

The Netflix rival, which also beat HBO to scoop the awards, will look to capitalise on the wins by refocusing its marketing around the Amazon Studios output, alongside the individual show brands themselves.

Transparent, which tells the story of a transgender man and his family, was not only Amazon’s first-ever win at the awards but also the first online series to ever win a best series award.

Thus far, ads for Amazon Prime Instant Video, which launched in the UK last February, have focused predominantly on individual shows to give them “hero status” – such as Transparent.

Speaking to The Drum, Amazon Prime Instant Video’s marketing and merchandise director Russell Morris revealed it has been an effective strategy, with the push around Transparent helping it to become the most watched show in the platform’s history, outperforming the likes of Walking Dead.

It will continue to launch exclusive content with dedicated campaigns but moving forward will look to drive awareness of the volume and quality of own-brand content coming from Amazon Studios, something rival Netflix has done with its Ricky Gervais ‘Superfan’ spots.

“You will certainly see us explore pushing multiple pieces of content [in a campaign] at once,” he continued.

Morris also praised the unique format of Amazon Studios in allowing it to create brave content which resonates with viewers.

Ideas for TV series can be submitted by producers, directors, or writers from any background. Amazon selects the most promising and invests in creating pilot episodes which are then put online. Users can then watch, comment, and vote on their favourites with Amazon then selecting one to develop into a full series.

“It’s really only on the back of that process that you can have the confidence to commission TV shows that don’t follow the standard formula,” he said.

Amazon will now “double-down” on its investment in the process and has already produced more original series pilots this year that it had in the whole of 2014.

“Ultimately, what makes us different is that we’re making these pilots only on the back of what the customers decide to watch. When you’ve had success like this and you’ve seen your customers are engaging with content to this level you can only expect a company like Amazon to double-down” he said.

Original content has also driven the number of subscriptions to its Amazon Prime service, the main goal of the initiative, although it's yet to be seen if the Golden Globe accolades will have the same effect.

“The reason we’re doing this is that it’s working,” Morris said, although refused to go into further detail.

Amazon won a Golden Globe for best TV comedy while the show’s leading actor Jeffrey Tambor won an award for best actor in a TV series.

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