Logo Gets Word Out on ‘Drag Race’

By R. THOMAS UMSTEAD -- Multichannel News, 1/30/2012 12:01:00 AM

Logo is turning to the Web and social media outlets with an extensive marketing and promotional initiative to drive awareness for the new season of its top reality series, RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The gay and lesbian-themed network will create several promotions on such sites as Facebook, Twitter and GetGlue throughout the fourth season of the series, which is hosted by entertainer RuPaul and pits contestants in a competition to find the best drag performer. The fourth season debuts tonight (Jan. 30.)

“Drag Race is one of those rare shows that both new and returning fans fall in love with each season. … It’s chock-full of OMG moments and characters,” said Dan Sacher, vice president of digital for Logo. “Our digital and social strategy allows our audience to celebrate all of the drama and hilarity with their friends to express their ardent fandom.”

Logo is posting the first 10 minutes of every episode on Facebook each Monday, hours before the network premiere, Sacher said. Each fan that gets a friend to “like” the Drag Race Facebook page will be able to unlock a free download of a RuPaul ringtone.

Logo will also create a “Fantasy Drag Race” game on Logotv.com in which users can choose their top three “queens” and are awarded points or are deducted points based on the actions of those contestants in the episode. Users with the most points will receive a prize pack.

Users can win additional points by entering a secret word that will appear at the start of each episode’s premiere, an enticement Logo hopes will promote multi-screen viewing.

Logo will also institute online and mobile phone chats during and after each episode premiere this season; viewers can chat with one another, as well as with guest talent from the show.

On Twitter, contestants from season four as well as those from prior seasons will tweet live during each episode’s premiere, as select tweets from fans are displayed on-air.

The series will also offer users of GetGlue 18 different stickers that, when unlocked, will open an animated GIF of RuPaul’s runway entrance from the corresponding episode.

Sacher hopesd the increase in social-media activity for RuPaul’s Drag Race will drive a larger audience to the series, which averaged a network-high 660,000 viewers last season.

“We’re hoping the campaign will create an ongoing dialogue about the show, which, in turn, will help drive ratings,” Sacher said. “A few of the specific success metrics we’ll be looking for are increasing our visitors to Logotv.com, having the show trend on Twitter and growing the show’s Facebook community.”