How an epic social campaign consisting of more than 300 pieces of original content helped Narcos win more viewers than Game of Thrones.
Services
- Social & Content Strategy
- Measurement & Analytics Strategy
- Brand & Creative Strategy
- Brand & Campaign Creative
Outputs
- Content
- Measurement Strategy
- Meta Content
Impact
- 100K+ Digital Engagements
- "Data Visualization" Winner, 8th Annual Shorty Awards
- "Television" Winner, Social Media Campaign, 8th Annual Shorty Awards
Unique Challenge, Unique Solution
Launching the Netflix original series, "Narcos," posed a unique challenge due to Netflix's model of releasing all episodes at once, diverging from traditional TV's sequential releases. Coupled with this was the intricate Colombian cocaine trade's economics, which was a pivotal part of the show, needing representation in an engaging and understandable format, all launched on social and with an incredibly tight budget.
Leveraged the Plot to Create Viral Content
Beyond the immediate plot, the underlying themes of "Narcos,” like moral ambiguity and the economics of the cocaine trade, could be leveraged to keep the audience engaged. Infographics, with their visual appeal and simplicity, emerged as the perfect medium to represent the daunting statistics of the drug trade in relatable terms. To top it all off, the strategic decision to jump in on cultural moments and newsjacking all helped this campaign’s content go viral in a big way.
A Dual-Strategy Devised
Firstly, more than 375 thematic content assets based on the show's themes and real-time cultural responses were created, including the #SmuggleandSeek campaign. Secondly, the #Cokenomics series utilized detailed research to craft infographics that visualized the intricate statistics of the cocaine trade, comparing them with culturally relevant references for relatability and engagement.
Two Million Fans Within Three Months... and Some Shorty Awards to Boot
The campaign achieved a rapid following with two million fans across major platforms within three months. The strategic representation of data and content ensured that "Narcos" even surpassed HBO’s "Game of Thrones" in viewership, garnering engagement from high-profile celebrities. With the #Cokenomics series accumulating more than 100,000 engagements and influencing content in the Wall Street Journal, "Narcos" proudly stood as the year’s most mentioned Netflix original series on social media, and is still used as the Facebook/Instagram campaign-to-beat by the platforms themselves.
Social Engagements
K
Shorty Awards
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