An inside look at A&E’s social TV strategy for ‘Duck Dynasty’

By Natan Edelsburg 

In honor of the new season of A&E’s Duck Dynasty, the network has pulled out all the stops for a social TV strategy that extends beyond digital. The show, about a unique Louisiana family that owns a “sporting empire by fabricating top-of-the-line duck calls and decoys out of salvaged swamp wood.” To translate the lifestyle that the family, the Robertsons, live A&E using Google+, limo rides and more to prepare for the premiere tomorrow at 10/9 Central.

In honor of the premier, A&E has become the latest network to leverage a Google+ Hangout with the entire cast. Select fans were chosen to “hang out” with the cast. They’ve also launched JoinTheDynasty.com a social TV site that allows fans to “tweet using a combination of text, photos and/or video explaining why they deserve to be an honorary member of the family.” When the competition ends on October 17th, “the winner will be flown to Monroe, Louisiana for the ultimate Robertson-for-a-day experience.” Hilariously, they’ve also launched a “virtual duck call” game that requires tweeting #Duck, every time a fan sees an A&E account tweeting #Quack. The bet tweets will even be used on air.

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To bring the campaign offline the network is ” wrapping a bunch of limos in camouflage (the fanciest of prints) and giving people free rides around NYC” tomorrow in honor of premiere day. Lost Remote’s NYC staff will be participating in the “duck”-ed out ride to work! We interviewed Guy Slattery, EVP of Marketing for A&E Network about their social TV strategy.

Lost Remote: How are you launching the new season of Duck Dynasty? 
Guy Slattery: We’re leaving no social stone unturned! This season it’s all about connecting the Robertson family with their fans. We’re launching our first-ever Google + Hangout on Wednesday October 3rd at 8/7C. Six fans of the show will have the opportunity to “hangout” with the Robertson’s, but we’re also opening the web chat to our Facebook and Twitter fans. In addition, Willie, Jase, Si, and Phil will be officially announcing their “Join the Dynasty” contest where one lucky fan can win a chance to become an honorary member of the Roberson family for a day.

The “Join the Dynasty” campaign can be found at RobertsonDynasty.com and is the ultimate fan engagement. From now until October 17th, fans can tweet using a combination of text, photos and/or video explaining why they deserve to be an honorary member of the family, using the hash tag #JointheDynasty.

But, let’s be honest. You can’t join the Dynasty without a beard…so, fans can celebrate the return of their favorite family by using the “Beard Yourself” app on Facebook.

Last but not least, we’re gamefying Twitter. Starting on Sunday, October 7th, a virtual duck call will be launched where multiple Twitter accounts associated with the series (both the Robertson’s personal handles and @DuckDynastyAE) will tweet #Quack at various times of the day. The first fan to respond using #Duck will win a $100 gift card and a custom Chia Willie Pet. The game will continue into the first three weeks of premieres on October 10th, 17thand 24th, where the hashtag will also appear on-air along with a flying duck graphic.

LR: What’s the social TV strategy?
Slattery: Each campaign will get full on-air support with custom spots and in-show snipes. But, we’re really excited about our customized mallard graphic that will fly on screen and get fans quacking on Twitter. Tweeting….Quacking. Same thing, right?

LR: What partners are you working with?
Slattery: We’re working with Insomnia TV for our Google+ hangout, RGA on our Join the Dynasty campaign and Virtual Duck Call, and Glow on the Beard Yourself app.

LR: Anything else?
Slattery: #Quack

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