To drum up buzz for Season 4 of True Blood, HBO put its rabid Truebiefanbase inside a minisode of True Blood with the Immortalize Yourself Facebook app. Titled “Immortalize Yourself," the application allowed users to enter the show through an interactive video sequence. By answering a few simple questions and connecting the app to their social graph, users appeared throughout the original video content right alongside the True Blood cast. Users could become the topic of conversation at Merlotte’s, the center of a scene with Eric and Pam, or the spelling bee champion in the newspaper. And when videos were completed, fans could share with friends on Facebook. “Immortalize Yourself" gave a personal connection to the cast of True Blood, but it also artfully hinted at storylines for the upcoming season. And while the video content HBO disseminated to its other sources, like the True Blood YouTube Channel or HBO Connect, had great recaps and teasers, the “Immortalize Yourself" application was the only outlet to get a sneak peak of what’s to come, ensuring that users wouldn’t just make videos, but watch them, too. The True Blood Facebook page grew to 9 million fans by the end of the summer, an increase of 10.25% during the season alone. The Immortalize Yourself Facebook application generated approximately 1.06Munique visits. Over 226,000 unique videos were generated by fans, all garnering nearly half a million views.
