Case Study: The Terror
Launching multiple seasons of the horror-themed anthology series from Ridley Scott across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
George Takei in The Terror: Infamy
Objective
AMC Global acquired the exclusive rights to premiere multiple seasons of The Terror, an anthology series telling a different supernatural horror story each season. Season one was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Dan Simmons about the ill-fated nineteenth-century voyage to locate the North West Passage. The star-studded cast included Jared Harris (Chernobyl), Ciarán Hinds (Rome) and Tobias Menzies (The Crown). Season two tackled the little-known history of the Japanese-American internment camps during World War II and starred George Takei (Star Trek) who also served as a consultant. Executive-produced by the acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott (Gladiator), the series premiered on AMC across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Tactics
Multi-faceted global PR campaigns were developed to support the exclusive launches of the series on AMC. The campaigns included media and industry screenings, Q&A sessions with cast members and telephone interviews with journalists across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Central to the strategy for season one was a series of press junkets and launch events in Europe, attended by key cast and members of the production. For season two, a press junket and marketing activities attended by all leading cast members were staged in Los Angeles alongside similar events in Mexico City and with the leading Latin American cast member. Journalists from around the world were also invited to the sets to observe filming and interview cast and members of the production team.
Results
Season one of The Terror won Series Launch of the Year at the prestigious Content Innovation Awards and received widespread acclaim from critics. El Pais in Spain declared it “a splendid series” and the UK’s SFX Magazine praised its “ten hours of spine-chilling tension.” Season two was also a hit with reviewers. South Africa’s City Press called it “riveting viewing” and The Guardian in the UK wondered if it could be “the most chilling TV show yet?”