After previous big plot reveals on Pretty Little Liars, we noticed a trend among fans in the social media space—they loved to share photos of their reactions to plot twists & turns. We decided to capitalize on this organic trend to amplify the buzz on Twitter during the summer finale. During the broadcast of the episode, we ran an on-air snipe telling fans to get ready to tweet their reaction photos around the big reveal using #PLLReaction for a chance to have their photo featured in a digital mosaic on the Pretty Little Liars Facebook page. When the beloved character named Ezra was revealed to be the evil character A, we saw an explosion in the social media space with scores of fans tweeting their reaction photos using #PLLReaction. Each photo was pulled into the digital mosaic that formed an image of Ezra. We gave the cast and crew the heads up about this tactic so that they could tweet their own reaction in real time. Thousands of photos were tweeted by fans, press outlets and members of the cast & crew. #PLLReaction trended in the US and Worldwide throughout the evening of the finale and into the next day. To sustain the buzz in the weeks just after the finale, we continued to update the mosaic & ultimately allowed fans to download a copy of the final version so they could share their participation in the momentous reveal moment with all of their friends! Capitalizing on organic fan trends in the social media space can be a tricky proposition for brands—if you want to drive engagement, it’s critical to adapt the trend to fit your marketing goals without over-commercializing your message. Our #PLLReaction campaign was a home run, working to create buzz and drive fan engagement around our summer finale. Our campaign led to the summer finale of Pretty Little Liars becoming the most tweeted episode of television in TELEVISION HISTORY with a record 1.9 million tweets—a record that still stands today. Ratings were huge as well, with tune-in always our ultimate goal—the summer finale of Pretty Little Liars became the #1 telecast in ABC Family history in target 18-34s/12-34s and Women 18-49.
