An Inside Look at ‘Veep’s’ Season 4 Social Strategy

By Adam Flomenbaum 

After ‘Veep‘s’ social team unleashed a fake smear campaign against Selina Meyer toward the end of Season 3, former LostRemote editor Jordan Chariton wrote: “‘Veep’s’ knack for merging its fictional political mischief onto the second screen, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, [is] making it one of social TV’s most active shows.”

Ahead of last Sunday night’s Season 4 premiere, the ‘Veep’ social team didn’t slow down. Social activations included partnerships with voice-over app Dubsmash, an #AskSelina Q&A, and a private DM group chat on Twitter.

Below, more details about ‘Veep’s’ pre-season social strategy:

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Dubsmash

  • To remind existing fans what they love about Veep, and introduce others to its biting humor, HBO partnered with the popular voice-over app Dubsmash to serve up more than 20 character soundbites from seasons past (featuring them in their own category in the app’s #1 spot).
  • We leaned into talent to introduce the new partnership, with Julia being the first to share her Veep inspired Dubsmash video on FacebookTwitterand instagram on Monday (followed with a second video on Tuesday). Tony and Reid also shared their own Dubsmash videos as well. Fans loved it and are saying they are eager to create their own Veep inspired Dubsmash videos.

#AskSelina

  • To allow fans to “get to know their president”, we parodied The White House’s #AskTheWH campaign with our #AskSelina Q&A.
  • From 1-3PM Et on Friday the 10th, we are responding to fan question in real time with previously selected video clips featuring what we perceived as appropriate Selina responses, as well as VETO and PARDON cards for those questions Selina wouldn’t likely be keen to answer.

The Great VEEP Debate

  • Inspired by “Would You Rather…” we have created “The Great Veep Date” currently running on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Cast members are offered various fun scenarios featuring characters from the show and they discuss and debate their response.

#PrivateVeepleChat

  • To reward Veep superfans, HBO partnered with Twitter on a first-of-its-kind expanded Twitter DM group chat (30 participants) with the Veep cast (including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Matt Walsh, Timothy Simons, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole and Sam Richardson). This took place on Tuesday, April 7.
  • In an attempt to take up less seats (therefore freeing up more for superfans and a few others who won a seat by answering questions, etc,), @VeepHBO answered questions on the behalf of talent, who was in the same room relaying answers as questions came through.
  • The chat was filled to capacity prior to start, with those confirmed eager to participate and others clamoring for a chance to get in. Fans were incredibly receptive to the Q&A and went as far as to say the Veep cast Q&A was a great use of the tool. They were also eager to screen shot the casts hilarious responses and share them on their own social profiles. At the end of the Q&A, fans shared their exclusive clip and images from their public-facing Twitter profiles.

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PopKey Launch (Thursday, April 9)

  • To elevate the physical comedy exemplified in Veep, HBO partnered with the beloved .gif dashboard app PopKey to offer users more than 70 response .gifs from seasons past (currently showcased in the “Veep” featured tab).
  • We’ll continue to add new .gifs throughout the season and encourage fans to visit the app for more.

 Season 4 Premiere Night (Sunday, April 12)

  • To create additional buzz surrounding the Veep Season 4 premiere, we invited members of the cast to live tweet the east coast     airing, promoting it with a special video piece we had created for digital, along with custom live-tweeting cards for talent to tweet out.

  • Volume of conversation on Twitter for the Season 4 Premiere of Veep was up 36% from the Season 3 premiere.

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