TV-3 channel will take part in a conference hosted by PromaxBDA, an international association of promoters, marketers and designers in the field of broadcasting and multimedia, in Rome on March 13. The channel’s marketing director Lily Sherozia will make a presentation entitled “Film for non-stop viewing - a new revolution in Russia.” She will discuss the peculiarities in the successful promotion of Gogol, the first TV series in the world that was released in cinemas. This case study is described on the website of promaxbda.org as a “mad experiment with a crazy advertising campaign.”
Gogol is an experimental multi-genre project by TV-3 channel and Aleksandr Tsekalo’s Sreda producer center. It’s a film franchise that emerged out of a TV series and consists of three feature-length films. The mythical detective story in which an author of classic Russian literature comes face to face with the horrible creatures of his own imagination was watched by more than 1.9 million viewers in cinemas alone. Gogol. Nachalo (The Beginning) was also shown in Russian in Great Britain, Spain, Austria and Cyprus, as well as in 80 theaters in Germany. The second part of the trilogy, Gogol. Viy, will be released in cinemas on April 5 and it promises to be even grander.
A number of innovative solutions were deployed as part of the promotional campaign to the film Gogol. Nachalo. Among them, Russia’s first web-series was launched in which the protagonist Gogol traveled through the worlds of popular youth TV series. An original Instagram comics and online project OK Gogol were created. Gogol attended one of Moscow’s football matches between Spartak and Lokomotiv and appeared on live air of Match TV, the main sports channel of the country. “The spirit of Gogol” interacted in live mode with the visitors of Gorky Park, one of the most fashionable relaxation spots in Moscow. The image of the actor Aleksandr Petrov, in character as Gogol, was projected onto a tree in the park with the help of a powerful projector with HD resolution, so that anyone who wished could ask him a question and get an answer.