The Campaign

“Like a free Netflix but smaller. Much, much smaller.” WatchMe could not compete with international competitors in terms of quantity or quality of shows. Neither did their production budgets compare to Netflix ‘Games of Thrones’ level! But they could offer something unique – they could tap into the Kiwi psyche – no nonsense, no frills and distinctly understated. They were the underdog. The creative for the WatchMe launch campaign truly reflects this. The tone of voice in the copy really brought it to life. A promise of the content that lay beyond. Witty, self-deprecating, provocative and always unexpected. Headlines that often seemed to ‘un-sell’ the offering and yet enticed you to check it out even more. “Like a free Netflix but smaller. Much, much smaller.” “Watch what we’ve got. It won’t take you long.” “ Kick arse shows. Just not that many of them.”

Creative Execution

‘Dead pan with a whiff of underdog’ The approach to all branding for WatchMe was to be bold, modern and accessible. Because of the diversity of content, the logotype was often the only unifying element, so it had to be distinctive and have impact at all sizes. The black and white imagery against a plain white studio background further cemented the no frills, low budget brand personality. The characters themselves were often ‘dead pan with a whiff of underdog’ – almost as if they had skipped media training all together. We used orange, black and grey (with a single red dot) throughout the branding – a unique colour palette in the VOD category. Again, unlike our competitors, the branding was deliberately ‘low tech’, simple and understated.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

“That was next level funny!” The launch campaign made a major impact on the target audience, driving traffic to watchme.co.nz. In the first month of launch, the site had over 432,508 page views and 184,570 video streams* (23% over KPI). Within 5 weeks of launch, the WatchMe Facebook page had accumulated over 1,500 page ‘likes’. The WatchMe Newsletter open rates were sitting at 51% (35.6% higher than industry average). Data from Google Analytics indicates that the core audience being reached were 18-44 years old, 63% male and spending on average 3.10 minutes on site. WatchMe exceeded launch targets and continues to do so as the brand and content grows. Social media comments: “That was next level funny! Freaking good job there” “Keep the programs coming, I’m loving it!’ “This is a BRILLIANT service!!! Thank You guys!” * Source: Nielsen CMI, May 2015 fused database, Nielsen NZ Multi-screen report, 2015

Educating our target market on what the WatchMe platform was and how easy it was to use was crucial. At launch, the focus was on the key target market – males 18-39 who use their computer, mobile phones and tablets as their preferred device choice for short-form video. As an unknown brand, we focused on three key areas: • Awareness – Creative executions that focused on the hero shows that featured well-known and up-and-coming talent, combined with witty headlines, and taglines which poked fun at how little content we had. • Education – Demonstrating that WatchMe was an easy-to-use, free platform with 100% NZ comedy and entertainment content. • Direct Traffic – Bespoke videos for each new episode to show that there was new content It was important that the brand essence came across in all of the creative as fun, entertaining, energetic, Kiwi and an alternative to mainstream broadcast.