In September 2024, I attended the Los Angeles premiere of the Hulu/Onyx Collective series, “How To Die Alone”. The long-awaited debut series from actress and executive producer Natasha Rothwell is an amazing and refreshing look at a “coming of age” story that comedically articulates we don’t all have our lives together in our thirties. In the series, it took a near-death experience for Rothwell’s character “Mel” to literally wake up and realize that she wasn’t living life to the fullest.
Following the event and my subsequent interviews with the co-executive producer Vera Santamaria and the supporting cast, including Jocko Sims, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, and Conrad Ricamora, I raved about the show to a friend however I expressed my concern with the title of the series to which she replied, “…The name is going to catch people’s attention.” My friend had a point and with Rothwell making extensive media rounds with very compelling talking points about the series drawing inspiration from her life in her twenties, I hoped the message and the marketing would hopefully transcend the title.
Upon its release on September 13 (Sidenote…What was the science behind releasing a show with this title, set in an airport the week of September 11…? If you look at the series’ TikTok page, the posts were consecutive but skipped that day.)
Anywho, “How To Die Alone” debuted to critical acclaim but at the time of publishing a second season has yet to be announced. To put this in perspective, the second season of fellow Hulu/Onyx Collective series, “Reasonable Doubt” which premiered on August 22nd received a renewal announcement on November 13th. While no news may be good news, what prompted me to take this article out of my drafts was a video on TikTok published on December 30, 2024, by a creator named Odion, which has amassed over 50K views, where she also questions whether or not the title of the show will impact its renewal because typing out “How To Die Alone” in social media search bars including TikTok and Twitter / X results in a cautionary popup with the number for the suicide hotline (reference images below). “This is a nightmare in SEO and marketing,” said Odion in her video.
“… Because AI is going to listen to you say the title of these words and say, ‘Hey we’re going to take that down, we’re going to take the sound off’ she added. Another user replied that her video praising the show had been flagged and removed by TikTok. As a result, the much-deserved social praise for the series is being suppressed. At the time of publishing, the Instagram page for “How To Die Alone” only has 8K followers and 11k on TikTok. While there are seven TikTok posts prior to the release of the show with millions of views, it’s evident those were the result of an aggressive ad spend as the subsequent clips posted on and after the release date have an average of 2K views with 10 comments.
In order to find “How to Die Alone” on social media without the apps thinking you’re trying to kill yourself, you have to type the first initial of each word “HTDA” and then add “Hulu” so “@HTDAHulu”. A rebuttal in the comments of Odion’s TikTok was the fact that “How To Get Away With Murder” (HTGAWM) was an immensely popular, Emmy award-winning ABC series. Yes, that is absolutely true. However, “How To Get Away With Murder” was released in 2014 and the social media and streaming landscape has drastically changed within the last decade. While one would think a provocative title like “How To Get Away With Murder” would make it easier for “How To Die Alone” that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The following recommendations are ways in which the “How To Die Alone” marketing campaign could have reached it’starget audience as well as a broader audience, more organically by producing activations in places that align with various themes of the show.
For the purpose of this case study we’re going to modify the title of the series to “How to Fly Alone” which is still applicable to the show’s premise as Mel had never been on a plane, and “flying alone” also references her willingness to be comfortable with being alone without feeling lonely. From a marketing standpoint, this title is also appealing because there are people who have traveled the world with friends and family but couldn’t fathom a “solo trip”. With this in mind, “Face Your Fears” may have been a better promotional tagline than “Buckle Up”.
Now on to the Strategy Recommendations:
- Airport Activations
I’d venture to say that people wouldn’t want to see ads for “How To Die Alone” while in an airport. However, “How to Fly Alone” opens the door for a plethora of activation opportunities including a partnership with Delta Airlines (even though the uniforms in the show give more Southwest)…Delta Airlines is heavily involved in entertainment events. This activation is based on a pivotal scene in episode 4 when Mel’s friend, a baggage handler named “Terrance” (actor KeiLyn Durrel Jones) is adamant about not sharing his food with Tina, an airport store clerk, that he’s dating. However, Terrance lets Mel eat from his bag of chips, confirming the audience’s hopes that he does have feelings for her. The Delta x “How To Fly Alone” collaboration would include elevating passengers’ in-flight snack experience.
IDEA: Create custom chip bags with “Team Terrance” (BBQ Chips) or “Team Alex” (Plain Kettle Chips). The bags could include a QR code to watch the pilot episode (pun not intended!) with the ability to stream the entire season by creating a Hulu account (or logging in to their existing account.) The complementary chips would be specifically for flights to Chicago, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and New York. Moreover, a limited edition variety pack of chips with flavors for Mel and the other supporting characters would be available for purchase in major markets such as Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. This is a fun and interactive way to stimulate organic UGC while being able to track quantitative data regarding who watched the show during their flight.
ALSO: Delta and Hulu/Onyx Collective could revive the DeltaSky Magazine which was discontinued during the pandemic in 2020 in order to produce a special edition promotional issue with Natasha Rothwell on the cover and includecast interviews, behind-the-scenes photos etc.
2. A website for the series with an emphasis on curated travel itineraries.
I believe all TV series (and films) should have their own websites. While creating assets (episodic clips) for social media is important, the foundation of a campaign should also include a website which is one of the most straightforward ways to track engagement. This series is perfect for an interactive website with a plethora of engaging components including Mel’s Chicago Itinerary. Via Google Trends, “Things To Do In (insert city)” is a high-traffic search that could have directed people to a website for the series entitled “HowToFlyAlone.com” with curated lists of historical landmarks, eateries, shops, activities, and Black-owned businesses to patronize while in Chicago. Similar lists could have been created for cities referenced in the show including Hawaii as well as New York and Los Angeles.
In place of allocating the influencer marketing budget to creators who attended the New York and Los Angeles premieres with their deliverables being a recap of the party or the unboxing of Beis suitcases, a more productive allocation of funds could have included working with travel Influencers in these cities to curate the aforementioned itineraries which results in evergreen content that could be published and repurposed across multiple platforms including Pinterest which is the preeminent destination for trip planning.
3. Partnership with Black-owned hair salons
A memorable aspect of the series is the way in which Mel changes her hair at various points of her journey. As she became more confident in herself, she utilized her appearance to present a different version of herself. Her “work wig” was different from her “holiday wig” which was different from her “vacation twists”. Getting your hair done is a fundamental form of self-care for Black women. What better place to screen the show for a captive audience than at a hair salon where some Black women will be seated for at least 8 hours, the duration of the first season, getting their hair braided.
Hair content is extremely popular on social media. The primary way women find hair stylists is by seeing their work on Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest. An aspect of the influencer marketing social campaign could have included identifying Natasha’s favorite hair care line, partnering with those brands and providing stylists with products as well as branded capes, and capturing reactions to the show from customers.
ALSO: For decades Black actresses have expressed disappointment in the lack of cosmetologists who can adequately style Black hair. This series having a Black woman, Antoinette Julien, as the Head of the Hair Department is a big deal. Through a content piece entitled, “The Making of Mel” Rothwell and Julien can discuss the process of deciding on Mel’s various hairstyles. To further tie-in the aforementioned activation idea, in conjunction with Maude Okrah, CEO of Black Beauty Roster which helps provide more equitable opportunities for Black hair and makeup artists on TV & film sets, she and Julien can ensure that the stylists who are a part of the social campaign also register for BBR’s database and learn the necessary steps to joining the Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild.