The marketing and promotion of a show is among one of the most important keys in a show’s success. If a series is profitable for its network, its chances of sticking around go up drastically.
In today’s TV world, there are two programs on the air that are, in my opinion, the masters of marketing and promoting themselves. Not only do they push their shows with ad campaigns, but they rake out merchandise. A LOT of merchandise!
Of course I’m talking about the Fox series "Glee" and the HBO series "True Blood."
But which show does a better job?
First we must understand that "Glee" is on a broadcast network and "True Blood" is on a cable network. That means "Glee" will be exposed to a much larger audience, being on Fox.
Let’s look at the merchandise both shows have dished out. This includes DVDs, albums and other things available.
"Glee" (after one season)
- Singles on iTunes
- "Glee the Music, Volume 1"
- "Glee the Music, Volume 2"
- "Glee the Music, Volume 3 -- Showstoppers"
- "Glee the Music: The Power of Madonna"
- "Glee the Music: Journey to Regionals"
- "Glee – Volume 1: Road to Sectionals" – 4-disk DVD box set
- "Glee – The Complete First Season" – 7-disk DVD box set (Sept. 14, 2010)
- "Glee: The Beginning" – Book (Sept. 1, 2010)
- "Glee: Foreign Exchange" – Book (Feb. 15, 2011)
- A deal was just signed to release a "Glee"-themed karaoke machine, a Wii game, board games and trivia games.
- Hallmark cards will be introduced
- Macy’s will be carrying a "Glee"-related clothing line.
- And, of course, there's the "'Glee' Live!" summer tour.
"True Blood" (launched its third season Sunday)
- "True Blood – The Complete First Season"
- "True Blood – The Complete Second Season"
- "True Blood Soundtrack – Season One"
- "True Blood Soundtrack – Season Two"
- Tru Blood beverage
- T-shirts and clothing
- Comic book series (July 2010)
If we look strictly at merchandise, "Glee" has the distinct advantage. Especially when you consider "Glee" has been on TV for a single season, compared with "True Blood," going into its third season.
Now let’s look into the promotion of these shows.
Fox took the unorthodox approach with "Glee" by giving the audience just a taste of the series at first. The network aired the pilot episode in May 2009. After just one episode, "Glee" was a hit, raking in 9.62 million viewers during its “preview” airing.
The network then spent the whole summer promoting the show. Fox knew it had a hit on its hands, and fans couldn’t wait until September. It was a smart move by the network. Not only did it give the audience a taste of the show, it gave the network all summer to build anticipation for the fall.
"True Blood" debuted on HBO in September 2008.
