by Thinus Ferreira
For the second season of HBO's House of the Dragon fantasy drama series seen in South Africa, M-Net and MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax did an absolutely amazing physical press drop, delivered by courier, to selected media.
Here is this press drop's behind-the-scenes origin story.
Selected media, journalists and some influencers were hugely surprised - with jaws literally dropping - when a big box arrived by courier to coincide with the debut of the second season of HBO's House of the Dragon fantasy drama series on M-Net (DStv 101) and MultiChoice's streamer Showmax.
When the box was opened that the courier delivered, it revealed a glossy black-and-green wraparound with the two differentiated dragon crests and a beautiful "All Must Choose" card.
This was already extremely creative, beautifully done, and by far one of the best press drops media in South Africa had received in many years.
The inside of the press drop box was even more astounding: A green and black chess set, with the chess pieces in a beautiful velvet bag, and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label premium scotch whisky, and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green Label whisky.
If there are awards for PR and marketing press drops, this M-Net and Showmax boxed spectacular and its entire creative conceptualisation and execution truly deserve to win best-in-show for 2024.
Who exactly dreamed this up, went sourcing for green chess pieces, and thought of pairing black and green bottles of Johnnie Walker whisky for winter, all wrapped inside packaging that instantly communicates that a TV show is special, premium and high-quality content?
TVwithThinus went in search of answers about this very unique and completely unrivalled House of the Dragon press drop that was a collaboration between the M-Net and Showmax teams, with Nadine Moonsamy and Kevin Kriedemann as the PR leads for each brand.
"It was conceptualised and designed in the Showmax Creative Studio, briefed in by the M-Net and Showmax PR Teams," Tracy Kirschner, specialist: creative and marketing for Showmax Creative Studio, tells me.
The individual creative team members responsible for the idea and design are Phathu Netshivhungululu (creative and design concept), Tracy-Lynn Kirschner (creative and copy concept), Hendrik Schonken (creative concept), Karabo Makenna (creative concept and design manager), Robbie Makwakwa (packaging design) and Colin Makhubela (creative director).
Also from the Showmax PR team,
Stacey Venter was very involved in this campaign.
Once the House of the Dragon press drop was conceptualised and
designed, it was then outsourced to a packaging and promotions company to bring it to life.
"House of the Dragon is a global phenomenon, and we wanted our South African media
partners to participate in the fun and excitement surrounding season 2 of the
title," Nadine Moonsamy explains.
"The second season's narrative focuses
on the conflict between two factions, captured by the theme 'All Must Choose' and is symbolised by the colours black and green. This guided the creative
direction, ensuring an authentic representation of House of the Dragon
while also integrating both the M-Net and Showmax brands," she says.
Tracy Kirschner explains that "Our task was to conceptualise
and design a stand-out media drop that built anticipation around House of the
Dragon season 2 - the next chapter in the HBO epic which would be landing on
Showmax and M-Net on 17 June. The idea had to centre around the HBO global
marketing theme of Choose your side".
"In House of the Dragon season 2, House
Targaryen is divided over who is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. This has
caused the great family to split into two factions: The Green Council, led by
the Queen Dowager Alicent Hightower, and The Black Council, led by Queen
Rhaenyra Targaryen."
"As the power struggle intensifies, the realm - and our
audience - must choose a side. To illustrate this key theme and
series narrative, we came up with a press drop concept in which every element - from the packaging to the items inside - highlights the Team Green versus Team Black
conflict and encourages the recipient to engage with the idea of choosing a
side."
"We also wanted to ensure that everything still felt tonally and visually
aligned with the world of House of the Dragon, which also influenced our
creative choices."
The box design
Tracy Kirschner says the team divided the packaging design
in half: one half designed in green - and featuring a green and gold version of
the Targaryen sigil - and the other in black - featuring a black and red sigil
"The box was specifically created to open right through the middle - literally
splitting the House Targaryen in two and emphasising the dramatic division
between the two factions."
"From a logistics perspective,
the box also needed to be cleverly designed to house both the chessboard and
whiskies - so we made two compartments: the top layer could be removed to reveal
a second gift underneath."
The chessboard
Since House of the Dragon's second season is all
about political strategy, rivalry, war games and the power struggle within a
royal family "What better way to illustrate this than through the game of
chess?" Tracy Kirschner says.
"We thus designed a bespoke Green
vs Black chessboard, representing the two Councils."
"An extra layer of symbolism
connected to the chessboard idea revolves around The Queen piece. In chess, The
Queen is the most powerful piece, with the most dynamic moves. House of the
Dragon S2 is about two Queens - Alicent and Rhaenyra: two politically
strategic, strong female leaders on opposing sides who are vying for power."
"What we liked about the
chessboard concept was that, not only was it a premium gift, but it was
interactive and had longevity."
"Recipients could literally engage with the 'Choose your side' theme by picking whether to play with the Green or Black
pieces. The chessboard would ideally be displayed somewhere in a house or
office - acting as a long-term visual reminder of the show to the recipient as
well as their friends, family and colleagues."
The Whisky
With the landscape of House of the
Dragon (just like Game of Thrones) being a fairly dark, moody, wintery and
medieval-inspired place, as an alcoholic drink of choice, whisky fits perfectly
into this world, Tracy Kirschner says.
"But beyond simply gifting the recipient with a premium whisky,
we wanted to add a conceptual layer."
"We therefore decided on two bottles: a
Johnnie Walker Black Label and a Johnnie Walker Green Label. Again, this meant
the recipient would have to 'choose a side' every time they chose which bottle
to enjoy."
"Overall, our intention was to
create a press drop that really stood out and caught the recipient's attention."
"We needed a piece that would clearly bring across the message of 'Choosing a
side' - choosing between the Green or Black Council in the series, and also
choosing whether to watch on M-Net or Showmax."
"We wanted to deliver something
beautifully-crafted and conceptual that created talkability, encouraged social
sharing and was as intriguing and epic as the show itself."
Nadine Moonsamy says the press drop was executed by
a local agency, Chilli Engine, who ensured that the sourcing and delivery
process was seamless.
