Thanks to the rise of short-form content and the need for constant novelty when scrolling, posting the same ad campaigns to people who have already been targeted no longer cuts the mustard. Digital marketers now need to navigate this new paradigm and figure out how to retarget people successfully.
This is where episodic campaigns come into their own. In the same way that winning franchises expand on the core aspects of the original, great ad campaigns can now build on what’s come before.
The Entertainment Industry Has Shown the Power of Expanding a Franchise
The booming entertainment industry can provide digital marketers with a lot of information about what works in the modern age. The most successful studios have realized that building on winning formulas is the key, with franchise expansion now seen across every offshoot of entertainment.
In iGaming, for instance, people play Big Bass Bonanza because they know what to expect from it. It’s one of more than 20 games in the ever-growing Big Bass series from Pragmatic Play. The studio saw that there was a huge demand for these fishing games and ensured that it produced a range of options for players to choose from. The core Big Bass themes are present throughout the series, with only slight changes to the individual games.
This is frequently seen in film and television, where the most successful offerings are almost always followed up with sequels and spinoffs. Franchises like James Bond and Fast & Furious have continued to attract viewers because they offer a formula that people know and love. The same thing can happen in advertising, with the best marketers simply adapting their top content with small changes here and there.
What are the Best Ways to Implement Episodic Campaigns?
Digital marketers can lean into what’s worked so well in the entertainment industry and think about releasing episodic advertising campaigns that build on what’s come before. Thanks to advanced retargeting tools in social media, audiences who have already seen the first video in a chain of marketing materials will then be presented with the second one next time. This ensures that they’re always seeing something fresh from your brand and avoids fatigue.
Once they’ve zoned in on their target audience, digital marketers can plan scheduled content drops that are released on a daily or weekly basis. This can enable them to get in front of potential customers frequently and build anticipation for the next video. Each piece of marketing material should attempt to build anticipation for the next, perhaps by using cliffhangers and reveals from one video to another. Building a narrative across a campaign can enable people to feel closer to a brand and emotionally connected with it.
Advertisers who’ve been in the business a while know the power of taking a winning ad and then only making small changes to it. This can be done with episodic campaigns, which build on what’s come before but offer something new each time. Audiences are used to this model from entertainment, and it’s one that can work well in digital marketing.
