The Campaign

CHALLENGE: - Launch BBC First into the Australian market with a bold, imaginative and innovative campaign. Engage with “culturally curious” 25-54 year old, affluent Australians and rally them to interact with the new channel. OBJECTIVES: - Create noise and galvanise excitement in an all-inclusive way, generating traditional PR editorial coverage. - Communicate BBC First's brand values of bold story telling, suspense and intrigue. STRATEGY: - Tap into the (digitally savvy) target audience's appetite for compelling and sophisticated content with a PR & Social Media-led integrated campaign. - Develop a world-first creative platform to inject news value for press and create authentic and original content, communicating brand values. - Enlist a relevant local spokesperson to curate the project. The creative: - '#WhatsNext': The world’s first crowd-sourced Twitter drama, written in real-time by the public over one week and curated by leading filmmaker, Gracie Otto. EXECUTION: The mechanics: - Announced in mainstream media with Gracie Otto delivering key messaging. - Each evening, the ‘Twittersphere’ tuned into @BBCFirst to collaboratively contribute to a live, unfolding drama to dictate plot, character and narrative progression. - The following morning, the curated chapter was uploaded to www.bbcaustralia.com/whatsnext crediting all authors via their Twitter handle. PR RELEVANCE: - Lead channel: PR coverage was a prerequisite of the brief and launched the campaign ahead of going live on social. OUTCOME: - PR coverage reached 86% of Australian population. - 240% uplift in new Twitter followers and 260% increase in average tweet impressions.

The Brief

OBJECTIVES: - Create noise at time of launch in an innovative way, across multi-channels, led by PR. - Engage with “culturally curious” 25-54 year old, affluent Australians and rally them to engage with the new channel. - Communicate brand values of suspense, intrigue and bold storytelling. - Drive traffic to BBC First website and engagement with social channels. - Synergy by bringing to life advertising strapline ‘What’s Next?' RESEARCH AND PREPARATION: - Identification and comprehensive briefing of spokesperson. - Development of narrative structure and executional process ahead of a fast-paced and unpredictable, live launch.

Results

OUTPUT & AWARENESS: - 30+ press editorial and social hits reaching 19 million Australians (86% of population). - 100% key message penetration (call to action). - Views of microsite content exceeded KPIs by 130%. - Participation in campaign from high profile personalities from worlds of fashion, music and media. ACTION & BUSINESS IMPACT: - 240% uplift in new Twitter followers on @BBCFirst in one week. - Daily tweet impressions up 260% against 28-day average.

Execution

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS: - Development of assets including: TVC, responsive microsite and PR/social assets. - Briefing and co-creation of narrative framework to maintain control of output. - Development of robust comms process to coordinate multiple stakeholders during real-time content creation. THE EXECUTION: - Campaign announced by PR driving editorial awareness and call to action across print, online and radio with filmmaker Gracie Otto. - Each evening, the ‘Twittersphere’ tuned into @BBCFirst to contribute collaboratively to a live, unfolding drama to dictate plot, character and narrative progression. - The following morning, the curated chapter was uploaded to a responsive microsite, crediting all authors via their Twitter handle: http://www.bbcaustralia.com/whatsnext/ - Piggybacked Gracie Otto’s social channels to engage a like-minded audience, supported with strategic spend. - Issues management: By handing over creative reigns to the public, the idea was inherently unpredictable. Spontaneous, decisive thinking was crucial to the campaign's momentum and success.

The Situation

CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES: - Accessibility: As BBC First was a new channel only available to paying Foxtel (subscription TV) customers, we needed to create a platform that was: a) Accessible by all. b) Provided a genuine news hook for media. - Low awareness: A brand new channel with low awareness and a very specific target audience. - Talent: Despite a wealth of BBC-affiliated talent, no access to any celebrity spokespeople to drive media interest. - Social audience: With BBC First Twitter and Facebook accounts in their infancy, there was a limited ‘in built’ audience to engage.

The Strategy

INSIGHT & TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS - Our target audience is digitally savvy and holds a voracious appetite for sophisticated and compelling content. If the content resonates, it will get shared. STRATEGY: - Tap into the target audience's appetite for suspenseful content with an engaging PR & Social Media-led integrated campaign. - Develop a world-first creative platform to inject news value for press and create authentic and original content, inspired by BBC First brand values. - Leverage BBC website and social properties within the consumer call to action to drive direct traffic. - Reward public participants and encourage ongoing engagement by personally 'hero-ing' their contributions and stimulating 1-2-1 dialogue via Twitter. THE CREATIVE: The world’s first crowd-sourced Twitter drama, written in real-time by the public over one week and curated by leading filmmaker, Gracie Otto. Titled “#WhatsNext”, the campaign was driven by the same search-friendly hashtag.