Created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer, the same duo behind the Wire, HBO drama series Tremé follows the lives of New Orleans residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, highlighting the cultural nuances of Louisiana's biggest city. Ahead of the show's second season debut, HBO released the DVD of the first season heralded by a mobile promotion on Thursday, March 31, which sought to bring some of Tremé's southern spirit to the North East. That entailed handing out free specialty desserts from a custom food truck and bringing in a brass band, all sourced from the region.
To produce the publicity stunt, Sofia Chang, the network's senior vice president of consumer marketing, looked to Grand Central Marketing, which secured sweet treats, including pralines and fried pies, coordinated the permits for the truck, and used a street team to distribute promotional fliers.
Through the use of fliers and the Twitter hash tag #TreméTruck, the planning the production crew alerted the public to the truck's stops, including Bryant Park and Madison Square Park. To draw attention to the promotion's last location—Union Square's Best Buy store, where the show's cast members, including Oscar winner Melissa Leo and Wendell Pierce, autographed DVD copies—the organizers trotted out the band. Consisting of trumpeters, drummers, saxophonists, and more, the jazz-playing music group hails from Tremé, the New Orleans neighborhood from which the series takes its name.
HBO also plans to promote Tremé at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival later this month in time for the premiere of the show's second season.
