Objective

The witty dramedy series “How To Die Alone” follows Mel (Natasha Rothwell), a broke, fat, Black JFK airport employee who’s never been in love and forgotten how to dream, until an accidental brush with death catapults her on a journey to finally take flight and start living by any means necessary.

We live in a highly individualistic society, but as “How to Die Alone” suggests, there is a significant difference between being alone and loneliness. As Mel struggles, with startling honesty, to reimagine her life, she wrestles with the role she’s had in stifling her future. After all, you can’t expect to lean on anyone else if you can’t depend on yourself. 

Ahead of the series premiere, Onyx Collective aimed to create a memorable 360 marketing campaign that resonated with viewers through its relatable themes, ultimately exciting and driving audiences to tune in to “How to Die Alone” on Hulu.

Strategy

In promoting “How To Die Alone,” Onyx Collective tapped into Mel’s character journey and the show’s many relatable themes to connect with the target audience. These ideas included: the fear of loneliness and isolation, the desire for (and struggle to create) meaningful human connection, self-sabotage, introspection, and self-improvement.

Key elements of the 360 campaign included:

• The cinematic and hilarious “Boss” trailer: Audiences were excited to learn that Natasha Rockwell (most notably of “Insecure” and “The White Lotus” fame) now has her very own show, in which she serves as creator and star.
   
• A colorful, dynamic social media campaign with copywriting, community management, influencer management, social creative, and talent concepts all designed to be reactive and draw viewers to a hilarious new series. The social campaign included 137 pieces of content. Examples of the buzz-worthy videos include “meet the character” supercuts, baggage claim character intros, a “guess the airport code” game with cast, and a “Let’s Unpack That” interview series between Natasha Rockwell and celebrity friends. There was also a notable influencer partnership campaign that featured 13 different creators.
   
• A very special sweepstakes: The Onyx Collective social team surprised a lucky fan, Lauren Harris, who had never flown before, with a ticket to NYC. There she attended a very special “How to Die Alone” tastemaker screening and got to meet Natasha Rockwell.
   
• A premiere tastemaker and press event with a VIP airport lounge theme. The event included signature cocktails, first-class in-flight snacks, karaoke, photo ops, and an early screening of the “How To Die Alone” premiere.

Results

To date, the “How To Die Alone” “Boss” trailer has 8 million+ views on YouTube.

The social media campaign and accompanying influencer partnership campaign seeded millions of engagements and impressions.

Media