After 17 incredible seasons, we set out to make Season 18 of American Dad as unique as the Smith family itself. The challenge was to ensure we made this season as exciting as possible, even after 17 seasons. To achieve this, we leaned into what the super fans loved most: the weird. Utilizing an in-world perspective, we brought our best Roger to life on our social channels–the fan favorite space alien who is sarcastic, crude, hilarious, and dresses up in a variety of personas. Through his personality, we consistently showcased the laugh-out-loud vulgar jokes, friendly roasts, and crazy yet relatable one-liners that never seem to get old. Throughout the campaign, we executed engaging premiere social activations, AR filters, and seamlessly integrated elements that aligned with today's culture and trends into our content keeping our fans engaged and excited all season long.
Our goals this season were to boost engagement, increase impressions, grow our following across platforms, and enhance video views.
We set out to make Season 18 of American Dad standout as uniquely as the Smith family itself, embracing the weird across social platforms.
Here’s how we did it:
Season 18 unfolded in two parts, treating fans to both a Spring premiere and an equally exciting Fall return. To build anticipation for the Season 18 Spring premiere, we launched a Roger AR filter on both Instagram and TikTok. The filter transitioned through a myriad of Roger’s eccentric and beloved personas, exciting fans for the upcoming season and teasing the new personas to come.
To create excitement for the Season 18 Fall premiere, following a brief hiatus, we executed a social activation where Francine Smith “hacked” our Instagram. While the American Dad account typically operates from Roger’s perspective, we decided to shift the spotlight to Francine, capitalizing on the recent love for her character. This stunt served as a catalyst to ignite conversations around the upcoming episodes. By refreshing our feeds, updating bios, and sharing custom creative as if Francine was posting, we seamlessly invited our fans into the heart of the family drama, skillfully breaking the fifth wall. To enhance the fan experience even more, we tapped into current social trends and conversations that resonate with moms on social like Francine. This involved creating engaging content, including duets on TikTok with back-to-school moms, and adding a lighthearted touch to navigating the challenges of parenting. This took the activation even further across social platforms leading to more engagement and conversation.
Beyond these bigger social moments, we sustained fan involvement throughout the entire season by tapping into current trends and actively participating in cultural conversations. From back-to-school excitement to Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas festivities, we seized every opportunity to connect with our audience in engaging social discourse. We created a diverse array of content, ranging from custom Reels to captivating tweets, and shareable statics, all thoughtfully crafted to showcase the beloved characters and guest stars. Overall, from significant social milestones to daily doses of engaging creative content, Season 18 was full of everything our fans loved, always leaving them wanting more!
In Season 18, we continued to feed the American Dad fandom with content centered around their favorite characters, cultural connections, and adept community management, ensuring a consistent and engaging experience for fans.
The numbers speak for themselves, showcasing a remarkable 655% increase in audience engagement across platforms, as well as a substantial rise in both video views (36.4M a 77% y/y growth) and impressions (84.5M a +1.7 y/y growth) . All the more impressive, this achievement comes after a successful run of 18 seasons!
