Syfy Takes a Dynamic Approach to Publicity with its Digital Press Tours - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

At a time when many established television networks have been cutting back on their publicity and promotion efforts it is somewhat remarkable to watch one of them actually move in the opposite direction That39s what Syfy has done since 2007 with its annual Digital Press Tours in which it brings executives and talent from its series together with dedicated bloggers tweeters and Web writers for a day of press conferences and other activities It does so in addition to rather than in place of its twice yearly presentations at Television Critics Association tours and its massive presence at the San Diego ComicCon the highlight of which remains the mustattend party it throws with Entertainment WeeklyThis year39s digital tour took place earlier this week at the Lowe39s Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando and was bracketed by activities that fueled further interest from the digerati An opening night dinner which included a surprise guest appearance by NBC Universal President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Zucker followed by a tour of Universal39s 20th Annual Halloween Horror Nights an area featuring eight haunted houses populated by hundreds of actors portraying zombies and ghouls and a private closing night event at the sensational new theme park The Wizarding World of Harry Potter The locations of Syfy39s digital press tours always compliment the network39s genre base For example the 2008 tour took place at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado the legendarily quothauntedquot hotel that was the inspiration for Stephen King39s The Shining and it concluded with an official ghost hunt led by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson of Ghost HuntersTwitter had yet to explode four years ago when Syfy produced its first digital tour but it largely powered this week39s event as the several dozen writers in attendance were actively encouraged to tweet like mad throughout the day Facebook postings and YouTube uploads were also welcomed and Foursquare venues were established for the tour itself and each of its panels In a sign of how the times are changing digital photography and video recording were permitted before during and after each session Executives and talent alike were totally on board with this approach which is hardly the case at many other press events including most sessions at TCA tours It was not at all uncommon to see Syfy talent hanging out on site after their sessions ended sitting for video and audio interviews and posing for pictures Once upon a time that material would have been held until a later time and uploaded onto Web sites but most of it now is instantly tweeted amp8211 and more importantly competitively retweeted The digerati were told that the writer whose tweets generated the most retweeting after each press conference would win a very modest prizeWatching the digital press tour in action reminded me of what I see every year after panels at ComicCon where hundreds if not thousands of fans hurriedly tweet and upload comments pictures and videos obtained during sessions It is a massive information output operating totally outside of traditional journalism and communication structures But Syfy39s digital press tour represents a hybrid of the old and the new with an organized foundation that allows access only to credentialed attendees and directly feeds their digital output in a very informal but productive manner Incidentally Syfy refers to the everexpanding group of bloggers and others that attend these tours as the Syfy Digital NetworkAn event that generates thousands of tweets quoting what television personalities have to say about their shows or themselves has its place but Syfy wisely added weight to the tour by integrating some breaking news into the day For example during a panel for Syfy Ventures the network39s portfolio of businesses and joint ventures featuring Syfy President Dave Howe Syfy Executive Vice President Original Content and Universal Cable Productions CoHead Original Content Mark Stern Syfy Digital Senior Vice President and General Manager Craig Engler and Syfy Ventures Senior Vice President Alan Seiffert in which they outlined plans to expand Syfy into a quotglobal lifestyle brandquot and find partnerships that will take Syfy beyond television Seiffert announced that the network had just closed a deal with female genre merchandise company Her Universe to create a branded line of apparel and accessories under the Syfy Gear banner Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein was on hand to provide further information the details of which seemed to generate a fresh frenzy of twittering in the roomThe digital press tour also featured the first press conferences for the network39s upcoming series Being Human an adaptation of the BBC drama about a vampire a werewolf and a ghost and Marcel39s Quantum Kitchen a reality series starring Top Chef season two runnerup Marcel Vigneron a young chef who specializes in highly unusual scientific methods of preparing food Liquid nitrogen sometimes plays a key role If Vigneron39s series which debuts in February 2011 is as entertaining as his demonstration of how he pulls together certain dishes it will likely find an audience even though Syfy isn39t a destination for cooking show enthusiasts Being Human on the other hand should easily fit right into Syfy39s established mix of scripted genre programming when it premieres in January 2011 The chemistry between by the three leads Sam Witwer Meaghan Rath and Sam Huntington during their panel was extraordinary If that comes through in the series itself Human will surely be the network39s next breakout hitSyfy39s digital tour also featured panels for the ongoing series Caprica Sanctuary Destination Truth and Fact or Faked Paranormal Files along with upcoming oneshot holiday episodes of Eureka and Warehouse 13 both scheduled for December 7 and the new reality series Hollywood Treasure which stars Joe Maddalena the world39s leading auctioneer of original movie television and pop culture collectibles It premieres October 27 Kofi Kingston and Beth Phoenix two wrestlers from World Wrestling Entertainment were also on hand to discuss the recent genredefying move of WWE Friday Night Smackdown to SyfyUnfortunately there were no cast members on hand from any of the network39s Ghost Hunters series But in every other way Syfy39s digital press tour was a oneday crash course that showcased where the network is at and where it is going smartly packaged and presented for maximum digital exposure Syfy will surely expand on this in the years to come and it will come as no surprise if other networks follow suit In fact one can only wonder what they39re waiting for Why not take full advantage of today39s communications technology in a way that complements but does not compromise other areas of publicity and promotion

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Syfy Takes a Dynamic Approach to Publicity with its Digital Press Tours - Ed Martin - MediaBizBloggers

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