Celebrating the return of The Sex Lives of College Girls for Season 2, HBO Max recreated a show-themed College Homecoming and exclusive premiere experience in Los Angeles. The ultimate goal of the campaign was to build excitement for season 2 of HBO Max’s hit comedy series Sex Lives of College Girls - a half-hour sex-positive comedy about four relatable, diverse young women who form a bond as they explore their newfound freedom in college. Through an interactive activation, our goals were to highlight the authenticity and relatability of the series, engage existing audiences while recruiting new ones, curate conversations around the series, lean into the pedigree of HBO Max and Mindy Kaling, and highlight and harness the multidimensional talent featured.

We wanted to build an activation based on the relatability of the show while pulling on the strings of nostalgia that is our college days.

Every fall semester university campuses and stadiums come alive for moments dedicated to school pride AKA tailgate season. From tent-hopping with friends to toasting to the school year, tailgate season celebrates students who know what it means to work hard and play harder.

To kick off Season 2 of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the execution brought Essex College alive by pulling cues from nostalgic elements of college life (through a tailgate) while leaning into the relatable experiences that represent the show, its themes, and its layered characters.

To generate buzz and drive tune-in, HBO created a multi-touchpoint campaign that generated social engagement, reach, and press while building large-scale and curated experiential efforts with digital and social extensions, media partnerships and influencer outreach that touched on the show’s themes.

To kick off Season 2 of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the execution would bring Essex College alive by pulling cues from nostalgic elements of college life (through a relatable tailgate) to audiences while leaning into the relatable experiences that represent the show, its themes, and its layered characters.

The target geographic audience for the experience was Los Angeles with a secondary national market. The target demographic for the campaign and the new series was multicultural young adults between the ages of 18-34, with an emphasis on women and a secondary demographic of Gen Z, LGBTQ and millennial men.

As guests entered the outdoor venue, they were welcomed by an Essex College homecoming-style float and photobooth. Props such as pom poms were available for the photos which were instantly shared to emails. Attendees then picked up ‘tailgate-ready’ kits from the giveaway truck which consisted of a CALPAK water bottle holder, a YETI rambler bottle and a credit from Postmates to order in on premiere day.

As DJ Rosegold set the tone, food was served by local vendors including Coolhaus and Trejo’s Tacos. Boxed Water provided hydration alongside specialty cocktails. Guests at the Bumble BFF ‘find your people’ booth received portrait-styled photos, just in time to update profile pics for the “new school year”.

Guests enjoyed an exclusive screening of episode one as show creators Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble delivered opening remarks. R&B artist Joyce Wrice closed out the experience with a special performance.

The experiential activation helped build the brand by creating a one-of-a-kind experience that immersed the consumers in the ‘universe’ of The Sex Lives of College Girls. By creating an irreplaceable experience, guests grow a stronger affinity to the HBO brand and its shows, while setting the brand apart from others in the marketplace.

In total, over 300+ guests attended the event at Los Angeles Center Studios. There were 70+ posts on social media with an estimated reach of 5.8MM, 1.2MM+ impressions and over 9K social engagements.

The activation integrated over 9 external brand partners including Bumble, Calpak, Coolhaus, Love Hour, NY’s Chopped Cheese, and many more. 1,128 photos were taken at the Bumble BFF Booth.

Notable guests included Mindy Kaling, Justin Noble, Reneé Rapp, Pauline Chalamet, Alyah Scott, Joyce Wrice, DJ Rosegold, Chaun Legend, Chandrika Ravi, Marjan Tabibzada, Massy Arias, Pragathi Guruprasad, Brittany Hampton and Stormi Maya.