Hollywood Went on Strike. But at Agencies, the Show Must Go On—and Evolve

The world of TV marketing is going through some striking changes. For years, advertisers have had celebrity talent as a backup plan for TV marketing campaigns, with press tours and public appearances being the secret sauce for successful rollouts. However, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes over the summer brought much of the entertainment industry and its marketing production schedules to a halt, also taking away that secret ingredient since actors and writers weren't allowed to promote their work. (The writers strike ended Sept. 27, and the SAG strike was ongoing as of publication time.) With that, the backup plan needed a backup plan. And though many scripted programs were pushed into 2024 or beyond, the projects that stuck around required different tactics, including influencers, brand partnerships and stunts, which could leave a lasting impact on how shows are promoted in the future. Strikes. Streaming. Social. Is the Fall TV Season Relevant Anymore? "It's really about making noise. You need to get as many eyeballs on the launch window for the show or movie as possible," said Marc Simons, co-founder of Giant Spoon, which has been behind massive activations for Netflix's Stranger Things and HBO's Game of Thrones. "They know they need to do different things to stand out when they can't use talent." That has meant nontraditional, "stuntier" things, Simons said. Or as Myles Worthington, CEO of Worthi—which has a half dozen streamers and studios on its client roster—puts it: His agency has had to “think differently” and be “a little scrappier” during the strikes. It’s really about making noise.Marc Simons, co-founder, Giant Spoon "We can't just rely on the tried-and-true tactics," Worthington said. "We have to innovate a bit." Some of that innovation came into play with the Onyx Collective docuseries Drive With Swizz Beatz. Worthi leaned into third-party influencer and brand marketing strategies to take advantage of huge audiences without using talent associated with the project. According to Worthington, influencer marketing is set to be an even bigger part of the industry moving forward. "It's only gonna get bigger and stronger," Worthington said. "Probably the same way with SAG and the WGA. They'll have their own union at some point when it becomes more of a default." Wading into the talent pool And, of course, when talent is available, the projects need to be handled with even more care. After all, shows that were even perceived to be crossing the picket line, such as Drew Barrymore’s talk show—which was briefly set to return without writers—received strong backlash. "I was like, 'Really? Even Drew's not safe? Dang,'" Worthington said, adding that it just comes down to having "human conversations" with the people you're working with, especially if talent is still somehow involved. "With every situation, even if they're in the clear legally, we have a conversation like, 'Hey, here are the risks involved. Do you feel comfortable?'" Worthington said. "What we don't want to do is put you out there, something happens and they're like, 'Oh, I regret this.'" Really? Even Drew's not safe?Myles Worthington, CEO, Worthi, on Drew Barrymore talk show backlash Worthi put that strategy into practice with Storm Reid, who—in addition to being a SAG actor—is a producer for the documentary Jazzy Jumpers, the story of the champion Brooklyn-based double Dutch team. In a producer capacity, Reid appeared at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival to promote the doc, participated in panels and pushed the project on social channels, all during the strikes. Her team was comfortable and confident with promoting it because of the importance of the work and the conversation it deserves, Worthington said. "She didn't receive any flak because she really shouldn't have." Changing the script According to Simons, the biggest change involves the types of project briefs coming across agency desks. “It’s certainly a different kind of show, a different kind of movie that we’re looking at right now,” Simons said. “There’s a lot more reality. There’s a lot more unscripted that we’re working on.” And the reduction in scripted entertainment projects is having an impact across the TV marketing landscape, which may continue even after the strikes as productions slowly return to work. “The initial reaction was definite fear," Howie Kleinberg, president of Glow, told Adweek. "Fear amongst our staff about job security, all that goes with that.” Kleinberg told Adweek that Glow, which has about 50 employees and works with clients such as The Roku Channel and Showtime, made a concerted effort to avoid layoffs despite less entertainment work. That included focusing on other client categories, as well as looking inward to work on its own social following and laying out 2024 planning months in advance. Overall, the strikes are "shifting what we can do," according to Kleinberg. His team found ways to ignite fan bases despite having no new material and used the strike to analyze how previous work could have been better so that "when this show does come back, we're better off," Kleinberg said. Mattel’s Barbie campaign went beyond celebrities, with stunts including a life-size dream house to promote the Barbie movie. It's a Barbie world For Simons, there's a "business as usual" mindset despite any disruption from the strikes. He points to the blockbuster Barbie campaign as an example of strike-related innovation. The movie utilized talent ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike; however, Mattel's Barbie campaign went well beyond celebrities, saturating the media landscape with more than 100 brand partnerships, including a viral Airbnb Malibu Dreamhouse by agency Verb. "It seemed like every day, there was a new outside-the-box idea they were putting out," Simons said. "That's certainly what we focus on." For TV marketing moving forward—regardless of work stoppages—talent alone isn't "Kenough." "The studios are seeing that's what they need to be doing," Simons said. "Hopefully, that kind of approach continues even afterward because I do think that's more impactful." This story is part of the “Building a Better Agency” special feature.

Business of Marketing

Hollywood Went on Strike. But at Agencies, the Show Must Go On—and Evolve

How TV marketing changed amid the entertainment work stoppages

Bill Bradley

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