Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/663385
m a r c h . a p r i l 2 0 1 6 c g w 4 1 creased and diversified, and the transfer to America reinvigorat- ed the entire marketing strategy. According to Fay, apart from the extraordinary scale of the series' fan base, a major factor driving the expansion of the Downton Abbey transmedia experience "was the change in how audiences consume media. Second screens have become commonplace in homes, and as fans watched Downton Abbey, they wanted to talk about the show with others via social media platforms. We identified this as an opportunity to build awareness and engagement with the show, and in order to do so, we had taken on the services of a specialist company that creates and manages the content for the social media presence – Facebook, Insta- gram, Twitter, and so forth." For instance, the #TeamSer- vants hashtag was something that was tried aer analysis showed that although fans loved the upstairs characters and that world, they mostly identified with those below stairs – the carrying out of chores and the like. The social media team identified this as a way to increase fan engage- ment by creating a character they could speak to and share the experience with, Fay says. "Analysis of data and feed- back from fans has seen the ex- pansion of the different strands introduced. More strands have been brought in, and others have been branched outward to be more inclusive and to give fans more sense of ownership, which, in turn, encourages and boosts engagement," explains Fay. "For example, the #Down- tonNights hashtag proved incredibly popular when it launched – this is where fans could take a picture of their eve- ning watching Downton. Some of those were then chosen and A TRANSMEDIA CAMPAIGN HELPED MAKE THE TV SERIES DOWNTON ABBEY A BIG FAN FAVORITE. AUDIENCES SOON DEVELOPED A TASTE FOR SHOW-RELATED ITEMS AS WELL, INCLUDING BOARD GAMES AND BOOKS.