First Amazon Kindle Advertising

Showtime always looks for inventive ways to promote its newest shows, and with new dark comedy series “Nurse Jackie”, the channel realised it had a strong new weapon in the ratings war against its closest rival channel, HBO. All Showtime needed, was an inventive way to cut through the clutter, and engage subscribers in a unique way.

Hardcore TV enthusiasts are a dedicated bunch. They will collect all the DVD box-sets, buy spin-off novels, and even read original scripts. Showtime wanted this devoted TV audience to connect with Nurse Jackie, and allow word-of-mouth to do the rest. When the time came to sample the show, the channel chose to release the first episode script on all Kindle platforms.

After advertising the free availability of the first script on Showtime’s website, Amazon.com and within the Kindle store, all users who downloaded the script were able to watch the entire pilot episode for free on Amazon.com or SHO.com.  The script download came with a broadcast schedule and a call to action to tune in each week, to see Nurse Jackie’s mischievous exploits. The strategy represented the first time Kindle users had been offered premium content for free.
 
Showtime was the first advertiser to implement a workable ad solution for digital e-readers that could be monetised. Although the Kindle is a platform designed for the written word, Showtime were able to make use of this apparent limitation, and turn it into an interesting piece of added-value content for consumers.

Nurse Jackie’s premier attracted an audience of nearly 1.4m, Showtime’s best ever premier.