The Save OFMD
London Billboard Project
Capitalizing on the UK Release of Season 2 to Save Our Flag Means Death!
What’s the Plan?
Save OFMD is fundraising for a new media initiative in London to spread the word, drive traffic to our petition, and show potential networks why they should save Our Flag Means Death.
We’re inspired by the success of HoistTheAds, whose paid media campaign in the US (including a billboard in Times Square) brought plenty of media attention and support for our fandom’s cause. By running a similar campaign in the UK when OFMD Season 2 is currently airing, we can sustain this momentum, demonstrate the size of OFMD’s international market, and prove to streamers that picking up OFMD will bring them a fandom large enough to fund not just one major ad but two!
Read on for more details.
Why Paid Media?
To continue driving this fan campaign towards our pick-up goals, we need to keep earning attention for Our Flag Means Death and its fans. The more we keep proving sustained interest, viewership, and fandom growth, the more we demonstrate to streamers that picking up the show is a good financial investment.
Paid advertising in Central London during the UK release helps us hit all these objectives:
It’s a proven means of earning press attention for the show and the campaign.
It demonstrates OFMD fans are a large and lucrative audience.
It helps bolster measurable campaign metrics like petition signatures.
And it just promotes the show!
Now that the billboard is confirmed, we aim to make our fundraising dollars work even harder with a PR plan to inform journalists and media contacts that we’re still out here pulling for our show. If you’d like to help with that PR plan, you have media contacts to share, or you are media yourself — please get in touch with us!
Who’s Behind This Project?
The Save OFMD Crew is a group of international fans of Our Flag Means Death committed to helping the show get picked up for Season 3 — and beyond. Read more about the Save OFMD Crew here.
When members of the Save OFMD Crew Discord server and fans from other platforms expressed interest in a second billboard campaign to capitalize on the final episodes of OFMD Season 2 airing in the UK, we began investigating the feasibility of a paid media campaign in London.
After a group discussion and a vote, a group of interested volunteers with relevant experience and skills stepped up to lead the project, checking in with the rest of the Save OFMD Crew server when needed.
This media campaign project is being organized and led by @HoistOurFlag, @HoshiForever, @QueerlyAutistic and @roximonoxide.
The previous paid media campaign took place in NYC and was spearheaded by another group of OFMD fans: HoistTheAds.
Why a Fundraiser?
The fundraiser aims to cover the cost of 1–3 paid media assets selected with the help of a UK-based campaign advertising consultant. (Hi Mike!) Our consultant takes no fees or commission from our funds — he’s paid by the media vendors he finds paying customers for.
Though some private and larger donors have come forward, we wanted to open the fundraiser to any fan who wished to help. It’s nice to be a part of something.
Publicly fundraising also allows us to try for our stretch goals: pie-in-the-sky goals, but something we might be able to reach as a crew. (We’ve actually met our first stretch goal — funding ad trucks — and are well on the way to our second!)
Ultimately, community fundraising helps us prove to platforms that might pick up the show that there is a large, lucrative fanbase willing to show up for Our Flag Means Death. We want them to see this show is a great investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Main Goal (Funded!) - 4 days of ad space on the Vue cinema billboard Leicester Square.
Stretch Goal 1 (Funded) - 3 days of ad trucks touring potential streamers’ London headquarters.
Stretch Goal 2 (Ongoing) - London Underground Digital Ads in target relevant stations.
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For more on the media strategy behind this specific media selection, check out our full project FAQ document.
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The first billboard is scheduled to go live 11–12 March.
The second billboard is scheduled to go live 18–19 March.
Our ad trucks will be driving around the London streamers’ offices on 11, 12, and 13 March.
Our London Underground ads won’t be scheduled unless and until we meet our second fundraising stretch goal.
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The fundraiser will be up for two weeks, closing on 10 March at 11:59pm (GMT). This gives two full weeks of fundraising time, with that portion of the campaign ending before the first billboard day.
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Absolutely not.
In fact, we don’t encourage anyone to contribute if they’re not comfortable doing so, for any reason. This project began at the hands of people who wanted to see it happen. Zero pressure to participate has always been our motto.
Let’s Talk Budget.
Here’s a quick breakdown of our fundraising goals. For more in-depth info please see the full project FAQ.
Each goal will only happen if we have the funds. We selected and ordered these goals based on their overall impact to our pick-up campaign priorities: The more it can do for us, the more we’ve made it a priority.
Main Goal (Funded!) - Leicester Square Billboard, 4 Days
Our Save OFMD image (with a petition QR code) will air for ten seconds every minute throughout each day of the ad.
The first two days of the billboard will coincide with the BBC’s airing of the last episodes of OFMD Season 2. The second two days will be the following week, to show sustained interest.
1st billboard run (2 days, March 11–12): £4,500
2nd billboard run (2 days, March 18–19): £4,500
Total = £9,000 (Funded!)
Stretch Goal 1 (Funded!) - Ad Trucks, 3 Days
One day of an LED truck canvassing London: £1,000
A second day of an LED truck canvassing London: £1,000
A third day of an LED truck canvassing London: £1,000
Total = £3,000 (Funded!)
Stretch Goal 2 (Ongoing) - Underground Ads
London Underground Escalator Ads: £2,000 minimum spend
What does “minimum spend” mean? This final stretch goal is still being discussed. The price and duration vary widely by the station and day(s) we choose to run the ads. If you’d like to contribute to that discussion, please reach out to us!
Total = Min. £2,000
The iconic Vue theatre in Leicester Square is one of the most prominent advertising locations in central London (if not the UK), with an enormous amount of footfall and visibility each day.
What Happens to Any Remaining Funds?
Charitable donations. Our fandom makes a habit of supporting great causes, and this project is no different.
In the event we have more than we need to pursue this media plan, we’ll distribute remaining funds evenly across the following charities:
To find out more about why and how these foundations were selected, please check out our full project FAQ.