When someone clicks on an ad, it links them to a landing page - several of which I wrote, pertaining to a specific “single title,” in this example the much-anticipated new season of Barry. These synopses often worked off of several pages of press releases to give a succinct and enticing summary that would ideally lead to a new sign-up to access the movie or series in question.

The main HBO Max page, which users see before they log in or sign up, is managed by Growth Marketing to drive maximum new subscribers. I’d write headlines and subheadlines for various modules and refreshes throughout the main page to make it a site to behold.

Every trailer for upcoming releases and premieres requires custom copy. Here are 3 examples — I especially like the Barry one.

One of HBO Max’s novel features since its launch was offering “free samples” of its original series, usually pilots, with the theory that viewers would gladly sign up to see what happens next. Turns out: it works! Here’s an example of one of the Free Episodes pages I wrote.

Every movie featured on the main page gets its own “Single Title” page to feature, promote, and summarize it. Here’s one of my favorites.

Every series featured on the main page gets its own “Single Title” page to feature it, often with an accompanying trailer but always with copy to summarize. Here’s a 90s throwback that’s just a little more wholesome than Game of Thrones.

I wrote an array of taglines to be used on-asset, driving awareness of a series on HBO Max, the premiere, the series finale, and sign-up CTA, including the growth marketing campaign around the instant cult-classic (and personal favorite) Peacemaker.

Growth marketing campaigns requite dozens of custom captions across social media platforms, including these special shoots with John Cena in character, heralding his sorta-superhero above other characters in the DC universe.

Three of my highest-performing Facebook posts in a row, from the Facebook Ad Library. From left to right: King Richard, Moonshot, and a “multi-title” ad for dystopian sci-fi titles DMZ, Station Eleven, and I Am Legend.

Another custom tagline for ads that would get utilized in all sizes and dimensions. While most of my work in social media was driving attention towards the newest of the new, HBO Max also had a library of classic movies and complete series, including Friends — could it be a higher-performing title?

Almost every new series, season, or movie required a whole suite of social media copy to accompany it, including this sleeper hit series Our Flag Means Death. The trick was to promote the title while also conveying the concept, tone, and genre in limited character count. In this case, if you like comedies with a swashbuckling sensibility, this premiering series would really float your boat.

We had plenty of campaigns year-round devoted to holidays and themed months, but in entertainment, the awards seasons are as big as Christmas. We had plenty of prestigious content to promote around the weeks of Emmy and Oscar nominations; in 2022, we had 5 out of the 10 Best Picture nominees streaming, so we got to concept around copy for each of them (including prospective copy for potential winners) as well as the sheer amount of nominations we hosted, more than any other streaming service.

Concepting, scripting, and copy-editing videos made in-house to promote titles was one of my favorite parts of copywriting at HBO Max; we got to speak to fans, as fans. To promote high engagement and to keep viewers watching Snapchat stories as long as possible, we developed an interactive narrative style for some of these videos, including this Snap story I scripted that features multiple Doctors in the beloved BBC series, each dealing with their intergalactic nemeses the Daleks in their own way.

Another example of Snapchat content we conceived in-house to appeal to fans, speaking as fans ourselves — this time to promote a new season arriving to platform, Season 5 of Rick and Morty. Since this series is known for a, shall we say, passionate fanbase, we really wanted to come correct with something that provided popular highlights in a format authentic to the R&M universe, in this case their irreverent “Intergalactic Cable” channel-surfing.

The consistent messaging of “In Theaters & On HBO Max” was the compass point we followed across all the social media platforms — within that structure, each movie got custom messaging true to its story, tone and potential audience. As a Matrix fan since last century, it was a pleasure to plug into some references and terms the fanbase could respond to. Writing to fans as a fan is the core joy of the job.

A challenge with copy and design alike was encompassing the specific contours of releasing a movie in theaters and on streaming at the exact same time, all within a concise package that could be fluid across all ad dimensions and placements. We also tied in new releases with library titles to get the scope of HBO Max across — if it’s a double feature of Space Jams (Spaces Jam?) you’re after, look no further.

Each new movie required specific summaries, messaging and campaigning with the campaign. I’d read pages of press releases, marketing briefs, and behind-the-scenes background to write for each title. Judas and the Black Messiah, for example, required a respectful and intentional hand with the subject matter in consideration; two months after this film premiered in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously, a well-earned Academy Award gave further prestige to the filmmakers and even more attention to Warner Bros.’ groundbreaking campaign.

The Matrix Resurrections Snap Story

The last film released in the 2021 “In Theaters & On HBO Max” campaign, The Matrix Resurrections, brought a lot of fun creative opportunities with it. I concepted, scripted, revised, and copy-edited this video for Snapchat, and as a fan, I’m especially proud of how we were able to intersect the format and the narrative. The tap-through function was harnessed here in a “choose your adventure”-style structure, all while paying homage to the original Matrix to give the Resurrections teaser footage a creative wrapper. As Neo would say (and say again), “Whoa.”

The Matrix Resurrections TikTok Video

We restructured and reformatted the concept around the Matrix Resurrections Snap video, tightening the edit and function alike for TikTok’s unique specifications, while keeping the creative wrapper for the teaser footage in the universe of the Matrix narrative. However you choose, the Matrix (still) has you.

Over 1 million impressions on Facebook alone, as per the site’s ad library, is portfolio-worthy in my book.

Every family has its traditions.

Saving the day. Her way.

A coming-of-age story.

Adjusting the color on your screen.

People vanish. The truth doesn’t.

The murder was only the beginning.

Two murders. Four false convictions. A town full of secrets.

Meet the man who ruined the game.

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