Max combined content from HBO Max and Discovery+ into one unified streaming home. With iconic series, hit movies, fresh originals, family favorites, and live sports, the platform promised to have every type of content and appeal to every type of viewer. To support the brand’s launch campaign, we were tasked with activating influencers/creators from all corners of the Internet to highlight the breadth and depth of the platform, and reinforce its value proposition: Max is the one to watch for every version of you.
To measure campaign success, we were given a specific set of KPIs to deliver on:
Generate a range of 33-66M actual content views
Maintain a minimum in-feed engagement rate of 3%
Max’s biggest advantage doubled as our biggest challenge. With so much content, so much choice, so much variety, we needed to create a cohesive campaign that resonated with entertainment fans from all walks of life. Twelve target cohorts were defined by the brand, each corresponding to a different facet of the platform, from horror to home decor. Applying a generic influencer approach across all of these audiences would have diluted our message, so we threw out the playbook and created a one-of-a-kind campaign framework.
While our end goal was to generate broad, widespread awareness, we took an extremely targeted path to get there. Hyper-personalized influencer strategies were developed for each of our audience segments, which allowed us to tailor our messaging across a range of interests and fandoms.
Here’s how we did it:
Max is for everyone - but not everyone experiences it the same way. What resonates with casual streamers might be kryptonite to DCU superfans. What’s sweet to foodies might be sour to cinephiles. There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for the world’s most dynamic streaming app. To speak to these distinct needs, we stratified our influencer approach into three Creator Clusters: World Builders (Visual Creatives, TV + Movie Creators, Comedy + Humor), Cultural Connectors (TikTok Stars, Lifestyle, Pop Culture, Multicultural, LGBTQ+) and Movers & Makers (Niche, Sci-Fi, Cooking & DIY, Sports, Kids + Family). Each Creator Cluster strategically aligned with key Max audience segments, allowing us to reach every “world” within the platform. Together, our Clusters covered the entire Max content spectrum, from comic fans to home cooks.
Three different creative briefs were prepared for these three different Creator Clusters, leaning into the strengths and sensibilities of each segment. While the asks varied from creator to creator, all content was required to celebrate the breadth and depth of the Max catalog. Influencers were challenged to incorporate multiple titles within their videos, which led to highly entertaining and unexpected crossovers. Throughout the campaign, creators showed us that Max is a place where macho sports fans can unwind with a juicy TLC reality show, and where HGTV lovers can get lost in paranormal mysteries. It’s a place where worlds collide.
From a process standpoint, we needed to develop an efficient workflow to coordinate and approve over 150 pieces of content. Dealing with thousands of IP titles, we knew that some legal hurdles were inevitable. Anticipating that this could be an issue, we proactively addressed it by giving ourselves a safety net in terms of timing, allowing for an extended content draft and video review period. Our creators adhered to the strict timelines we established, which laid the groundwork for a successful launch.
The campaign began in lockstep with Max’s launch day on May 23, and continued rolling out in the days following to sustain the conversation. This allowed us to create a huge impact on launch day, while also maintaining momentum as more and more users adopted the platform.
In total, we partnered with 59 creators who posted over 180 pieces of content that reached over 10.8M people. Creator videos were viewed over 110M times (2X our goal) and in-feed content averaged a 9.6% engagement rate (over 3X our goal). One of our creator’s videos organically amassed over 40M views in just two days while another creator’s video resonated so well with her audience that her engagement rate was almost 30%. Plus, over 70% of HBO Max subscribers migrated to Max in its first week.
