Pretty Little SnAps... "A" Stroke of TV Marketing Brilliance

I'm constantly telling people how on top of the digital marketing game one of my fave guilty please shows, Pretty Little Liars, is. (Okay, maybe it's not that much of a guilty pleasure... I mean, I have written on this topic once before.) With that, it's no shocker that the show that knows it's Gen X audience the best has hit the major TV milestone of 100 episodes.

To mark this occasion, the show teamed up with one of the many brands ready to market to its sought-after target audience — Audi — for a fun new promotion featuring PLL fan-favorite Ian Harding, who plays Ezra Fitzgerald (half of the much-loved TV couple "Ezria"). What's truly interesting about this promotion, however, is how it made use of Snapchat.

Begun as strictly a mobile app for sharing short videos or photo snippets with your cell contacts, Snapchat is evolving into much, much more. The developers are continuously rolling out new features for the app and often (mainly on holidays and to launch said roll-outs) send messages to all users. It hasn't taken long for marketers to realize the potential here: Snapchat can allow a brand to have a "private" conversation or highlight an exclusive event/new product/etc. with fans willing to add them as a Snap contact.

Have a seat. Get comfortable. @IANMHARDING is hosting #PLL100 tonight live on our Snapchat. Get ready. #PLLAudi pic.twitter.com/1Lfwot168J
— Audi (@Audi) July 8, 2014

Audi jumped on this as an early adopter in a big way — with TV's most social show — and it worked. I caught wind of the promo via Instagram (screenshot below from @prettylittleliars) and added the brand to see exactly how it would unfold. The results? Pretty creAtive indeed.



For even more fun from #PLL100, including a live chat with a returning cast member, check out the hashtag's Twitter feed. Then, comment with what brands you'd like to see on Snapchat!

Could "Friends" BE Any Greater?

Some ladies can even make a cemetery look good. Thanks for joining us CC!#GoOn twitter.com/MatthewPerry/s…
— matthew perry (@MatthewPerry) February 21, 2013

With the upcoming reunion of one of my favorite small screen couples on NBC's Go On this April, it only seems appropriate to take some time and honor what remains arguably one of the best sitcoms of all-time (definitely top 5). How? By reminiscing over my favorite episodes of the series. This was so hard — seriously — to choose, but I've narrowed my list down to 5 of what I feel make up the best showcase of its 10-season run... plus a few alternates.

• The One Where No One's Ready, Season 3
• My favorite episodes will always be those in which the cast in a room together for pretty much the whole show. This one sticks out in my mind for so many reasons, the best of which is the competition for a chair's "essence" between Chandler and Joey, resulting in Joey wearing all of Chandler's clothes while going commando. Also, Phoebe gets the hummus, Monica changes Richard's outgoing phone message and Ross almost drinks fat as the gang tries to get ready for a benefit.
• The One With the Embryos, Season 4
• Though this episode would be more aptly titled "TOW the Bet" or "TOW the Trivia Game," I love the way it counteracts the hilarity of the who-knows-who-better trivia game (between Chandler, Joey, Monica and Rachel) with Phoebe's journey to becoming a surrogat for her brother. The best of the trivia game's lil' ditties: Chandler's TV Guide comes addressed to "Miss Chanandler Bong" and Rachel makes up a job title — transponster.
• The One Where Ross Got High, Season 6
• Thanksgiving episodes are among the best of each season and are a must-re-watch for me every time the holiday is near. This one is my particular favorite thanks to the brilliant shout-out match of confessionals at its end (and Judy Gellar's fab reaction). Plus, who could forget Rachel's trifle? "Custard: Good. Jam: Good. Meat: Gooood."
• The One With the Videotape, Season 8
• There is not one bad thing I could ever say about this episode. Many feel the show began to dip as the seasons went on but, to me, the cast just got better and better. The way the two different story lines tie in is brilliant enough (the notion of being "fake numbered" versus the "who came onto who?" banter surrounding a videotape of the night Ross knocked up Rachel), add to that the formula of the entire ensemble in a room together, and... you've got TV gold.
• The One Where the Stripper Cries, Season 10
• Friends became infamous for its flashback episodes, especially if they included "chubby Monica," and this episode was the last time the creators ever took us back. Along with some amazing revelations about the characters' college years, we get the adorably clueless Joey competing on a game show and hilarious stripper antics at Phoebe's "elegant" bachelorette party, courtesy of Danny DeVito. 

I'd love to hear 'em so please share your favorite Friends moments in the comments. :)

[NOTE: Runners up include The One With the Cop, The One With the Nap Partners, The One Where They're Up All Night and The One Where Everybody Finds Out]

Need SMM Help? Ask a Liar.

TV's been turning to social media over the past few years as a way to help prove the worth of its shows since day-of ratings are becoming less of a "success" indicator. ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars is an excellent example of TV getting it right.

With more than 11.3 million fans total across the three main social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), PLL does a great job of not just honoring loyal viewers (through great UGC, such as fan art and fan reactions to "shocking" moments, and sneak peaks) but of creating useful content during the show. An example of during show content involves the show's stars holding "cue cards" that include special reactions to moments from the show or messages that hint at exclusive content, like live Twitter chats. Below is a small gallery of some of PLL's social wins (in my opinion).

Update: The season 3 finale of PLL was the first series to amass 1 million live, airtime tweets.

This is Country Music

If this summer's been good for nothing else, I can at least say that it was well spent dominating the country music scene in Chicago. How have I dominated it? Well, over the past month I've been to not one, not two, but three country concerts, and seen not one, not two, but five major country artists perform. For effect, I'm throwing in a hashtag here: #WINNING.

 

Though many openly admit their beef with country music and bash it at every chance they get (and the hipster seen in Chi-town would most likely scoff at my musical taste), I am going to throw one thing out there: If the only concert you ever see in your life is a country one, you've made a wonderful decision because without a doubt country artists put on great shows — after all, live music is what the genre's all about.

The two videos included with this post are from two of the aforementioned concerts. The first is Kip Moore at Joe's on Weed St. performing a cover of "Free Fallin'." The second is Dierks Bentley at Taste of Chicago performing his hit single "Am I The Only One?" with special Chicago lyrics he'd written on his tour bus. Yeehaw!

Ah... Geek Out!

Yes, the above photo has me totally geeking out. BSB, the obsession of my childhood and my absolute favorite band, is now following me on Twitter as of yesterday evening. Not to mention, they were named No. 1 on E!'s 15 Awesomest Boy Bands special (see below). Team Backstreet = Winning!

Falling in Love with Fiction

Now that Hollywood has gone ahead and created an entire movie based on falling in love with a fictional character, I feel compelled to share — like the that dork I am — the characters who have stolen my heart forever (and warped my view of what a man should act like when it comes to romance). In no particular order, I present the most lovely men of fiction:

Ben Covington, TV's Felicity —
I'm not even sure where to start with the beloved-by-every-fan-of-the-show Ben, but from this character's ability to fulfill every girl's fantasy ever (i.e., winning the man of your dreams) to his adorable sincerity and inability to speak above a whisper, there's nothing about this man that isn't lovable. He relieves stress through sport (basketball, swimming and track), fights relentlessly for what he wants, ends up pre-med, and is unbelievably dreamy... I mean, look at that face.

Jack Dawson, Titanic —
Of all the great qualities that Jack has, his two best are as follows: he's adventurous and he's from Wisconsin. For one, I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan and while the NFL did not exist in 1912, I like to think Jack is too. Jack's adventurousness helped to broaden Rose's horizons and open her up to new possibilities. She felt trapped, he helped her (thus saving her life). Basically, he's exactly the man you want to be by your side forever, keeping you young and loving life. "To making it count!"

Chandler Bing, TV's Friends —
Chandler Bing is hilarious. Chandler Bing is probably one of the best husbands to grace the small screen. The way he and Monica fell in love is adorable. The way he proposed is adorable. The way he always cuts himself down or is the brunt of gay jokes is adorable. Despite being the character most made fun of for his inability to attract women, he's somehow the most appealing (don't get me wrong, there are major awesome qualities to Joey and Ross as well).

Tom Hansen, (500) Days of Summer —
Tom Hansen is, realistically, the one man on this list that things would most likely not work out with were we to date in real life (should he actually be real). I say this because I feel as though our relationship would end up like his with Summer. In most relationships, I am Summer, which would not fair well for Tom. That aside, he is like my hipster dream boy. He even made this list over Seth Cohen, who was my obsession for four straight years. He beats Seth for two reasons: His eyes don't wander and he's an architect who used to write greeting cards for a living.

Harry Potter, book series —
Harry Potter is, like, the ULTIMATE guy. I realize it's totally cliche of me to pine for the title character of a book series but let's just consider the facts... Harry Potter is brave. Harry Potter is unfailingly kind and completely selfless. Harry Potter has lost everything, yet remains insanely positive. Harry Potter is a great friend. Harry Potter defeats the most terrifying man ever invented. Harry Potter is magical. I could go on, but I think I've made my point.

Runners Up: Seth Cohen (TV's The O.C.), Noah Calhoun (The Notebook), Marshall Eriksen (TV's How I Met Your Mother), Angel (TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Aladdin (Disney), George Banks (It's a Wonderful Life), Scott Wormer (Now & Then), Zack Morris (TV's Saved by the Bell)

PR Word of the Day: One-Sheet

One-Sheet (n.): A single document that summarizes a product for publicity and/or sales. Used most often in the entertainment industry.

What spurred my sudden interest in one-sheets might you ask? Well, Harry Potter of course (because let's face it, I'm such a nerd that if there's a Harry Potter article floating around the Internet, I will read it). To the right is the just-released official one-sheet for the final installment of the Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2. Chilling, no?

For other Deathly Hallows promotional posters click HERE.