Severance has an undeniable lure to fans everywhere that’s hard to pin down, a phenomenon that’s clearly by design. Its captivating way of defying genre boundaries makes it both addicting to watch and an interesting advertising case. From my experience, convincing my friends to watch the dark sci-fi / workplace comedy / drama / mystery has been a hard sell. The show is amazing because it does a little bit of everything. It’s also hard to position… because it does a little bit of everything.
And while I’ve struggled, the Apple TV+ marketing team has soared. They hosted a genius pop-up installation in the middle of Grand Central Station where several of the main cast’s actors simply worked in cubicles behind glass walls. Adam Scott took the day to pretend to work at a computer. The internet loved it. All I’ve been able to come up with to encapsulate the show is a few minutes of meandering plot synopsis.
Clearly something is working, because Severance is the network’s most popular show, bumping heartwarming comedy Ted Lasso. While the Apple TV+ marketing team works their magic, I have to wonder – what is the Lumon Industries marketing team up to?
Posed Group ORTBO Photos with a Tasteful Amount of Photoshop
Severance seems to take place simultaneously in the future and the past, with out-of-this-world neurosurgical technology, old school data processors, modern cell phones and ‘80’s and ‘90’s model sedans. Maybe they don’t even have social media. But let’s pretend they do!
The Lumon marketing team is definitely unsevered. I’m picturing a small, underfunded group comprising one senior executive, a mid-level analyst, and a handful of unpaid interns from the local college. They’re tasked with being very precise and corporately positive in their language with a thousand pages of Brand Guidelines as their main point of reference – a deeply unhelpful amount of instruction. If Milchick can get an official warning in his evaluation for putting paper clips on backwards, interns are definitely canned for using (or not using?) Oxford commas in their Instagram captions.
Overall, the company has a few different personas to reach within their market. There are prospective employees looking at the company and deciding whether or not to pursue work there, whether it be severed or unsevered. There are consumers purchasing the biotechnology Lumon produces, though we still don’t know what exactly that entails. And there are current employees. At a company this large, your image matters for retention and hiring in equal measure. Especially when you sign up to work on a product under the explicit agreement that you don’t get to ask any questions. You’re inevitably going to have a thousand questions. Every word in every post from Lumon counts toward answering those questions or creating more.
So, they keep it simple. Perfectly retouched group photos. Brief and confusing press releases. They post just enough to maintain a facade of blissful ignorance of dissent. Or if they are aware, maybe they’re above acknowledgment.
Picture this: after the latest ORTBO, one of the seasonal marketing interns posts a nice group photo to Facebook. The caption boasts “unique group bonding opportunities” and features several confused comments from outies’ friends and family. These comments are quickly deleted.
Important and Mysterious Blogs About Important and Mysterious Work
While a blog targeted toward the greater public could be beneficial to Lumon’s image, it’s likely that their biggest audience is internal. It’s the unsevered workers curious to see what their severed counterparts are up to during their lunch break, clicking around for stray bits of information. Yes, the work is important and mysterious. We get it. But what is it? On the severed floor, all the workers know is the word of Kier. Outside, the other employees have got to be a little more grounded, but just as in the dark. Loyal employees are Lumon’s biggest weapon against outside criticism. So they’re going to try to keep their people happy.
Updated weekly, each blog is a frustratingly obtuse comment on the company’s progress, featuring maddening quotes from executives about nothing and photos of meetings with statistics written on whiteboards. “Productivity on Severed Floor Up 36% After Introduction of Defiant Jazz.” “Melon Parties Proven to Boost Employee Morale” “Wellness Sessions Retired in Favor of Enhanced Focus Time.” “Cold Harbor Initiative Reaches 96% Completion.” What does it mean??
The good news for Lumon is that even if their employees aren’t swayed by optimistic corporate jargon, subtle threats usually get the job done just as well.
Vaguely Threatening Recruiting CTA’s That Antagonize Your Deepest Traumas
Companies use social media as a powerful recruitment tool. Whether that’s solely on LinkedIn or through other platforms, selling your organization as a great place to work contributes to positive brand recognition that permeates your products and services. Lumon is a biotechnology company whose main PR hurdle is selling their highly controversial severance technology to the public. Helena Egan’s procedure was surely broadcasted as the ultimate testimony to the concept’s safety and efficacy, nevermind the violence it led to on and off the severed floor.
All this to say, while their recruitment posts are likely as blandly positive as their posed group photos, I like to imagine a few programmatic ads targeted to poke at your deepest wounds. Tired of feeling like you’re choking on your wife’s ghost? Get severed today at Lumon Industries!
So What?
While corporate social media can seem very straightforward and predictable, there’s plenty of nuance in tone. Fictional or not, the best brands take their online presence very seriously, whether in humor (Duolingo) or in timeless simplicity (The Coca Cola Company). Not all of us are an evil sci-fi megacorporation/cult planning on… resurrecting their founder from beyond the grave, maybe? But all of us are here, and we’re watching what you say.