Overview
Hulu partnered with Digital Media Management (DMM) to cultivate a passionate fan base and create advocates on social media for “Normal People’s” relatable modern love story.
Normal People
Cultivating viral social conversation around Hulu’s limited series adaptation of Sally Rooney’s acclaimed novel, “Normal People.”
OBJECTIVES
Sally Rooney’s Normal People was beloved by celebrities and consumers alike prior to the Hulu series’ premiere. DMM crafted a social campaign that honored the novel and worked to endear our on-screen characters and their complicated relationship to new and existing fans. We reminded fans of their favorite book quotes, teased photography of our characters and locations, and amplified excitement from influencers and press. Ahead of the show’s virtual premiere, DMM’s Creator Lab team worked with Hulu to source influencers to participate in a live tweet watch party along with talent that trended organically on Twitter and built momentum heading into the show’s launch weekend. As user conversation increased, our community management team reacted quickly to capitalize on trending topics and identify timely opportunities to engage with fans, celebrities, and influencers on Instagram and Twitter.
RESULTS
Normal People became a breakout success for Hulu and continues to garner significant organic chatter across socials. Over launch weekend alone, the Normal People socials experienced a 53% increase in followers, followed by an even more impressive 389% increase through early June. Our social campaign management and engagement strategy resulted in 89.7M impressions on Twitter and 329.5K engagements on Instagram. The viral buzz also resulted in dedicated fan-created Instagram accounts celebrating two of the show’s most popular topics — Connell’s chain and Marianne’s bangs — that have grown to nearly 200k combined followers.
89.7M
impressions during month following launch
53%
increase in followers during launch weekend
329.5k
engagements during month following launch