With a nod to both historical and contemporary traditions, fiction publisher Harlequin Teen is launching a “digital oracle” to help promote the new volume in the Blood of Gods and Royals series titled Legacy of Kings.
In ancient times, Greeks seeking advice from the great oracle at Delphi had to make the trek to Mount Parnassus. These days, all you’ll need to get sage advice is a hashtag. To wake the wise, sleeping oracle and ask it a question, Twitter users must simply use the “magic” hashtag: #asklegacyofkings. An automatic—if perhaps random—response will follow within 2-5 minutes.
“We have seen a great response from fans and only expect the campaign to grow as the books momentum continues to develop,” said Bryn Collier, digital marketing manager, Harlequin Teen.
When asked why Harlequin Teen decided to use Twitter for the campaign, Collier told Marketing the book’s content provided a unique opportunity for the brand.
“We felt the oracle worked best in the twitter-sphere given the conversational nature of the platform,” she said.
“As users are regularly tweeting at their friends, brands, celebrities (and so on), it seemed a natural fit to have users tweet to the oracle and have it respond.”
Likewise, social media marketing is a natural fit these days for Harlequin Teen, said Collier.
“Social media is a key component to every Harlequin Teen book launch,” said Collier. “We regularly use social media to push the boundaries and connect with the fans in new ways.”
The social media concept was handled in-house.
