Youth Campaigns using Youth Campaigns using

Social MediaSocial Media

E4 Skins – Programme Launch

• Campaign to promote a new television program on E4 called Skins

• Aimed at 16-34 audience who can be notoriously difficult to engage

• Television viewing for this age group has been steadily falling over the last few years

• A drama and a cast of unknowns on a non terrestrial channel means it was going to be an uphill task

• Promoted via TV, press, outdoor and Internet prior to launch of series

E4 Skins – Pre launch marketing

• Series of initiatives and events to promote series prior to airing of first episode

• The characters of the show were introduced on Myspace. Fans invited to sign up for updates and exclusive previews

• Members of community who first signed up were invited to a party with the cast

• Images of party posted on Flickr and film from party posted on myspace. Film also used for viral purposes

• Fans start creating their own content

E4 Skins – Pre Launch Marketing

• Other initiatives include further parties (Kiss & myspace joint competition), exclusive screenings with cast and a fashion competition

• An exclusive preview of 1st episode available on myspace just before the first show was aired

• Free music provided for community members

E4 Skins - Results

• It was the largest ever audience for the launch of an E4 drama, beating both Lost and 24. The audience for the first episode (1.6m) was six times higher than the slot average

• Highest pre-launch awareness in the history of Channel 4

• 400,000 visitors to myspace page prior to first episode

• 21,000 fans signed up as friends and 5,000 people had content on their profiles

E4 Skins – Key Learnings

• Building a relationship with audience prior to launch to create buzz and word of mouth

• Establishing a community through social media and events

• Providing audience with tools to discuss program, build content and create buzz

Skins II – New Series

• After success of first series, the challenge was to keep the momentum going

• The aim was to reward as well as surprise existing fans in addition to increasing awareness

• One of the goals was to double the 70k myspace community

• E4 wanted to promote the new series without making any significant investment in media spend

Skins II – Pre Launch Marketing

• Integrated campaign using online, outdoor, press and cinema. Online content was the main driver to take the campaign forward

• Fans were encouraged to create content online which could be easily distributed

• Webisodes called The Lost Weeks were created to inform fans on what characters had been up to and to fill the void between series 1 and 2

• First episode of series was premiered on myspace for fans

• Creation of digital street teams. Members were recruited if they proved themselves by using online tools and seeding previews on influential blogs

Skins II

• Skinscast is a podcast which provides a preview and summary of the episodes. Includes behind the scenes interviews, gossip and competitions

• Blog with the latest news on show, cast and promoting content

• Regular competitions to engage audience and for content creation purposes

• Community used to recruit cast members as well as DJs and photographers for parties

Skins II – Results

• Awareness of 98% among target audience for the first episode

• Average of 2.1m viewers per week

• 1.5m views of online content

• Myspace grew to 150,000 fans and 30,000 people joined to watch the first episode which was aired online prior to being broadcast

• Skincast topped the iTunes chart

Skins II – Key Learnings

• Turn existing fans into advocates and allowing them to market the new series

• Online was used as an extension of the show and content produced such as webisodes added to expectations of new series

• Showing first episode online had no visible effect on TV audience figures

• Giving audience the tools with which to create and distribute content

Royal Marines – Only a Sailor can recruit a Sailor

• Campaign to drive recruitment to the Royal Marines

• Aim was to educate potential recruits on what people in the Royal Marines actually do and what they are like

• A real Royal Marine was enlisted to talk to young people in order to give them an insight into life with the Marines

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3510841712

Royal Marines - Bebo

• Set up page on Bebo for Flight Lieutenant Brendan Spoors in order to have conversations with young people

• Bebo profile brought to life what it is really like to be in the Navy and this was done by answering questions and providing content

• The profile also included information on interests such as favourite bands, films, etc.

• Subtle promotion of Bebo page such as a link from the Royal Navy website

Royal Marines – Results and Key Learnings

• Over 1,100 friends and 65,000 profile views during the campaign

• Bebo profile was the highest driver of website traffic to RN recruitment site

• Bebo facilitated conversations between a real Royal Marine and anyone interested in finding out more about the Navy

• On a negative note, the profile is no longer being updated and while questions are still being posted. It is important to have a long term vision when planning campaigns

Sofia’s Diary – Online Soap

• Online soap following the life of a 17 year old girl called Sofia who has just moved to London. Aired every week day during two week period

• The program is aimed at women aged 16-34 and made its debut on Bebo in March 2008

• Viewer interaction as they can vote on the storyline they would like to see. The voting helps main character decide her big decisions

• Fans encouraged to comment on channel and character profile

• Fans can stay up to date through a daily mobile news service which is free. There are 19,000 subscribers

Sofia’s Diary - Results

• Opening episide attracted 305,000 viewers in the first 24 hours. Figures rose steadily to reach 2.5m view for the first week and 2.6m for the 2nd week

• The program was generating on average 1,000 comments per day on the channel and profile page

• The channel has 26,271 fans while the profile page has 4,086 fans

• The program is also being aired on television (Fiver channel) and is the first Internet series to make the transition to UK television

• Sure Girl and Pearl Drops Instant White brands have been written into the shows

Sofia’s Diary – Key Learnings

• Involvement with storylines creates bond between audience and the series

• The audience participation creates a talking point which creates buzz and WOM

• Audience create content which can be spread virally

• Community where 3rd party brands can engage and interact with consumers