In 2018, Amazon’s Prime Video was searching for a mainstream original series that would put their streaming service in consideration as the frontrunner for online entertainment. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan had the opportunity to be that series.

Since the Cold War, Jack Ryan has stood as a patriot in the truest sense—a principled voice for freedom, justice and equality. Hunt for Red October? Patriot Games? Clear and Present Danger? All Jack Ryan.

But today’s audiences have been raised on a steady diet of superhuman action figures, and Jack Ryan is just a guy at a desk. A guy with a conscience.

We needed to rebuild the relevance of Tom Clancy’s iconic character and connect him to a new generation—through a zeitgeist moment that would spread across the digital landscape and set the stage for the biggest franchise to date on Prime Video.

The idea: Build the world’s first experiential pilot episode.

Bring millions to the realization that Jack Ryan is more like them than Rambo. And that they, in turn, might have a bit of Jack Ryan’s unexpected hero inside of them.

Through the magic of never-before-seen, hyper-reality 4DVR, unprecedented live theatrics and a sprawling Middle Eastern world, our audience jumped from helicopters, drove getaway cars, interrogated live terror suspects, got caught in shoot-outs, piloted drones, ran afoul of hardened Marines and held the lives of nations in the balance. All while millions online followed and interacted.

In essence, they lived the show before they ever saw it.

Turn a local moment into a global one.

San Diego Comic-Con has the highest density of press and fans in the entertainment world, creating an opportunity to build an activation designed to create a social and PR “perfect storm”.

To boost shareability, we planned to combine many elements to create multiplier effects:

1. Transform an entire city block directly in front of the convention into a Middle Eastern set and outfit it with never-before-seen technology.

2. Drive foot traffic with multiple highrise wraps.

3. Authenticate the experience with a preview day for servicemen and women from nearby military bases.

4. Invite hundreds of press and influencers from key interest spheres—military, tech, entertainment and sports—including athletes Joel Embiid, Richard Sherman and Ronda Rousey.

5. And finally, deeply integrate with Twitch to capture millions of fans of Tom Clancy video game franchises online.

The Jack Ryan Experience was a tour de force of technology, engaging storytelling and memorable moments.

Aptly described as a “Jack Ryan theme park” (NBC News), attendees entered to find themselves in a fully functioning 60,000 sq ft bazaar filled with clandestine dead drops, coded newspapers, 100+ actors and authentic food and curios.

The first step to entering Jack Ryan’s mindset began at the Training Field—the largest VR installation in the world. Players moved freely as backpack computers paired seamlessly with Oculus headsets, physical props and 120 Optitrack cameras, creating the first outdoor daylight VR course in history. Twitch viewers voted to affect the simulation in real-time, adding to the list of world-firsts.

From there, players entered Dark Ops, a live theatrical experience that mapped player actions to reactions from the series plot, creating an immersive mindtrip that was unique for every team and created endless social sharing opportunities.

The results were immediate, extensive and global.

Hundreds camped overnight to be first in line to experience the activation.

1000+ press coverage hits mentioning the experience landed during the week of Comic-Con and immediately afterwards.

Twitch integrations totalled 5.3 million views, successfully engaging a critical audience already versed in the world of Tom Clancy.

Shared experiences from the activation reached 75 million people through social.

Surveys pointed to a 12% leap in attendees’ “likelihood to stream.”

And all together, the activation generated 1.4 billion impressions, leading to the most successful launch of any Prime Video series history to date.