HBO True Blood

When US TV network HBO wanted to promote the launch of vampire drama True Blood,  it needed a seriously 'out-there' campaign. The company approached Campfire, the marketing company founded by creators of The Blair Witch Project, to come up with an integrated marketing promotion, rolled out in stages.

First there was the tightly targeted mailout to prospective viewers - subscribers to horror mag Fangoria, goth fans and horror film bloggers. Next, Campfire created Tru Blood, a fake blood for vampires, designed to discourage creatures of the night from targeting humans and flagged it up on faux vampire microsites. As a follow-up, vials of Tru Blood were sent to the recipients of the initial mailout. Specially created prequel comics were also handed out at a sci-fi convention in San Diego.

This is a great example of viral and integrated marketing at its best, harnessing the power of the internet, direct mail and social networking.