Swimming with Sharks had all the elements of a hot show that would appeal to a younger demographic – popular talent, Hollywood backdrop, suspense, and sex. The series tells the story of Lou Simms (Kiernan Shipka) who, when she starts her internship at Fountain Pictures, seems like a naïve Hollywood newcomer, awestruck by the studio's notorious CEO, Joyce Holt (Diane Kruger); in truth, Lou is obsessed with Holt and will do anything to get close to her idol.
We knew we needed to reach a young viewer who may be new to The Roku Channel, so we needed the perfect partner to reach the perfect audience. Enter @deuxmoi, the insanely popular Instagram account that dishes on all things Hollywood. The partnership was the perfect marriage, bringing together a series unearthing the underbelly of the Hollywood system and the real-life industry assistants who survive it every day.
We leveraged the partnership to reach our goals of increasing social conversation, growing our owned and operated accounts, establishing The Roku Channel as a destination for original programming space, and giving the series a coolness factor only @deuxmoi can achieve.
Hollywood assistants have all the tea, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to spill it. And who better to spill to than @deuxmoi, the account known for having the best Hollywood inner circle of sleuths and dishing out the best industry gossip on social media every day.
The partnership kicked off with promotion of the series on the @deuxmoi Instagram account, encouraging followers to submit their #AssistantsTellAll tea. Responses flooded in with followers spilling secrets and sharing industry horror stories of survival, which were posted to the account’s stories to further promote the series and activation.
In coordination with the online activation, The Roku Channel and @deuxmoi hosted an #AsssitantsTellAll event in Los Angeles. Hollywood interns and assistants were exclusively invited to a screening of the series, followed by a Q&A with show talent, hosted by a @duexmoi social correspondent. The event included a social extension, with @deuxmoi posting throughout the event increading social conversation and interest leading into launch.
The partnership reached over 15MM followers across social platforms and ignited the TRC Instagram account’s biggest organic growth spike with a 7% increase in followers. On Instagram, we saw a 50% increase in overall engagements, a 40% increase in engagements with new followers, and an 85% increase in profile visits, introducing not just the show to a new audience but The Roku Channel as a destination for original programming.
