May 24th, 2021 | Emily Groch Earlier this month, HBO Max finally announced the premiere date of the much-anticipated “Friends” reunion special, and Jennifer Aniston helped spread the news, as always, through her social media. Aniston has been the biggest mouthpiece for the “Friends” reunion starting with her very first Instagram post. Rumors of a “Friends” reunion began to fly when Aniston launched her Instagram
account in 2019 with a candid selfie of the “Friends” crew back together. The post generated 16.4M likes and 527k comments. It was a brilliant move for the star to initiate her Instagram presence in this way, driving rumors of the reunion far beyond the platform itself, as entertainment outlets picked up the news of her Instagram debut and that initial post. The buzz continued with other posts featuring the “Friends” cast members, including one confirming the reunion. This post generated 11 million likes and 307k comments. Finally, Aniston revealed the reunion premiere date, driving much more engagement than HBO Max could build on its social platforms. Aniston shared the teaser video on her account, along with the premiere date, generating over 21 million views and 276k comments in fewer than five
days. The views of Aniston’s post were more than 17 times higher than the views of HBO Max’s post sharing the teaser video and likely reached an audience with an affinity for the show. According to Mintel research, followers of celebrity influencers
on social media feel increasingly connected to the influencers they follow, and over a third of such consumers even say they trust them. It was smart for Aniston to serve as a mouthpiece for the reunion, as most of her fans are probably also “Friends” fans, who will excitedly turn to HBO Max to continue indulging in their favorite content.
Source: Mintel social media monitoring [10/01/2019 – 05/17/2021] as of 05/17/2021
Source: Mintel social media monitoring [10/01/2019 – 05/17/2021] as of 05/17/2021
Source: Mintel social media monitoring [10/01/2019 – 05/17/2021] as of 05/17/2021Aniston’s social media following enabled HBO Max to create an authentic connection between its content and fans
What we think
The exciting “Friends” Reunion Special could help drive HBO Max sign-ups, while the full library of “Friends” episodes may entice them to stay. HBO Max smartly created an air of mystery around the reunion of the popular 90s sitcom, with Jennifer Aniston building the intrigue with her Instagram account. Most likely, the reunion will resonate with fans of the show, just as Aniston’s social media activity does. “Friends” fans who aren’t subscribing to HBO Max will likely sign up (or use a friend’s login–no pun intended) to watch. A reunion special is a great way to remind fans of favorite old episodes, and drive them back into that content. If HBO Max can get new users going back to the “Friends” library, they have a good chance of getting those new sign-ups to stick around.
Emily Groch is Comperemedia’s Director of Insights, Telecommunications, providing omni-channel marketing analysis and competitive insights to telecom providers.
It’s been 25 years since the iconic sitcom Friends was first aired. Ever since the first episode, the series has captured both the attention and hearts of millions of people worldwide. Many fans are obsessed with the idea of a Friends reunion film, but with the odds of it ever happening being unlikely, we can at least feast our eyes on the cast’s real-life friendship.
Recently, 50-year-old actress Jennifer Aniston joined Instagram and decided to show off her friends. Her debut was so big, that it crashed her Instagram profile.
In less than 24 hours, her very first photo received over 8 million likes and scored her over 6.4 million followers who are eager to receive more sneak peeks into her life. Right now, Aniston has more followers than any of her counterparts from the series.
Image credits: courteneycoxofficial
The very first photo was not an ordinary selfie. The photo features the Friends’ cast: Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry. She captioned the photo: “And now we’re Instagram FRIENDS too. HI INSTAGRAM”.
Image credits: courteneycoxofficial
It’s no secret that probably the most adored group of friends on screen are also very good friends in real life too.
Image credits: courteneycoxofficial
While the group of friends often appeared in each other’s Instagram accounts, it’s the first photo they shared where the whole group was brought together.
Image credits: courteneycoxofficial
The reunion photo comes after Aniston’s commentary denying the possibility of any kind of follow-up to the original series: “Our producers wouldn’t want it, wouldn’t let us. Look, it’s not been without our desire to, because our fans have wanted it so much … It would have been fun. We could have redesigned it for a couple of episodes. But whatever. Maybe it’s better this way, but we’ll never know.”