Objective

Serving as a spin-off from the highly successful cult Amazon Prime Video series ‘The Boys’, ‘Gen V’ is a young adult superhero series which sees young Superheroes, or (“Supes”), put through their mental and physical paces at the prestigious Godolkin University, where they all compete for a top ranking on the University’s leaderboard and, ultimately, a seat in The Seven, Vought international’s elite superhero team. 

To launch this new exciting chapter in the shared Boys universe, which targets a Gen Z audience, we assembled our own squad of superheroes to build an exciting digital “in-world” launch campaign, which would allow fans to enroll as students in this fictitious superhero school, meet the new cast of young adult superstars, and immerse themselves in the dark humor typified of ‘The Boys.’ 

As part of this in-world hub, the brief required a highly shareable element which could be expanded out for wider events promotion at the annual TwitchCon event held in Las Vegas. This came in the shape of a personalized shareable that resembled a student university campus ID, allowing newcomers to feel like part of the world. To further encourage fan participation and add a playful sense of competition, we aligned fans' interests and personality types to one of the two schools:; Lamplighter School of Crimefighting, or the Crimson Countess School of Performing Arts through a quiz mechanic. 

At the TwitchCon event, attendees could take the quiz and have their very own Godolkin University IDs printed on a plastic ID card and picked up at Amazon Prime Video’s booth. This extended the life-span on the ID Generator through to the premiere of ‘Gen V’ and gave fans at TwitchCon a customized physical keepsake in addition to the social shareability. 

Strategy

Welcome to Godolkin University. To kick-off our development semester, we needed to follow strict exam criteria to meet all our strategic granite pillars. 

Explore Campus - In world web hub

To encourage deep immersion and encourage exploration of the show’s key setting, prospective ‘supe’ students could discover Godolkin University through several main content sections which mirrored the look and feel of a typical ivy league University website. These included:

• Introduction: 
  • Cast welcome messages and spoof quotes from the show’s bright-eyed students
• University Life: 
  • Keep track of all the key dates in the academic calendar 
• God U Merch: 
  • Show your school pride and purchase official Godolkin merch 
• Explore the Campus: 
  • Explore 360 locations by taking a virtual stroll around the halls of GodU 
• Student Ranking: 
  • Meet top ranked Supers enrolled in the school and notable Alumni through character photography 
• Sample Curriculum: 
  • Tease the challenging curriculum needed to train the best and brightest heroes of tomorrow, and prepare for coursework by reading exclusive textbooks written by the university lecturer (and antagonist) Professor Brink 

To unite the whole experience tonally and stylistically, the site was written in a voice which would connect more meaningfully to our target Gen Z demographic, whilst infusing the much-loved dark humor of The Boys to give it a distinctive touch and edge. 

What Kind of Super Are You? - Student ID Generator: 

• At Godolkin University, students could get a first-class education to help them find the super in them. Whether you attend the Lamplighter’s School of Crime-Fighting, or Crimson Countess's School of Performing Arts, potential “Supes” could follow in the footsteps of heroes by becoming an official student of God U with our photobooth activation.
• To enroll formally, fans needed to add their own unique Hero Name, grant themself an individual or randomized superpower from the show, and undertake a mini exam where they'd be assigned to one of the schools based on their results. They could then update or capture an image which would bypass a background removal tool and feature on their very own branded student ID boast about their acceptance across socials. 

Wider promotion at TwitchCon: 

• Do you have what it takes to join the ranks of our Heroes? This is what we asked when the ID generator was adapted for use at Amazon Prime Video’s Super College Fair at TwitchCon. Installed at a dedicated Amazon Prime Video Booth, attendees could show their school spirit, take the entrance exam in public, and pick up their student ID’s as a laminated printable ID lanyard. Attended by high-profile influencers and media commentators, attendees showed the world who they really were, announcing their attendance to their thousands of followers on social media. 

Results

Passing the Super test with flying colors, the launch campaign earned over 117k site visitors to the God U official website, with an average user time of 2m 42s on the ID generator feature page, indicating exceptional levels of engagement amongst our target audience. 

Aspiring in the footsteps of our heroes, we connected to our GenZ demographic with the sparky young cast members creating and sharing their own official ID cards. This organic discovery amplified the reach of our campaign with over 30k ID’s shared online! 

At the TwitchCon live event, our Amazon Prime Video Booth received A+ ratings with over 1.3k IDs printed at the event., further enhancing brand visibility and engagement amongst all its attendees.

Our prestigious campaign grossed a lot of earned media, with Variety and Collider amongst the many prestigious publishers who highlighted the in-world experience.

Media