Laura Rollins beat me to the punch on NBC's rollout of a more robust marketing/ engagement program with the new season of "Heroes". This is not what I think of as a show for me, but when it premiered last year it must have been a slow TV night because I watched it - and got sucked in. By the end of the first season I signed up for the show email so I wouldn't miss out on anything. (Does this make me a dork? No, just writing about it makes me a dork.)
I was well pleased to receive an email from NBC last week announcing the return of the show - and as Laura Rollins noted yesterday, (and as you can see in the above screen grab) a return with new technologies fully embraced (online - on air - mobile). Very cool. The Heroes site is very good - you can read the comic (or graphic novel if you must), read character blogs, visit the message board (or not) - but the best part is the ability to see past episodes in their entirety on the site.
So I scrolled down through the email, which in some ways mirrors the NBC Heroes site and reviewed the options, I could visit the online comic, or take a quiz to find out if I'm a Hero (not!) What is sad is that there are always random boxes with t-shirt offers or other NBC merchandise on the email and site, and since they are not particularly well-designed or eye-catching they are easy to ignore. So at first glance I ignored the ad for Primatech Paper. It looked like a bland little ad.
Then I realized that evil dad's workplace (on the show) is Primatech.
So on Monday 1/22 I clicked in. It still looked like a misplaced Google ad. Being a dork and willfully suspending my disbelief allowed me to dial the 800 number, and visit all of the phone menus - Sales, Shipping and Personnel. No one answers, but when you get to the Personnel menu you get a suggestion to visit Primatech's website and enter an access code. So in the interest of blog research - I entered the code, offered up a few personal details (nothing untoward) and got a "thank you for considering Primatech" email message.
On Wednesday I got another email from Primatech reading:
Thank you for your interest in Primatech Paper and taking the time to complete our employee application.
We are always interested in unique individuals with special abilities to help us provide the best service to our many clients.
Please retain this email for your records. A Primatech Paper representative will be contacting you in a few weeks with the next steps.
We'll see where this goes. You might be reading the words of the next Primatech VP of Marketing & Sales (Northeast Region). Now that's a Second Life I might actually enjoy. Stay tuned.
Paul:
You are ahead of the curve in many ways (your "Tune In Saturdays") at the Hee Haw Marketing blog are spectacular. But do you have your own Primatech card? Well do you punk?
Posted by: Lori Magno | January 26, 2007 at 03:58 PM
OOOO, I totally just beat you to the punch. On monday night, they showed a close-up of his business card that showed the primatech website. Of course, I went there, too. Not sure what they have in store, yet, but I must say, I'm intrigued.
Posted by: Paul McEnany | January 26, 2007 at 03:42 PM
What a great way to make the fans of the show feel somewhat a part of the show. Only true fans of “Heroes” will be able to find these goose eggs. Seriously I am ready to find out the answers to all my questions about this show. Can Niki over come her alter ego? Is Claire’s dad on the good side or bad? Can Hiro save Isaac and the world? Is Peter the person who will try to destroy the world? I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. This show just gets better and better, beating out "24" for the 9 o’clock time slot. Winning Favorite New TV Drama at this year's People's Choice Award. I see this show sticking around for a long time, with new heroes along the way. If you missed the People's Choice Award you can watch highlights and exclusive behind the scene footage of the show at http://www.pcavote.com . I work with the people's choice community so check it out and be a part of a community offering blogs and message boards and where you get the latest Hollywood and celebrity news
Posted by: Curtis | January 26, 2007 at 01:20 PM