Each year, the major American broadcasting networks are pitched hundreds of ideas for new shows. Out of close to 500 pitches, the networks will choose around 70 to be scripted. This number is further reduced to a request for around 20 pilot episodes. The next step is to cast and film these pilots. Finally, the pilots are screened for network executives and polling audiences to see if they will be advanced to a full pilot season. If one of the pilot shows gets picked up for a full season, there is a lot of pressure put on the entire team for a Season 2 renewal.

Not only does the initial season need to be gripping enough, but the return season has to be promoted well enough to keep viewers coming back. One of the surprise new shows of 2020 was Fox’s Dave. Starring Dave Burd, known best by his stage name Lil Dicky, the show is a semi-autobiographical account of Dave’s believed destiny to become the world’s greatest rapper. Already a rapping sensation in real life, Dave was able to get some big stars to cameo in the show which he created, produced, stars in, writes, and composes.

Dave quickly became a fan favorite, boosted by streaming episodes on Hulu the day after being aired on Fox. The show was averaging 4.8 million viewers per episode. On May 11, 2020, just 3 months after Dave first aired, it was picked up for a second season. Season 2 of Dave was slated to premiere on June 16, 2021. Now the marketing team behind Dave had a daunting job, keep audiences interested to tune back in after a lengthy break. In today’s marketing world the best way to advertise is through a viral marketing campaign, and Dave embraced a brilliant viral marketing campaign.

“We wanted to make some noise with this,” says Kenya Hardaway who led the marketing campaign. “’Dave’ was kind of a runaway hit in its first season. There’s a lot of fans for him, the series, and his music. We wanted to find something that would get people’s attention refocused on the show.” The name of the campaign was “Dave Drops”, a pun on the character’s explosive mic drops and plan to “drop” a new album. To get the message across, the marketing team reached audiences with some awesome technology…drones. Fans were invited to enter a sweepstakes where they would be delivered a backpack full of merchandise pertaining to the show. There were 100 winners, with 20 selected to receive the prize via special delivery.

This special delivery would come in the form of 3 different drones. The first would be a commercial aerial drone with a life-size cardboard cutout of Dave on top. Hanging from the bottom of the drone would be the backpack. The second delivery option would be a giant remotely operated land drone disguised as Dave’s sidekick, an anteater. The final delivery option would be a ground delivery drone like those used to deliver groceries. Each delivery option had an interactive communication screen with a special message delivered by Dave himself.

The marketing team coordinated with each winner to be sure that their delivery could be accomplished safely. The winners had no idea they would be receiving their prize by a drone. Kenya said that the unusual circumstances of promoting a show during a global pandemic greatly influenced their decision to utilize drones. “We understand the importance of the IRL element. Our audience wants to immerse themselves in their favorite programs, so we need to be clever to deliver on them.” The drone stunt paid off, Season 2 of Dave once again was a huge hit.