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HBO Uses Libations to Schmooze Viewers, Garner WOM
To promote the second season of its hit series "Rome," HBO gave diners in more than 90 restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago complimentary bottles of wine. The bottles were served with a card that read: "A taste of 'Rome' awaits you. Ask server for details." The appropriately branded bottle of curiosity-inducing spirits, as well as the experience of getting a surprise freebie, are things HBO hoped restaurant goers would take home with them. The free wine may have inspired conversations with friends and family, and might have even influenced the channel-surfing trajectories of wine recipients. Either way, HBO found a clever way to use word of mouth to keep its series top of mind.