SYFY favorites (from left to right): Wynonna Earp, The Magicians, Todd McFarlane
Since 1992, SYFY (then the Sci-Fi Channel) has been the go-to place for fans of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. For just as long, they’ve embodied a by-fans-for-fans approach to programming that has built one of the most passionate and engaged audiences on TV today.
SYFY, and parent company NBCUniversal, have been working with Tongal for four years, and have partnered with our community of creators to produce everything from animated interstitials to long-form content celebrating legendary figures like comic book creator Todd McFarlane.
"Geek out and Vote" by Rhiannon Evans
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mike DeRienzo, Sr. Creative Director at NBCU, where he oversees campaigns for the SYFY brand, the Harry Potter franchise, and scripted series for the cable portfolio. I was blown away to find that Mike started in NBC’s storied page program and it was a chance project with SYFY - right around the time of their big rebrand - that led to a decade-plus career at 30 Rock.
Kenneth the Page, and Mike DeRienzo, a lifelong Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan
We first discussed how co-creating with fans has changed since the network launched in ‘92. There was no social media, no email for mass outreach, and nowhere else to get your content besides your TV and the movie theater. According to Mike, the biggest difference between now and then is being able to communicate one-on-one with fans. NBCU, and specifically SYFY, has hyper-engaged social teams that respond to comments and DMs, while Mike’s team has collaborated with creative talent to produce new complementary storylines that involve classic characters and shows, such as their work with The Magicians.
“Passionate to the 10th Degree”
While the methods for co-creating content have changed, one constant is the intense love for genre within the community. Mike described the typical SYFY fan as someone who goes deep down Reddit rabbit holes to learn more about their favorite character or to better understand a scene. As with any group of passionate viewers, expectations can sometimes be subverted, leading to disappointment or even anger when something new upends the canon of a beloved story franchise. But even in these cases, SYFY relishes being the hub of online debate for these super-fans.
Meeting Fans Where They Are
How does Mike and his team find the most passionate fans? They meet them where they are. From Reddit subthreads to full-scale Wynonna Earp conventions (Earpapalooza), SYFY gets in the weeds, listening closely and engaging where they can add value. Which channels bear the most fruit depends on the property. If a show already has millions of Instagram fans, programming will focus there. The social team is constantly on the watch for new tools that might help forge stronger connections with fans. Tongal’s platform, for example, has played a key role in helping SYFY identify superfans and brand evangelists and managing the brand-creator relationship from brief to finished production.
A perfect example was the feature length documentary, Like Hell I Won’t, telling the story of legendary Spawn creator and Spider-Man artist Todd McFarlane. Leveraging Tongal’s community of creators, SYFY commissioned the documentary and received millions of impressions online and tons of engagement throughout the comic book and Sci-Fi worlds.
Longer form content like this can represent a gamble for SYFY, since it can be hard to tell how even the best produced stories will land with hardcore fans. Mike’s team takes a balanced approach to figuring out what audiences are looking for that combines advanced data analysis with fan-to-fan conversations. This approach allows the SYFY team to give fans the classic content that they know and love at just the right time along with surprises that go above and beyond expectations.
Channeling the Magic with The Magicians
One of Mike’s favorite properties to work with has been The Magicians, due to their hyper-engaged following that had already been creating content online and cosplaying at conventions to engage with the Magician’s community.
“That’s how you know when a property has made it – if fans are creating their own content, they become the best marketers for you.”
Mike and his team were quick to build on the fervor by producing longform videos on YouTube, working with the show's writers to create separate in-character storylines, and working with Tongal to create series highlights and fan-made logo videos, as seen below.
'Through the Wards Into the Hedge' by Chris Boyer
'The Fountain of Magic' by 30 Whiskers Entertainment
Margo's Best 1-Liners by Jenko Kent
