Ash vs Evil Dead: Lionsgate creates the LA Valiant to promote TV shows
In January, Lionsgate became an investor in the Immortals esports franchise creating the LA Valiant to play in the Overwatch League. Ash vs Evil Dead is the first program to sponsor the team jersey!
“Multiple generations of gamers are fans of Bruce.” – Daniel Engelhardt VP of Lionsgate Interactive Ventures and Games
Create a Team, Promote a Show
Gaming and horror go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. So, AListDaily reported that in January Lionsgate, the parent company of STARZ decided to partner with the Immortals eSports franchise with the intention of promoting their television shows.
Out of that union, the LA Valiant was created to compete in the Overwatch League. On deck first was Ash vs Evil Dead as the official team jersey sponsor. Season 3 of the series is underway. How is this relationship working?
This effort is all about the fan experience. From perks like special showings at Lionsgate’s screening room in Santa Monica, to hanging out with the cast and Overwatch League watch parties. Last week, Dana DeLorenzo, Ray Santiago and Arielle Carver-O’Neill hung out with the Valiant and later Dana posted a pic on her Twitter feed.
For those of you not familiar with the world of gaming, the Overwatch League is very much like any professional sports league. They are all about fan engagement much like a baseball or football team is because after all, if you don’t have fans you don’t exist!
Also, Overwatch is well known for its high viewership according to AListDaily. Since gamer interaction is plentiful, Lionsgate capitalized on that by exposing them to Ash vs Evil Dead. Many of the players in the various leagues have parents who were cutting their teeth on Army of Darkness and then introduced the franchise to their kids and a tradition is born.
Kind of like Bruce Campbell is being passed down from generation to generation. Evidently, Lionsgate did their homework before joining this venture because they have targeted a new way to reach potential viewers.
Trial Run
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According to Daniel Engelhardt, VP of Lionsgate Interactive Ventures and Games, AVED will sponsor the teams’ jerseys through Stage Two of the inaugural season. While this union appears to have the potential to be very advantageous the numbers for the show continue to decline.
As we reported in the article, Ash vs Evil Dead: Ratings for episode 2 are in and they tell a story, viewership of the series is slipping due to a variety of factors but fans need to understand that the ball is truly in their court. They will be one of the deciding factors on whether or not this show lives to see a Season 4.
Not only were the audience numbers lower than expected, so were the social content ratings. As AListDaily reports, “NetBase data shows the season 3 premiere brought 38,546 mentions across social channels, which is lower than the season 2 premiere’s 41,794 mentions.”
What is NetBase? NetBase is a platform that provides companies with social media analytics. An easier explanation would be that NetBase looks at not only mentions of the show on various social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc but also how the show is being talked about.
Here is what data NetBase shows Lionsgate:
- They can instantly see what customers are sharing across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and much more
- Blogs, forums and review sites can be tapped into for in-depth opinions
- Act globally with social coverage spanning 99+ countries and 199 languages
- Analysis of the latest emojis
Obviously, Lionsgate is looking at this type of data and is searching for ways to connect with more potential viewers to make them aware of the types of programming they offer.
The Bottom Line
What can fans do? Watch Ash vs Evil Dead on STARZ now. Don’t wait until later. If you like the series let the network know. As the cast members have been saying in interviews, use all of the social media available as listed above to tell Lionsgate why you watch AVED.
Bruce Campbell has stated that they will find out in Mid-March whether or not there will be a Season 4.
Next: Roy Burns to receive new coveralls in Friday the 13th game