#StopSpoilingStuff: A campaign to stop social media spoilers

Posted on by Marcus White

Imagine walking into work the morning after Game of Thrones airs. You haven’t watched it yet, but you’re going to catch up on your DVR that night. Walking into the office, you see your co-workers are discussing the show.

“Did you watch last night,” one of them asks.

“No, but I am going to catch up tonight!”

“Too bad! [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS] killed [ALSO REDACTED],”

That’s difficult to picture in real life, right? Shouldn’t it be the same on social media?

That question drives my social media campaign, #StopSpoilingStuff. Checking Twitter while watching television is often ruined by people posting about key plot points, or “spoiling” it. This wouldn’t be an issue if everyone was watching shows at the same time, but that’s no longer the case.

Less people are subscribing to traditional pay-TV options such as satellite and cable, making the experience of collectively watching shows at the same time unrealistic. Plus, there’s a good chance that those who still pay for cable are also not watching live. As Ad Age notes, ratings for this fall’s premieres declined, while 62% of pay-TV households having a DVR, according to the Leichtman Research Group. 

With less people watching television at the same time, and social media use accounting for 28% of all time online according to GO-Globe, I thought a campaign centering on ending spoilers could resonate and go viral.

At first, I wasn’t sure what the central image or hashtag of my campaign would be. I toyed around with a few ideas, including illustrating a short comic strip. Since original pictures are prevalent on Pinterest, where the image will live, I eventually decided to photograph a tablet, cell phone, and laptop in a trash can, and present it as a last, desperate measure avoid spoilers. A drastic step, sure, but that’s the point: we shouldn’t have to go that far.

I decided to format the image like most popular memes, utilizing ‘Impact’ font in the distinct white-with-black trim. It was a simple way to add messaging to my image, allowing people to quickly understand my point. The description includes a call to action and the hashtag, #StopSpoilingStuff and reads: “Tag friends who must #StopSpoilingStuff!” I chose #StopSpoilingStuff after a HashTracking search revealed the hashtag had not been used in the last 30 days, allowing me the chance to utilize an original hashtag.

[pin_widget url=”https://www.pinterest.com/pin/575546027358547482/”]

In order to ensure the image’s spread, I have formulated a marketing plan that I think will best maximize engagement. I will tweet just before, as well as the morning after the most tweeted-about shows air, using data from Nielsen Social’s weekly top 10 shows and series and Twitter’s own information about popular fall premieres. Basically, you can expect tweets timed around Scandal, Empire, and American Horror Story, using each show’s hashtag or tagging each account.

If a friend wouldn’t outright spoil a show in real life, shouldn’t they be held to the same standard on social media? Through a viral spread on Twitter and Pinterest, #StopSpoilingStuff tries to provide a simple answer.

They should.

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