Background & Context

Our creative ambition was to drive an iron-clad association between GOT and where it filmed, thus establishing NI as ‘Game of Thrones Territory’.

Whilst this paper touches upon the ‘GOT Territory’ story arc from 2016 onwards, the focus is on its concluding act in 2019 (Cannes Creative Lion, 2020), and on the campaign’s legacy (which also reflects Cannes Creative Lions in 2017)(15).

We had to establish NI as ‘GOT Territory’ whilst simultaneously respecting HBO’s IP; so without talent, props or footage. Our solution was to create new GOT fan experiences which captured the action of each new episode, whilst integrating the cultural codes of GOT with those of NI. Telling the stories of GOT through NI’s ancient crafts (woodcarving, textiles, glassmaking) which integrated perfectly with GOT’s medieval codes.

Act 1: Doors of Thrones

2016: Woodcarvers created ‘Doors of Thrones’, a trail of intricately carved wooden doors depicting epic show scenes. The doors linked 10 pubs based near filming locations. 126m people engaged with the campaign, delivering £17.5m in earned media(16).

Act 2: The mighty tapestry

2017: Textile artists created the ‘Game of Thrones Tapestry’, a 90m masterpiece immortalising key scenes. In the Ulster Museum, it attracted 200,000 visitors;

in 2019, when displayed near France’s legendary Bayeux Tapestry it attracted another 41,000 people. 70m people engaged, delivering £20.7m in earned media(17).

The final bow

In 2019, GOT was wrapping up. We needed a final act to ensure its NI legacy would endure. For Acts 1 and 2, TI and the agency were confidentially briefed by HBO on the action that would unfold in the forthcoming episode, giving the TI team precious days to craft the new immersive experience. With approval from GOT writers, this creation (a door or tapestry section) would be made, then unveiled just hours before the episode aired in GMT. Fans' reactions would be posted after the episode dropped. The real-timeness of these acts generated a huge amount of fan wonder.

Act 3, needed to offer something different, triggering a fresh wave of awe.

Act 3: ‘Glass of Thrones’

Instead of capturing the action as it unfolded, we’d capture the most talked about moments from the series - after all people enjoyed talking about GOT almost as much as they relished watching it. So six beautifully crafted, NI stained-glass windows were installed to create a pilgrimage across Belfast (appendix 1); one for each of the four Houses and also one for the White Walkers and the Iron Throne. Each window depicted a high-point from the saga based on the world’s most searched, shared and talked-about GOT comments, determined by nearly a decade’s worth of fan search data(18).

Execution

The ‘window reveals’ had to build anticipation throughout the final season. From April - May 2019 one was unveiled hours before each episode aired, and posted online after it did, as well as films of fans' reactions to the window. Forevermore, fans could relive GOT right where their heroes’ fates were sealed.