Five years ago, #CloneClub emerged – small, and passionate, forging a fandom around an exceptional and unique new show - Orphan Black. Five years later, the fandom thrives at 1.7M and growing, even after the series finale in 2017.
For half a decade, #CloneClub shaped an identity, created amazing fan work, and formed an active community. They even rallied together in an annual '#EmmyForMaslany' campaign, in an effort to gain recognition for Tatiana Maslany's outstanding performance - all because they love Orphan Black.
These fans are the best fans in the world. We wanted to say thank you to the fans and send them on a wild, final trip, together. We helped #CloneClub come together as one to send Orphan Black off with a bang.
We knew that for fans, the final season would be huge, and the series finale would be a huge moment, made all the more exciting by 5 years of twists and turns finally resolved. The pillars of our strategy reflected the fandom and the Orphan Black family: #CloneClub's togetherness, anticipation, and journey leading towards THE FINAL TRIP.
The stakes have never been higher in the world of the show. We dialed up the intensity through an off-season and urgency campaigns, all the way through the season, keeping fans guessing and engaging them at every beat through strategic release of content. Tactically, synchronized content release across various social platforms maximized buzz.
• We built a social 'moment' leading up to the release of the trailer. To get fans to begin asking the burning questions, we seeded 10 mysterious 3-5 second clips, within short intervals across social media, immediately following the release of a graphic tease.
• We experimented with new, innovative formats including Snap Spectacles to connect #CloneClub with cast and creators. We gave our audience all-access behind the scenes at PaleyFest, directly through the unique POV of the cast. We boosted PaleyFest ticket sales by highlighting cast presence and the early screening of the premiere.
• Inching closer to premiere, we launched a 'Final Trip Rules' campaign across all Orphan Black social handles to pique fan anticipation. We released character spots containing hidden binary code linking to alternate versions of the videos, which alluded to Season 5 plot beats. This campaign engaged #CloneClub, and was a nod to hidden code messages we've released in previous campaigns.
• In-season, we eventized each episode across key social platforms, hyped up the uncertainty of each character's fate and future, and amplified #CloneClub.
• We make a family, yes? We ramped up for finale by organizing talent for one final #AskOB – a campaign that had become cemented in the rituals of #CloneClub – and by asking fan-influencers to make video diaries for finale discussing what the series meant to them.
• Immediately following the series finale, we released a dance mashup video to thank fans and give Orphan Black the sendoff it deserved. Additionally, we posted the final season blooper reel – #CloneClub LOVE bloops.
Series finale viewership was +53% higher than the S5 average. On the night of its series finale, Orphan Black ranked:
• #1 most social program of the night excluding sports and live events. (Nielsen SocialGuide)
• #1 most talked about cable program, up +119% from the season 5 premiere and with 53K more social mentions than Game of Thrones on the same night. (ListenFirst)
• #1 most engaging program on Twitter and Tumblr, and #2 most engaging program across all social platforms combined. (ListenFirst)
The GREATEST outcome of our campaign was HOW INVESTED FANS WERE in joining us to send the series off:
• The series finale became the #1 biggest day EVER in overall social mentions in Orphan Black history, just ahead of Tatiana Maslany's Emmy win in 2016.
• #FarewellOrphanBlack was the #1 top US Twitter Trend and #2 top WorldWide Trend during and hours after the episode.
• Fans wrote incredible letters dedicated to the series and created #OBGaveMe to thank the talent, network, creators, and fandom for instilling in them confidence, love, and acceptance.
• #CloneClub was featured in the NY Times, which wrote a piece that recognized the series found success by engaging with and empowering its fans on social media.
