The Lord of The Rings has a cult following, so when I led the launch of the @LOTRonPrime social handles and the title for the first year after its announcement at TCA 2019 I knew the stakes were high. 

To ensure we were establishing a strong connection with fans (who would have called us out if we didn't get it right) The Second Age announcement and the reveal of Númenor was led by social and executed in the most fan forward way. 

We created 5 maps that built on top of each other, adding more details as new maps were released. Not only did this excite fans who are known for searching even the most minuscule detail about their beloved book, but the release itself was done in a way that only true fans would be able to decipher: 3, 7, 9, 1.

And we did the fans justice. Overall sentiment around the announcement was extremely positive and the lore was happy to get a confirmation about the Second Age. Many fans complimented the marketing strategy and release of information as they felt as though it is doing the work justice. We also saw a large amount of earned media from the map’s releases, ranging from mainstream entertainment outlets like Entertainment Weekly and The Wrap, to more niche outlets serving the geek core audience like Polygon and Nerdist.