With all this in mind, The Walking Dead and AMC have done everything possible to market and advertise their show,  some more memorable than others, though did not go over board. The proof is in the numbers with season 1 of The Walking Dead racking up an average of 5 million (US), season 2 gaining to an average of 6-7million (US) and with all the marketing and awareness AMC and The Walking Dead have created season 3 have escalated to an average of 10 million just in the US. This is surely a result of all the marketing and awareness they have done attending Comic Con interviews, creating games and so on. Reaching out to different generations that live on the computer and not the T.v or outside advertising is the core problem of marketing in this age and I believe The Walking Dead team have successfully done this. The proof is in the numbers.

One of the last campaigns I would like to analysis is their attempts at some experiential marketing campaigns. These campaigns were undertaken before season 3 of The Walking Dead to expand the awerness of the show and to get a message out to the consumers. One of the campaigns was a protest against DISH Network after the television provider moved AMC to a different channel then ultimately dropped it entirely (Garun, 2012). Though this technically was a protest it could also be seen as a side attempt to explore the awareness of the show. This protest/campaign involved putting zombie makeup on civilians and letting them lose in New York. The reason it might be another marketing strategy along with a protest is they did the same thing using a marketing company called TCOB, this campaign was very similar, dressing people up in zombie costumes and letting them out to promote the new season, this happen in american, hong kong and many more. Though another reason why it could only be a protest is that there is no signage or awareness throughout the video to establish it is a Walking Dead marketing campaign. Below is the protest. With the protest not being very integrated with the rest of the campaign I would say it was more of an actual protest, than a marketing campaign.

The actual marketing campaign done by TCOB is below and you can clearly establish signage and awareness of the show and that their promoting the new season.  

Below is the same campaign in New York, again you can clearly establish the promoting of the season.

                                      

This campaign is very well integrated with the new season and the show, showing posters and ads throughout the video and and have made sure it is on display throughout the area. This campaign is one of my favourites as Madison Sqaure Garden is always busy and many of the commuters become desensitised and filter all the marketing and advertising campaigns throughout the area as they would probably pass through everyday, where this would grab everyones attention and as you can see people taking videos and photos which would then later be loaded up on youtube and Facebook further expanding the campaign and not to mention word of mouth, the conversations people would have over the next couple of weeks...

The last campaign I really enjoyed was a food truck that traveled around the UK, it had The Walking Dead advertisement all over it and sold English delicacies for example brains, fried brains, feet, thyroid nuggets and so on...
The Gory Gourmet truck is, of course, one of many promotional stunts to promote the release of the season 2 DVD and Blu-ray (in the UK) and season 3 of The Walking Dead, (TechTrends, 2012). This is a great way to expand the awareness, like with the zombies invading New York and Hong Kong, its not something you see everyday, it would catch peoples eye. Word of mouth would be the highlight here having people talk about this taking photos and videos and uploading them. Though not very well integrated with the other campaigns, it still has the branding of The Walking Dead so people can establish the show.

References 

AMC protests Dish Network drop by plaguing NYC with zombies | Digital Trends. 2012. AMC protests Dish Network drop by plaguing NYC with zombies | Digital Trends. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/amc-protests-dish-network-drop-by-plaguing-nyc-with-zombies/. [Accessed 18 November 2012].

Marketing, The Walking Dead hits the streets, HONG KONG, MEDIA, Campaigns, Experiential, | Market-interactive.com. 2012. Marketing, The Walking Dead hits the streets, HONG KONG, MEDIA, Campaigns, Experiential, | Market-interactive.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/36069. [Accessed 18 November 2012].

the walking dead zombies new york cab the scariest tv shows photo | Posh24.com. 2012. the walking dead zombies new york cab the scariest tv shows photo | Posh24.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.posh24.com/photo/1201896/the_walking_dead_zombies_new_y. [Accessed 18 November 2012].

Want to eat like a zombie? The Walking Dead food truck hits UK with some gnarly meals | Tech Trends. 2012. Want to eat like a zombie? The Walking Dead food truck hits UK with some gnarly meals | Tech Trends. [ONLINE] Available at: http://tech.mediapremium.info/lifestyle/want-to-eat-like-a-zombie-the-walking-dead-food-truck-hits-uk-with-some-gnarly-meals/. [Accessed 18 November 2012].

With Facebook being home to billions of people, you would be crazy not to put your company or product on it. With companies now realising the effects that Facebook has, more and more companies are creating profiles as new age marketing campaign. With The Walking Dead having a Facebook page it allows fans to interact and have their own say on what happened. It also has behind the sense you can watch and quiz's that can be taken. By doing this it allows fans to personalise themselves with the show and its creators. Having this page and the Facebook social game it further extends the awareness of the show, by using non traditional media this extends to the newer generation that don't watch Tv or listen to radio and stream the Tv series from the net, which could possibly be one of the biggest markets including myself. Below is an ad they posted to celebrate 10 million followers, they now have over 12 million. This is now becoming the basis of all marketing campaigns, in this day and age its the new top marketing tool. The Facebook page is well integrated with the rest of the campaigns as it is constantly posting the new campaigns and photos. Using social networking to help market the show it allows a further extension to their fans.

The Walking Dead website (http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead) not only contains behind the scenes videos, photos and so on, but also has games, blogs, interviews, newsletters, shops, cast information and extras. This means fans have constant updates on episodes and events, though it isn't as personalised as their Facebook page where fans can write back. Though the site is completely integrated with the rest of the campaign keeping the tag line and the prison in site and well established. As you can see the billboard used to advertise the season, is the background to the website keeping them integrated.

References 

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/appcenter/amcwalkingdeadgame?fb_source=search&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fapps.facebook.com%2Famcwalkingdeadgame%2F%3Ffb_source%3Dsearch&fref=ts. [Accessed 12 November 2012].

Cassie Carnage's House of Horror: 'The Walking Dead' Facebook Ap. 2012. Cassie Carnage's House of Horror: 'The Walking Dead' Facebook Ap. [ONLINE] Available at: http://cassieshouseofhorror.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/the-walking-dead-facebook-ap.html. [Accessed 12 November 2012].

The Walking Dead - New to Show – AMC . 2012. The Walking Dead - New to Show – AMC . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead/new-to-show. [Accessed 24 November 2012].

My favourite campaign that The Walking Dead have done, though many would say it isn't part of a marketing campaign but I believe it is. The Walking Dead have developed a game not based around the cast from the television but focused around another group trying to survive the out break (this is why many people don't believe its part of a campaign). With The Walking Dead developing a video game, focused on another group that has no relation to the t.v show allows not so big fans of the show to develop a relationship with this group and if they wanted to find out further information about the infection they could watch the show, this also extends the awareness of the show to others who don't watch much television but play video games, and if they like the game they would discover the show. With the game split up into four episodes "Telltale Games revealed that the first episode of its The Walking Dead adventure series has sold one million copies" (ign, 2012), this could possibly have help with the awareness of the show or could have just been some of the old fans trying the game out but there is no way to tell. Though this isn't integrated with The Walking Dead campaigns I don't believe its suppose to be, but is another way to spread awareness and another way for The Walking Dead to keep their fans connected. 

On the other side they have also developed a Facebook social game, which is very well integrated with the T.v show and the current campaigns. It includes characters and scenarios  from the show. The game has over "1,700,000 users" (Facebook, 2012) and could definitely have contributed to the ratings of the show. I believe this is another marketing tactic to widen the awareness of the show to Facebook users, by using all means of marketing The Walking Dead is covering all bases and making sure people know the show or know of the show as word of mouth is one of the strongest marketing techniques, and having over 10 million fans I believe they have successfully marketed their "product".

References 

Strength Gamer: 5 Reasons 'The Walking Dead' Video Game Works. 2012. Strength Gamer: 5 Reasons 'The Walking Dead' Video Game Works. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.realsg.com/2012/04/5-reasons-walking-dead-video-game-works.html. [Accessed 12 November 2012].

Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead Sells A Million - IGN. 2012. Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead Sells A Million - IGN. [ONLINE] Available at: http://au.ign.com/articles/2012/05/17/telltale-games-the-walking-dead-sells-a-million. [Accessed 12 November 2012].

The Walking Dead: The Game Retail Bundle Details Confirmed - IGN. 2012. The Walking Dead: The Game Retail Bundle Details Confirmed - IGN. [ONLINE] Available at: http://au.ign.com/articles/2012/10/21/the-walking-dead-the-game-retail-bundle-details. [Accessed 12 November 2012].

With The Walking Dead already into its fourth week of viewing and getting over 10 million viewers just in the US, I believe they have gathered their audience and fans, with The Walking Dead being the most watched drama series episode in basic cable history (Chitwood, 2012). Though with this said they still have to reinforce the show by reminding the audience when the show is on while also showing snippets of the next episode, luring viewers in to watch.

But before all this AMC had to promote The Walking Dead through Foxtel with ads and trailers. Ads and trailers are one of the exciting marketing campaigns for fans and viewers as they can see shorts of the show and are able to get excited also helping to set the tone for the new season to come. With all their ads and posters they have stayed very integrated in the fact that the prison is always the background keeping the same "vibe" with all the advertisements, though with each poster showing new scenery or characters. 

The new tag line "Fight the Dead. Fear the Living" has been integrated throughout all their trailers and ads. With this being constantly reiterated throughout campaigns this allows all their campaigns to be integrated with each other, though I do believe they should of used it more on the posters and billboards to further integrate the campaigns. The prison has also been further integrated into the ads.

                                     

                                     

Trailers were shown at the Comic Con event following the panels interviews. This allowed an extended view at the season, to help increase awareness. This campaign helped improve the panels interviews by showing them first views of the trailer. I believe this also had a great effect on campaign as not only does it excite fans well known to the series but also it creates interest in new to the season fans.

Further integrating the tag line and the prison scenery shown in all campaigns. I believe the campaigns have been well integrated within each other, though should have used the tag line in billboard advertisements and posters to keep the same feel for the campaigns. Using this type of digital media is pretty common these days and is now becoming the norm, though is still effective.

                                   

References

Sunday TV Ratings: THE WALKING DEAD Shatters Records, ONCE UPON A TIME Down, REVENGE and THE MENTALIST Up | Collider. 2012. Sunday TV Ratings: THE WALKING DEAD Shatters Records, ONCE UPON A TIME Down, REVENGE and THE MENTALIST Up | Collider. [ONLINE] Available at: http://collider.com/ratings-the-walking-dead/203175/. [Accessed 23 November 2012].
The Walking Dead Season 3 Comic-Con Trailer - YouTube. 2012. The Walking Dead Season 3 Comic-Con Trailer - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShQz68Zkb3Y. [Accessed 06 November 2012].


The Walking Dead Season 3 TV Spot 1 (2012) - http://film-book.com - YouTube. 2012. The Walking Dead Season 3 TV Spot 1 (2012) - http://film-book.com - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0SQBlBeCHU. [Accessed 06 November 2012].

Walking Dead Season 3 New TV Spot - YouTube. 2012. Walking Dead Season 3 New TV Spot - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iin5fEWCBc&feature=related. [Accessed 06 November 2012].

The Walking Dead cast have made themselves very public and have done many interviews, panels and talks. One panel they were one, which could be one of the most successful things they have done to advertise the show was to appear at Comic Con 2012. Comic Con travels through America to show case new movies, Tv shows and lots more and sees over 125,000 people in each city.

With The Walking Dead making an appearance at Comic Con, showing trailers, answering question and signing autographs is a great way to hook new viewers and reassure the old ones. This is great for personalising the cast and meeting the famous survivors, this would have to be one of the best things they could have done to help increase viewers and with the US viewers of season 2 being an average around 8 million, the first episode of season 3 rising to 10.87 million viewers only in the US I believe this panel made a great impact.

Along with personalising the cast by joining a panel, some of The Walking Dead cast have also had interviews  with magazines to answer any personal or Walking Dead related question. By using a form of traditional media ie. print, improves awareness and widens their marketing ads. Also by doing this it prompts people to purchase the magazine to find out any goss or important information about the upcoming season. This is another great tactic used by AMC to increase viewers, with a total circulation estimated for 2012 to be around 1,780,000 in the US this could create great awareness for the show. With the front covers being interesting and not dull it could also bring some new viewers in.

References

The Walking Dead at the 2012 Comic Con in San Diego | 401AK47 | A Zombie Survival Plan. 2012. The Walking Dead at the 2012 Comic Con in San Diego | 401AK47 | A Zombie Survival Plan. [ONLINE] Available at: http://401ak47.com/the-walking-dead-at-the-2012-comic-con-in-san-diego/. [Accessed 30 October 2012].

‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Covers ‘Entertainment Weekly’ Magazine | Pink is the New Blog. 2012. ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Covers ‘Entertainment Weekly’ Magazine | Pink is the New Blog. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/2012-08-22/the-walking-dead-season-3-covers-entertainment-weekly-magazine. [Accessed 31 October 2012].

With season 3 only starting a few weeks ago AMC has been very active with the marketing and advertising. Billboards, posters, interviews, trailers, video games,TV ads, Facebook pages, blogs even a Facebook social game has been developed, along with a little experiential marketing campaigns to help with the awareness of the show. 

There has been many advertisements to make viewers very aware when the show was set to start again. Billboards were place placed on the sides of roads, clearly stating the date and time the show will be airing, along with hints of what is to come in the season for the die hard fans. With the slight hints of the background of the prison, excites the comic book readers of The Walking Dead, I'm not sure if it shows anything to look forward to, to new viewers of the show or fans that haven't read the comic book's like myself. I had to look up what the deal with the prison was, which then got me excited about the season. Im not sure if that's what they wanted to achieve for people to research about the prison or maybe to start reading the comic books to find out ? 

Though this was their best billboard that was advertised some of their others I had no idea that it was in relation with the show until I looked closer and read all of the writing, though the idea of a billboard is to have minimal print and make it relevant enough to the show that people don't have to analyse it while their driving. Though I understand its link towards halloween I don't believe it is one of their best, therefore I don't believe this was very well integrated with there current campaign.

References

Daily Billboard: HALLOWEEN WEEK: The Walking Dead season three TV billboards and Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights billboards... Advertising for Movies TV Fashion Hot Guys Girls and More. 2012. Daily Billboard: HALLOWEEN WEEK: The Walking Dead season three TV billboards and Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights billboards... Advertising for Movies TV Fashion Hot Guys Girls and More. [ONLINE] Available at: http://dailybillboard.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/halloween-week-walking-dead-season.html. [Accessed 29 October 2012].