Outlander season 3 uses Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan in relatability marketing push

What makes a show like Outlander great? Well, it means different things to different people, but Starz is clearly banking on its relatability. It doesn’t matter of the show is set in the 20th century, the 18th century, or if they ever jumped forward to the 35th century — it’s one that essentially is about two people finding each other across great distances of time and space. It’s an epic love story, so much so that the network wants to look at other epic love stories to further promote it in some way.

With this, we present to you the new video below from the network featuring stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe. We’ve mentioned before that Starz is looking to do a “love lost” campaign so that viewers can share some of their similar stories — minus the whole part of time travel. This is one of the first times, however, that they’ve used a video featuring their stars to further push the initiative.They haven’t shared just what this is for, but we have to imagine that they are looking to utilize it in some sort of marketing/promotional way moving forward. They know that they have a moving show, and some people out there may see their own moving story in what Claire or Jamie Fraser went through. (Watch the video to learn how to submit a story.)

They haven’t shared just what this is for, but we have to imagine that they are looking to utilize it in some sort of marketing/promotional way moving forward. They know that they have an emotional show, and some people out there may see their own emotional story in what Claire or Jamie Fraser went through. So many of us have experienced some form of heartache.

So, from a marketing perspective, is this a great way to help launch the show? We do very much think so because it plays into some of what makes Outlander special: Community. This is a passionate, tight-knit fan base who feels very much about the show and its characters. Sharing personal stories and experiences only serve as a means to bring them closer together. If Starz markets this the right way and celebrates these stories as uplifting and powerful, it could be one of the most moving campaigns out there.

What we do know is that this risky, and very much different than how many other shows are looking to bring attention to themselves in 2017. The vast majority of them like to play up the “look how edgy we are” angle by posting crazy posters, sharing a political message, or try to hype up their star power while ignoring the story behind them. Outlander doesn’t want to do that, and it recognizes that it’s different than most other shows out there. Few tell a story that has either romance or pain to this degree, and it has an opportunity right now to really embrace its identity and distance itself from the field.

The show has a little more than a month and a half to go between now and the September 10 premiere. In that time, we are certainly quite curious to see how the show is marketed and what audiences they choose to highlight it to beyond just the established base.

What do you think about this plan, and the purpose of this campaign?

Share in the comments below! Meanwhile, if you’re curious to read some further news regarding Outlander marketing, we suggest that you visit the link here to read more about the decision to screen the full premiere at SDCC. (Photo: Starz.)