Overview

The HBO original ten-episode first season of the science fiction western television series Westworld debuted on October 2, 2016, and concluded on December 4, 2016 (HBO, 2016). The initial title of the program was The Maze, and it presented a manufactured theme park where high-end guests may indulge in their most extreme fantasies regarding role-playing, including exploring the frontier and interacting with artificial robot hosts (Ryan, 2016). Westworld season one is based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 thriller movie about a theme park filled with intelligent humanoid robots gone awry (Holloway, 2016). A large ensemble cast, including Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Ed Harris, and Anthony Hopkins, is featured in the first season (Goldberg, 2014), which also contributes to its outstanding 94% average episode score ratings based on 384 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (2016). At the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, the show was nominated for seven awards, including Outstanding Drama Series (Framke, 2017). 

Furthermore, Westworld season one was praised not only for its superb production but also for its impressive experiential marketing campaign, which won Clio Entertainment Awards (Bhuvad, 2018) and the 9th Annual Shorty Awards. Developed from the tagline “Live without limits” (HBO, 2016), HBO utilized a well-planned and innovative marketing campaign to push outside the bounds of traditional campaigns and brought viewers further into the Westworld universe. The Westworld marketing campaign was built in-depth with virtual reality, interactive websites, and offline live performances to provide clues for fans to engage in the process of revealing the hidden content. The immersive and exclusive events blurred the boundaries between the story’s fantasy and the real world, bringing the Westworld to life for the viewers. 

360 Marketing Tactics

Content and Press: Websites

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire marketing campaign was created as if Westworld were a reality. Introducing the idea of Westworld as an exclusive real theme park, HBO released DiscoverWestworld.com, a microsite that mimics the website of any luxury resort (Holloway, 2016), including a booking system, an internal company network, and a few easter eggs. Banners and ad spots as the entrance to “theme park reservations” were placed on real-world websites such as Financial Times one month before the show’s debut (“The Vacation,” n.d.), targeting those who are presumed to be able to pay for Westworld theme park tickets——the 1% (Bhuvad, 2018). Print ads with theme park reservation invitations are released at the same time on Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, etc. (“The Vacation”, n.d.). To underline the opulence and exclusivity of the Westworld resort, subscribers must complete a personality test including uncomfortable questions and ethical paradoxes (“The Vacation,” n.d.). The robot host Aeden sent the assessments to the subscribers’ email inboxes, addressing them by name and directing them to land the website prior to the premiere (“Westworld’s Concierge,” n.d.), which efficiently piqued the public’s interest and remained mysterious. After the show’s debut, the website would publish new story-related content and evolve as the series proceeded. The process of uncovering stories from the multi-layered website may fascinate the audience and impulse a commitment to the show. Aside from DiscoverWestworld, HBO also created a company official website for the fictional technology firm Delos Destination that controlled the theme park business in the story: delosdestinations.com, which contains permanent content including worldwide theme park locations, investor groups, and career opportunities to serve for the company. Both websites are in partnership with Warner Media and Digital Kitchen, providing accessibility on different devices for the audience while watching Westworld. Although the highly interactive media experience mixed with a deep immersion into the narrative might hamper the audience’s capacity to remember details (Chen, & Yao, 2022), the website with maps and glitches, as well as the ongoing storyline, serve as another impressive dimension of the show. The audience’s commitment to the show was strengthened by the act of exploring additional content by their own willingness prior to its premiere. According to Cialdini, securing an initial commitment is critical in the realm of compliance. After a person has made a commitment, they are more likely to agree to requests that are consistent with the position they have taken. Best for altering one’s perception of oneself are commitments that are visible to others, require one’s participation, and are undertaken voluntarily (2021).
 

Content and Partnership: Chatbot

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To bring Westworld closer to the audience, the collaboration between HBO and +rehabstudio brought AI-powered Aeden to life as a learning chatbot on the microsite (“Westworld Chatbot”, n.d.). Aeden became a full-fledged character, able to react to over 10000 distinct queries, after being scripted with the series creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (“Westworld’s Concierge,” n.d.). Aeden wasn’t just a FAQ guide; it also contained important character information, plot hints, and hidden references throughout the story. As the season progressed, Aeden’s intelligence increased gradually and glitched when being asked about itself and its identity (“Westworld’s Concierge,” n.d.), indicating audience the awakening rebellion inside the robots. This experience would be unique and totally personalized according to the personality test done beforehand (“Westworld Chatbot”, n.d.). The scarcity principle states that scarce resources are valued more highly than abundant ones and content uniqueness plays an important role in this situation (Cialdini, 2021). Participated individuals passionately shared their interaction with Aeden on Reddit and press such as Insider, Entertainment Weekly, Business Insider, and Time reported this event in their publications (“The Vacation,” n.d.). In order to reach a wider audience, the creative chatbot was ported to the Google Home app after the show’s finale (Johnson, 2017) and remained activated until the next season. The chatbot was an interactive and user-friendly method of tracking fan reactions, theories, and questions (“Westworld’s Concierge,” n.d.), and it made clever use of AI to facilitate data collection without alienating its target audience. 

Social: VR-related Offline Event

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The marketing campaign's incorporation of technology is reminiscent of themes explored in the show Westworld. It has also become a crucial entry point for the audience to uncover the murky ethical issues the show discussed. Westworld raised the inevitable discussion around the moral complexities of virtual reality, where sexual violence and chaos can quickly escalate when responsibility is ignored (Constine, 2016). Just before the show’s premiere, HBO partnered with HTC Vive to present a booth at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco (Takahashi, 2016) and New York Comic Con (“The Vacation,” n.d.). The booth features the show's iconic emblem and a futuristic design; its attendants, who are always smiling, were dressed head to toe in white to emphasize their role as employees of the show's fictional firm. The reserved experience included picking guns and period clothing, shooting practice with a storyline, and a 360-degree demo video providing more details about the upcoming show (Durbin, 2016). According to Grudzewski et al., the use of VR has a favorable and beneficial effect on how the offer and the display of the promotional subject are received (2018). In this VR booth, each element echoed Westworld season one, and viewers who participated could feel much more immersed while watching the show. 

Consumer Products: Game and Headset

This demo VR experience extended to an online VR game Westworld Awakening established on Viveport, Oculus, and Steam three years later. The player assumes the role of a self-aware host, Kate, and follows the story from her perspective (Steam, 2019). The game was in the adventure, puzzle, and action genre, receiving mostly positive reviews (Steam, 2019). Kerrebroeck (2017) pointed out in his research that compared to a two-dimensional representation of a transformative marketing message, vividness in VR could positively stimulate influence on customers’ intent to make a purchase of the advertised product. The social interaction at HBO's Westworld VR event was excellent, but it was not inexpensive. A VR headset like the Vive may be purchased for a minimum of $799, which makes virtual reality one of the more difficult mediums to promote a TV show on (Holloway, 2016). The VR headgear may be more unique and appealing to royal fans as a spin-off consumer product, but the bold experiment in the VR booth set the tone for the audience's impression of the show and delivered a remarkable sneak peek.

Print/OOH

Westworld also used typical theatrical marketing strategies such as on-air, online, and out-of-home advertising (Holloway, 2016) to integrate into the real world and win additional recognition from the potential audience. The poster went on giant billboards and wallscapes in the city’s modern environment, displaying the remarkable Vitruvian android logo with the doubled “W” designed by BLT firm (BLT, n.d.). The cool color scheme combined with the western canyon backdrop conveyed a high-tech leisure vibe. 

Talent and Influencers

“In World” experience extended to Westworld social media accounts, where celebrities and talents were united and updated in this Westworld universe. Creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy prioritized digital storytelling in response to the show’s early success on social media platforms and evolved the experience alongside the show (Holloway, 2016). Involving the visual and sound materials, the HBO Westworld account made multiple Facebook Lives with members of the cast, crew, and producers of the show (“Facebook Live”, 2016). In one of the live sessions, the composer Ramin Djawadi has been invited to play the Westworld theme song as an intriguing reminder before the new episode’s release on the same night (“Ramin Djawadi”, 2016). The introduction linked to the soundtrack selection on Spotify, and the appealing rhythm elicited 1K comments regarding how people felt about this piece. This session had 7.4K likes and 124K views (“Ramin Djawadi”, 2016). On Twitter, @WestworldHBO has become the central platform for official updates, information, and fan creations (@WestworldHBO, 2016). @westworldhbo on Instagram was created later than the other two social media platforms but is more interactive in reposting fans' posts in their ins-stories and creating show-related hashtags (@westworldhbo, n.d.). The Westworld brand gained significant earned media value through maintaining the community relationship and feeding content on popular social media platforms. This series of social media actions could help people find their group and stimulate their desire for unity with other show fans. To have a sense of “we” (unity) with other people, it’s important for people to have commonalities in the identities they use to define themselves and their communities. However, by increasing the perceived importance of the show, concentrated and repeated attention in operating social media accounts may strengthen these connections and make them more resilient (Cialdini, 2021).

Partnership: Amusement Park Experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two years later after Westworld season one ended, HBO recreated the “Sweetwater town” from the show in a real-life ghost town in Austin (Robinson, 2018). Visitors and fans were able to engage with actors portraying artificially intelligent town residents. For SXSW’S “Live Without Limits Weekend,” a cast of 60 actors, 6 stunt people, 5 bands, and 6 horses were following a 444-page script while acting out complex plots and impromptu dialogues (Cantu, 2018). The Westworld version “Disneyland” experience recapped the audience with Westworld season one and got them excited for the upcoming season. 

Consumer Products: IP Merchandise

Westworld also teamed up with retail websites like Amazon (Amazon, n.d.), Hot Topic (Hot Topic, n.d.), and Zazzle (Zazzle, n.d.) to boost sales of its branded merchandise. Multiple components from the series have been used to create merchandise, including the Vitruvian android logo, the maze sign, and the android skeleton. 

Messaging

Tagline

The taglines for Season one of Westworld are rather compelling. “Life without limits” (DiscoverWestworld, n.d.) is the most frequently displayed throughout the marketing campaign, indicating the Westworld theme park is where you can do whatever you want and release your deepest desire. Meanwhile, it raised another question for the audience whether it’s truly unlimited in morals. Westworld uses the resort-style slogan “Where life begins.” (IMDB, n.d.) as an invitation for the audience to visit and “live a life” in the manufactured world. Posters with the slogan “Every hero has a code” (IMDB, n.d.) suggested the unpredictable identity that even the most human-like of characters might be robots. The main character Dolores hears this tagline many times throughout the series: “These violent delights have violent ends” (Alexander, 2016), which was a quote from Shakespeare and become a hint for the next season. Every tagline leaves the audience with a feeling of suspense and a reminder of the interwind relationship between humans and technology in this program. They are sometimes cast as Delos Destination promoter and other times as a philosopher who has spent years living in the theme park. The taglines enticed viewers to approach closer but also raised their concerns about if it was a considerate trap. 

Trailer Copy

The conflict themes are carried to another level in the story-based trailer. In the official trailer released on YouTube, HBO wrote “Some places make you feel alive, even if you're a prisoner” as the video description (2016). While the taglines emphasize freedom with endless possibilities and create the impression that a lavish pleasant experience awaits, this condensed trailer was much darker and more chaotic. Filled with questions unsolved, “Don’t forget they’re not real” and “No choice you ever made was your own” (“Official Trailer”, 2016) implied the tragic and mysterious fate of the characters. The trailer suggests the show to a more mature target audience and appeals to the suspense genre lovers. 

Headline Copy

The controversy over the sex scenes and violence in Westworld was in the headlines when the show's first teaser was released. In the early episodes, there was much concern about sexual violence against women as a plot element (Holloway, 2016). In an interview, producer Lisa Joy stated that the tragic events at the beginning of the episode serve to illustrate the dark side of human nature (Holloway, 2016). The headlines denounce the act with adjectives such as jarring, but as the show unfolded, the emphasis switched to technology and hints in the story. The dispute drew negative attention to the show, but Westworld’s fascinating stories stood on their own. 

Social Media Post

In the social media post, the immersive experience continues to blur the boundaries of storytelling and marketing. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are all used to keep up the series’ online profile. The interaction on Twitter is very active, with a lot of tweets and retweets, making users feel like they are part of something exciting and contributing to the brand’s success. According to the profile introductory paragraph, Westworld is“a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin” (WestworldHBO, 2016). Westworld maintains a consistent tone of suspense and thriller throughout most of its content to leave room for the viewer's own insights and hypotheses. Videos about Aeden's self-consciousness have been awakened, and a glitched version has been uploaded to provide extra easter eggs. These sites offer fans a venue they're already comfortable with while also providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact directly with the cast and creators of their favorite shows, so boosting the perceived worth of the brand and encouraging greater levels of fan interaction (Intel, n.d.). 

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Target Audience

The target demographic for the Westworld series consists of adults of varying ages (Morning Consult, 2018). It appeals to both the older generation, who has seen the original 1973 film, and the younger age, who is drawn to science fiction, action, wild west, and the future genres. According to the 2018 viewership survey in the United States, men are more interested in the Westworld series than women. 81% of female respondents said they had never watched an episode of Westworld (Ipsos, 2018). 18 to 34 years old are most enthusiastic about viewing every episode of Westworld (Ipsos, 2018). Although the show has racially diverse characters, 76% of viewers were white (USA Today, 2018). 

Key Competition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of the key competition, both The Walking Dead (season 7) and American Horror Story (season 6: Roanoke) belong to the horror and suspense genres, making them significant rivals in 2016 Q4. AMC's The Walking Dead also aired a Sunday episode with a close release date on October 23, 2016, with a large base of fans for the comic book series. Linda Schupack, The Walking Dead's executive vice president of marketing, said the show is marketed as a character drama (Bradley, 2016). Comic-Con International in San Diego and New York City was the first to show off the teaser trailers (Bradley, 2016). The Walking Dead remains the night’s most popular cable program despite a steady drop since the season debut. Meanwhile, Sunday's episode of Westworld saw its highest viewership in four weeks, with 1.75 million people tuning in and a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic (Porter, 2016).

 

American Horror Story by FX ended on November 16, 2016, just a few weeks after the premiere of Westworld in October. AHS also held a VR experience at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International, however, details about the story were kept under wraps. The marketing campaign of AHS is more actor-based, with a trailer featuring Lady Gaga’s new single “Perfect Illusion” (Bricker, 2016) and several interviews with the show’s cast. The discussion has centered on the characters played by Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe, as well as Lady Gaga’s recurrent role.

Performance of the Campaign

Metrics of Success

Under artificial intelligence and western themes, the Westworld series explores philosophical concepts. The unusual and unexpected storytelling marketing campaign provides the audience with the opportunity to become fully involved in the Westworld realm. More than one million interactions took place with chatbot Aeden on the Westworld microsite ("The Vacation," n.d.). The microsite had over one million visitors. 56 million views were recorded for the video content published across platforms. An estimated 11.7 million people tune in each week ("The Vacation," n.d.). With a total of 272,6 interactions, the season finale of Westworld was the most discussed episode of the show (Holloway, 2016). More than 4.5 million people watched the Facebook Lives, and the Twitter account earned over 131,000 new followers, according to data publicly released by the Shorty Awards (n.d.). From the statistics, Westworld season one is the most successful premiere of a new HBO series in the network's history. The marketing campaign actualized the explicit silhouette of Westworld and enhanced the audience's perception of this dystopia world in the show, in the meantime stimulating deeper thinking and conversation on social media.

Current Status of Westworld IP

The story of Westworld has not ended, and the show is still attempting to draw new audiences into the maze with a new story. Season four of Westworld premiered on HBO on June 26, 2022, and concluded on August 14, 2022, with eight episodes. Awakening feminine power is a major theme in the new season, which could draw in a new audience of female viewers. Season four’s marketing campaigns continue the idea of bringing Westworld into the real world, but the event size and cost were not as large as in previous seasons. Because some Westworld season four scenes were shot in New York, HBO collaborated with agencies Giant Spoon and Kilter Films to create pop-up stands with street artists and musicians to bring glitchy experiences to the city. The humanoids from the Westworld poster also walked down the street with New Yorkers, directing them to the Westworld coffee cart in several locations. Not only were the servers visually disturbing, but they also acted like malfunctioning AI, giving out limited free coffee and pretzels in special edition packaging with “Westworld Message”: “We are pleased you serve us” and IP-related stickers with logos as fans’ secret code. Under Cialdini’s observation, one must make some effort to return the favor of another (2021). The very act of giving away free coffee and stickers can help the recipients develop a sense of responsibility that will serve them well if they do become viewers in the future. The signature rhythm from season four was broadcast repeatedly throughout the High Line Park area, representing the movement order issued by the show's headquarters (Abery, 2022). 

People in the Westworld Reddit forum are complaining about the lack of marketing for season four compared to seasons one and two, indicating that their commitment and expectations have increased since season one. This pop-up event becomes the sole influential content on social media. Instagram creators and influencers were extremely enthusiastic about editing and sharing their Westworld New York experience. On TikTok, the #Westworld hashtag received a total of 134 million views. One post from HBO’s official TikTok account, titled “And the humans think it’s all about them,” received 70,600 likes and 1,100,000 views. As people anticipate the new season and are dissatisfied with the current marketing campaign, the first season becomes a timeless topic of conversation. On TikTok, there is a trend to cosplay characters from the first season of Westworld with the hashtag #westworldcosplay. Delores, the main female character, remains the most popular character to cover, with fans even recreating her iconic blue dress from her first appearance on the show. Westworld costumes of signature looks are sold on eBay, Walmart, and other major retail platforms to satisfy people’s desire to become members of the robot’s army during special events and to express their concerns regarding technology abuse.

The plot of the fourth season deviates from the original intent. According to data from TV Series Finale (2022), the fourth season of the series was viewed by an average of 350 thousand viewers. The first season of “Westworld” was the most popular, with an average of 1.82 viewers and a 0.80 rating among adults aged 18 to 49. The 18-49 rating for Season 4 was only 0.06, a clear decline from the previous seasons. Although season five has not yet been confirmed by HBO, creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy announced at New York Comic Con 2022 that it will be the final season (Todisco, 2022).  

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