HBO Max had a new flagship show that provided the perfect escapism for a world in lockdown. It had exotic locations, vicarious travel, and a little murder mystery. They wanted to get the show seen by the right people - people they could evangelize to spread news of the show on a more personal level.

The Flight Attendant Experience turns the tables on what we’ve come to expect from Covid-inspired virtual experiences. And just like the series, nothing is what it seems.

It begins as a virtual COFFEE-OLOGY COURSE where targeted press and influencers are sent a kit and invited to learn how to make three caffeinated concoctions inspired by locations from the series.

Using social data about the guests, many interactive moments are created, like when the host reads people’s coffee cup foam and knows way too much about them.

Somewhere in the middle of the third drink, THE HOST IS MURDERED!

Now the Intruder uses information to hunt the rest of the participants, reading people’s addresses aloud. SUDDENLY, some PARTICIPANTS ARE TAKEN TOO. As chaos reigns, the ruse is revealed with a personal message from series star KALEY CUOCO, accompanied by a VIRTUAL WORLD PREMIERE of the first episode.

For maximum reach, the experience targeted press, influencers, and superfans. Each participant was chosen based on relevant publications they wrote for, their media reach, and what they had covered in the past.

In the case of Influencers and Superfans, we used social listening tools to identify chatter about the show and about Kaley Cuoco, the series star and producer.

Once we had our master list, we reached out to everyone with personal invites and structured each performance around key attendees. We also used our research to make the experience incredibly personalized and interactive.

The experience targeted press, influencers, and superfans. Each participant was chosen based on relevant publication, their media reach, and in the case of Superfans, how active their audience were in relation to chatter about The Flight Attendant and Kaley Cuoco.

The experience was presented as a first-class, Zoom-like Coffeeology course that would teach participants how to make three international coffees from locations featured in the series.

Three fun and unique coffee recipes were researched, ingredients were sourced, and kits were sent to all participants.

The experience was approximately 90 minutes long and followed a script that was being directed in real-time by a director behind the scenes. Research of key participants' social accounts allowed for some “spooky” interactions as the coffeeology host read coffee cups and knew far too much about the hosts at a glance.

THEN in the middle of making the third drink - AND -- while everyone is utterly jacked on caffeine… An INTRUDER steps in and MURDERS THE HOST!

While the audience is experiencing a palpable “WHAT THE HELL?” moment, the intruder grabs the host computer to find information. SUDDENLY, we’re in the WORLD OF THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT. They find files about guests, reveal personal information (about pets and addresses), and then order people (via an ear piece) to TAKE THEM ALL.

SUDDENLY, some participants (actors) are also TAKEN LIVE ON CAMERA. WHAT?!

In the chaos, other REAL PARTICIPANTS hear LOUD KNOCKS on their doors. Pandemonium ensues. They open the door to find IN-Flight gift bags. Then everyone receives a personal message from Kaley Cuoco and an instant invite to a VIRTUAL WORLD PREMIERE of the FIRST EPISODE.

The experience left a pretty major impression on PRESS and INFLUENCERS alike, and they shared news of the event well beyond the borders of the marketing budget.

The response from the experience was impressive. Most (70%) of the press sector participants wrote articles within a day of the experience. Most participants posted films, shared photos, and extolled the virtues of HBO Max’s new series on their respective platforms. Some influencers even did LIVE broadcasts from the experience, expanding the experience reach even further.

The experience was recognized in publications as one of the most innovative responses to lock-down marketing produced within that challenging time.

HBO Max couldn’t provide access to the data about impressions directly correlating to the experience, but it was the most successful premiere of any original HBO Max series. AND The Flight Attendant became HBO Max’s #1 ranked series overall.