{"id":13410,"date":"2025-02-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=13410"},"modified":"2025-02-24T22:35:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T03:35:44","slug":"when-outside-of-the-box-is-inside-the-box-unpacking-the-severance-promotion-and-how-creative-promotion-campaigns-benefit-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2025\/02\/27\/when-outside-of-the-box-is-inside-the-box-unpacking-the-severance-promotion-and-how-creative-promotion-campaigns-benefit-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"When Outside of the Box is Inside the Box: Unpacking the ‘Severance’ Promotion and How Creative Promotion Campaigns Benefit Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If there\u2019s one thing we know about consumers, it\u2019s that we love to be part of the experience. When a campaign pulls us in and lets us engage firsthand, it sticks with us. Immersive promotional strategies don\u2019t just grab attention: they create lasting impressions and make brands more memorable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great example of immersive promotion is Apple TV+\u2019s marketing campaign for \u201c<\/a>Severance,\u201d<\/a> a sci-fi psychological thriller about employees who undergo a procedure to separate their work and personal memories. As part of their promotion for the show’s second season, which was released on Jan. 17, Apple set up a life-sized glass office in Grand Central Station in New York City. Inside this glass \u2018box\u2019, the cast of the show went about office tasks, fully in character, bringing the show to life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passersby could watch the staged office from outside the glass, in an almost zoo or museum-like fashion. This setup drew in crowds of commuters and fans alike, and quickly went viral as people shared videos of the actors and the box itself on social media. This kind of live, interactive promotion didn\u2019t just advertise the show, it let people experience its themes. Though it may feel dystopian to see crowds of people watch actors go about \u2018boring\u2019 office tasks in the middle of Grand Central, the unsettling vibe matches the way the show\u2019s dystopian plot is supposed to make you feel, and it\u2019s this correlation that means this promotion works for this show and generates the right kind of buzz.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple TV+ isn\u2019t the only brand that has used immersive promotions. Several companies have launched innovative campaigns that brought their brands to life. <\/strong>To promote \u201cWestworld\u201d in 2018, HBO recreated<\/a> the show\u2019s futuristic Wild West setting at SXSW. Visitors could interact with actors, solve mysteries and fully experience the world of the show. By making people feel like they were part of the show, HBO strengthened the show\u2019s existing fanbase and generated media attention, bringing in new viewers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, IKEA UK hosted a sleepover<\/a> in their Essex warehouse. People who joined their Facebook group entered a contest to spend a fun-filled night inside the store. This campaign reminded customers of IKEA\u2019s cozy, home-like identity while creating an immersive experience that winners would naturally want to share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s digital world, traditional campaigns alone aren\u2019t enough to make a brand stand out. Innovation in PR doesn\u2019t just mean being different for the sake of it, it\u2019s about creating something that genuinely connects with people. When a campaign invites people to be part of the experience, it builds stronger connections and encourages organic sharing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the \u201cSeverance\u201d Grand Central pop-up, for example. It wasn\u2019t just a promotion, it was an experience people wanted to talk about. Whether it\u2019s a glass office in the middle of a train station or a warehouse sleepover, great immersive PR campaigns create stories that audiences can\u2019t help but share. Sometimes, the best way to think outside the box is to put something (or someone) inside one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ella Duggan is a sophomore at Emerson College majoring in Communication Studies. Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, she is a passionate writer and currently serves as Co-Editor for the Opinion section of Emerson\u2019s official student newspaper, The Berkeley Beacon. In her free time, she loves music and is Assistant Music Director for her a cappella group, the Emerson Acappellics. Connect with her on\u00a0Lin<\/a>kedin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s one thing we know about consumers, it\u2019s that we love to be part of the experience. When a campaign pulls us in and lets us engage firsthand, it sticks with us. Immersive promotional strategies don\u2019t just grab attention: they create lasting impressions and make brands more memorable.  A great example of immersive promotion is Apple TV+\u2019s marketing campaign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":13411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3742,3551],"tags":[924,3829,2739,3527],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13412,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions\/13412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}