An Amazon exec explains how he evaluates marketing success for original TV series like 'Good Omens'

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Part of Amazon's efforts to promote the release of "Good Omens."

• Amazon has spent months marketing its latest original TV show, "Good Omens," which premieres on May 31.
• The TV and movie studio will evaluate whether that effort paid off based on how many people sign up for Prime or start using the service to watch the series, Michael Benson, head of marketing for Amazon Studios, told Business Insider.
• Amazon's marketing helps to prove that a series is "worth a customer's time," Benson said.

• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon Studios has been using its marketing prowess to get original series like "Good Omens" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" in front of as many people as possible.

Its latest campaign, for "Good Omens," which debuts on Amazon on May 31, has included traditional TV commercials, billboards, a New York Times newspaper wrap, street teams, pop-up activations, social-media elements, and a robust effort featuring a choir of Satanic nuns inspired by the series who have spent months touring, making a music video, and recording an album.

Amazon made a "significant investment" in marketing the show, Michael Benson, the head of marketing at Amazon Studios, told Business Insider. When "Good Omens" debuts on Friday, Benson and his team will evaluate whether those marketing efforts paid off.

"At a high level, every show campaign is working to do a couple of things," Benson said.

At Amazon, they're designed to drive people to sign up for Prime or Prime Video memberships, encourage existing Prime members who haven't been watching Prime Video to start doing so, and get people who are already using Prime Video to watch it more often.

Around the time of the series premiere of "Good Omens," Benson said he'll look at customers who are signing up for Prime and the Prime Video users who use the service for the first time to stream the show, a metric called "first streams." He'll also look at things like the overall streams for the show, number of episodes users watch, customer ratings and reviews, and the social conversation around a series.

"We are continually tracking awareness and people's interest in the show," Benson said. "We want to make sure that these marketing programs that we have work to bring new customers in and engage other customers deeply."

There are a lot of things competing for people's attention these days. Benson considers it his job to help convince customers to spend six hours with "Good Omens" on Prime Video, over watching another TV show or movie, reading a book, following the news, napping, or anything else they could do with their days.

"Anything that we can do to help prove that it's worth a customer's time," Benson said. "A lot of these shows that we're creating, it's a fun ride. It's worth spending time with us."

Read Business Insider's full interview with Michael Benson on "Good Omens" and Amazon's TV and movie marketing.