The Basics: The media and entertainment conglomerate encompasses a portfolio of iconic brands, including Turner Broadcasting, HBO, Cinemax, Warner Bros. (which includes DC Comics and New Line Cinema), and the HBO Max streaming service, which launched in May 2020. And while WarnerMedia’s individual brands, such as HBO, have always hosted over-the-top entertainment events, 2020 forced the corporation to rethink its entire event marketing strategy, which included forming a dedicated virtual event task force. The result: impressive premiere events that were specifically designed for a digital audience. At the start of the pandemic, the WarnerMedia team reached out to Jay Rinsky, founder of creative and digital studio Little Cinema, to build a private, secure platform to support HD streaming from the ground up, which was key to hosting a slew of virtual screenings and after-parties.
Steal-Worthy Ideas: WarnerMedia quickly pivoted to creating immersive virtual experiences inspired by the new content, usually with dedicated microsites where live events were presented, allowing attendees to navigate and explore while engaging with talent, performers, and fellow guests. “We wanted to find a way to bring our industry together during a time when we are all supposed to stay apart. We wanted to try to do this and still capture the excitement and buzz that we’d normally receive from talent walking the carpet at a typical premiere and celebrate our new series and talent,” Eileen Quast, vice president of events for WarnerMedia Entertainment, told BizBash back in May 2020. “We asked ourselves ‘How to achieve these goals using the internet?’”
For example, to promote HBO Max's new underground ballroom dance competition series, Legendary, guests entered a virtual space featuring breakout rooms dubbed “houses” in the spirit of dance culture. During a live voguing competition, at-home attendees could show off their moves, while fellow attendees voted on their skills.
Love Life attendees received a delivery that included a meal from restaurants in either New York or Los Angeles, a bottle of wine, and a make-your-own Manhattan cocktail kit—plus branded wine glasses, candles, a themed game, and even a hand-held microphone to use during the after-party's livestreamed karaoke.Photo: Yannick Delva
HBO created a drive-in event for the finale of original series Lovecraft Country. Held at the Paramount Drive-In near Los Angeles, the immersive gathering nodded to the show's 1950s time period and travel aspect. Highlights included era-specific billboards for fictional businesses featured in the show, plus masked actors and plenty of props. The event was the culmination of several local drive-in events around the country, which screened various episodes in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Newark, N.J.Photo: Courtesy of HBO
What’s Next: In early December, Warner Bros. announced it will release all its 2021 movies on the HBO Max streaming platform the same day they're released in theaters; usually movies run in theaters for 75 days before they can debut on streaming services. While it’s unclear what the groundbreaking move will mean for the industry, it might signal a future where movie-going experiences are treated more like events, with more significance and grandeur.
In early September 2020, HBO premiered Lovecraft Country: Sanctum, a series of futuristic, virtual-reality events that transported guests into a digital world inspired by the series.Photo: Courtesy of HBO
