EmpireJessica HoganJieqiong Tu

Rohan Panjiar

2015-2017: Seasons 1-3

Plot Summary

❏ Lucious Lyon, the founder and CEO of a successful record label has been diagnosed with ALS.

❏ He must choose one of his three sons to take over the company when he dies.

❏ Meanwhile, his ex wife and co-founder, Cookie, has been released from prison and wants to reclaim her rightful place in the company.

Main Characters “It ain’t about the money, it’s about the power”

Environment ❏ A powerful drama about a family dynasty set within the glamorous and sometimes dangerous world of hip-hop music.

❏ Although filmed in Chicago, the show is based in New York.

❏ It centers on a hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control of the company.

● Campaign：print, radio, online, cable, broadcast and partners（Fox Sports and FX）

● Trailers：2 Oscar nominated actors and a mix of music from popular artists (Kanye West) and original music (No Apologies)

● Sponsored Manny Pacquaio-Chris Algieri pay-per-view boxing match on Nov. 22

● Commissioned an Adidas shoe from JBF Customs and created custom-made jewelry

● Be on Empire Campaign (between season 1 & 2)- Next Empire Artist Tour Bus- sing Empire songs a cappella

● Real live award shows (Billboard Music Awards & Teen Choice Awards)

Promotion Efforts

Communication Strategy

Business Objective

❏ Boost viewership stats for upcoming season of Empire across TV, SVOD and VOD

❏ Engage younger audiences (18-34 year olds) and drive viewership to lower median age of viewers further

❏ Monetize increased viewership through big ticket advertisers that target most watched TV shows on broadcast networks (Linear TV and VOD) for advertising reach

The Campaign: Empire Artists App

● You are a Producer or Artist for Empire Entertainment

● In the spirit of Empire, the artists will compete to get to the top of Empire’s Hottest New Artist Tracks

Phase One:

● After downloading the app, fans will be able to choose which path they wish to take: Producer or Artist

● Producers○ Will be given the tools to create hot

beats and tracks● Artists

○ Will be given background/ instrumentals of songs from the show to record their voice over

Phase One:

● Each Empire artist and fan will be able to listen and rate the songs/tracks

● The rankings will appear on the app ● The top 10 tracks will be able to continue the

experience

Empire Experience● The Twist: Each artist will be given 100 Lyon

dollars at the start. ● These dollars can assist them in fighting their

way to the top ● Use Lyon dollars if they want to move up the

Empire Hottest New Artist Tracks:○ Kill their opponent (50)- The artist chosen will move

down 10 spaces○ Leak Bad News (30)- They will be able to choose

news that will affect the other artist’s reputation ○ Sabotage a track (10)- The artist’s track will not

play for a day so people cannot vote.

Empire News!● During the course of the music competition in

the app, Empire Entertainment will partner with E! News

● There will be leaks about artists and producers that are on the app on the E! News website and on the show

● Empire Entertainment Chart leaders, show announcements, deaths, sabotages, etc.

Who Will Be The Next Jamal Lyon?

Phase Two: Final Round● The top 10 artists/ producers will be able to

perform their songs live● Artists- Live Show-

○ Physical venue/ Streamed online (Empire micro-site)

○ Given Empire clothes○ Audience votes online and through mobile

● Producers○ Virtual Live Show- Choose from three

“Empire venues” on Google Maps ○ They will be able to play their tracks to a live

audience○ Audience votes on their phones

The Winners Prizes● Artists

○ Get to perform their version of the song on the show with their favorite character

○ Name will be in the credits● Producers

○ Get to work with Timbaland and the stars to produce the track, which will also be performed on the show

○ Name will be in the credits

Phase 3: Cookie’s Cookies● 2016 Golden Globes- Taraji P. Henson handed out

cookies to the audience when she won● Three months before the premiere● Team up with Chips Ahoy to create cookies based

on the fabulous Cookie Lyon● Information about the cookies will go up on the

Empire website, social media, and E! News

Phase 3: Cookie’s Cookies● The cookies will have a special code that reveals

key 15 second clips of songs from the next season ● Fans can upload lipsync videos the Empire’s

Instagram page ● The cast will select their top 5 favorites● Winners will attend the Red Carpet Premiere with

the cast

The Campaign

● Phase 1: The Empire App● Phase 2: The Finalist Competition● Phase 3: Cookie’s Cookies

Why it Connects with the Audience?

● Engage millennials with a mobile-first campaign○ Nearly one out of every five Millennials (18 percent) are

mobile-only internet users, a percentage that far exceeds that of 35- 54 year-olds (5 percent)

○ 18-34 year olds display a smartphone penetration of 81%○ Music based mobile games accounted for 9.6 million app

downloads in July 2016 according to Survey Monkey Intelligence

● Create word-of-mouth using audience sharing○ 18 to 34 year-olds are more likely to engage in downloading

and sharing music and videos online than any other age group according to Comscore

Why it Connects with the Audience?

● Tap into high usage of music based mobile apps○ Radio and music apps form 19% of millennial’s total time spent on apps ○ Pandora and YouTube constitute 20% of millennial's total time spent on apps

Marketing Strategy● Trailers on FOX network and Youtube ads featuring star

cast and call to action to download the app

● Promotions on E! News

● Social Media

○ Clips of characters of the cast listening to the user generated content

○ Empire’s social media accounts will also feature news about the artists who make it to the top of the charts

○ People can share their experience with #ImAnEmpireArtist

Revenue Streams and Products

❏ Music App

❏ Albums of the user tracks

❏ Cookies❏ Commision on sales

❏ Cookie’s clothing❏ Licensing fees

Revenue Streams and Partnerships● Music streaming services and music retailers to increase revenue (sales,

streaming commission) for Empire music

● Retail partners for Cookie’s cookies

○ Commission on sales

○ Manufacturing: Chips Ahoy

○ Distribution: Albertsons, Whole Foods, WalMart

Revenue Streams and Partnerships

● Potential brand sponsors for music app

○ One-time sponsorship fees for co-branding and in-app ads

○ Advertisers that target music-loving audiences:

○ Music streaming services/apps:

● Partner with E! News to create Empire News during the course of the music competition in the app

Principal Revenue Stream - Advertising on FOX

● Monetize increased viewership of Empire through big ticket advertisers

○ Target most watched TV shows on broadcast networks (Linear TV and VOD) for advertising reach

● Increase average rate for 30 second ad to $700,000 from $521,794 (last season’s rates)

○ 18-34 year old audience○ Women○ Hispanics and African-American viewers

● Solidify Empire’s position as most expensive scripted series by continuing to build audience

Future of Brand Extension

❏ The app can be extended to promote further seasons

❏ New concepts could include a contest to create art for albums or key art for TV show

❏ Can engage audiences who are aspiring writers to write plot lines for future seasons

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