Jessica Evans (JLE 2538) Individual Case Assignment #3: Gossip Girl ADV 370J

I Statement of the Problem: How can The CW Network stimulate fans of their popular series “Gossip Girl” to watch the program live each week? II List of Critical Factors: a. Public Relations Objective : Revive the loss of live television viewers, and the resulting television advertising dollars that followed, among the “Gossip Girl” target audience by implementing a non-traditional and outside-the-box publicity and promotional campaign. i. Increasing the audience gives corporations and organizations a clear target audience that they can tailor their television advertising towards. b. Target Audience: Primary target audience for “Gossip Girl” is women 18-24 years of age. i. The CW Network Target Audience: Women 18-34 years of age. ii. New Secondary Target: college male demographic. c. Advertising Sales Problem: With the wide scale adoption of digital video recorders, websites streaming television episodes and services like Direct TV and TiVo, fans and viewers of The CW Network’s shows had the ability to watch their favorite programming whenever they wanted. i. This freedom allows viewers to skip over commercials aired during the show. As a result, traditional advertising sales have been significantly undermined. ii. When the increasing cluttered media landscape, out-side-the-box marketing efforts were given second consideration by many brands, including The CW Network. iii. Haskins wondered if there were opportunities to revive dedicated live television audience so advertisers could have an enhanced place to reach The CW’s target publics through traditional “live” television advertising iv. Plan: formulate a PR campaign utilizing non-traditional media to coincide with the start of the upcoming season of “Gossip Girl”. d. Time: The CW Network had 14 weeks until the new season of “Gossip Girl” launched. i. Needs to implement new marketing objectives ii. Depending on strategy, the marketing team still needs to decide how far in advance to begin executing their campaign. e. Gossip Girl Background: Privileged prep school teens on Manhattan’s upper east side learn Serena Van de Woodsen is back in town. It was the way people learned all the important news in their lives- from the blog of the all-knowing albert ultra-secretive Gossip Girl. i. No one knew Gossip Girl’s identity. ii. Serena’s reason for returning were mysterious and the change in her behavior was obvious. iii. Cast included characters that accomplished Serena and Blair through their world full of shopping and partying in Manhattan. iv. Interesting Aspect: Fashion; fans flock to boutiques with magazine articles asking for characters exact outfits. v. Show focused on technology and interactivity. vi. Aired on The CW Network Mondays 8:00pm-9:00pm. f. Network History: The CW Network was a joint venture between Warner Brothers Entertainment and The CBS Corporation. i. Offered a line-up that delivered a total of 30 hours of programming throughout the week. ii. The CW Network has hosted popular shows including: “Gossip Girl”, “One Tree Hill”, “90210”, “Smallville”, “Supernatural”, and “America’s Next Top Model” iii. Competitors: ABC, Fox Broadcasting, and NBC. iv. The CW Network has reached 95% of the country with primetime programming. v. Was America’s 5th Broadcasting Network g. Jack-In-The-Box Viral Promotion Program: Viral promotions have become effective roots for primary/supplementary advertising and PR initiatives. They offer relative publics opportunities to interact with brands, produce meaningful experiences while forming or reestablishing mutually beneficial brand relationships. i. For a multichannel marketing campaign, Jack-In-The-Box aired a Super Bowl commercial which a bus hit Jack. As a follow up, Jack in the Box launched a website and tied it in with their Facebook, YouTube page, and Twitter account. ii. Helped connect to their core demographic by generating four million YouTube views portraying the current status of Jack. iii. Viral promotion tactic worked in conjunction with traditional marketing iv. Campaign: “Hang in There Jack” h. Rick Haskins: Executive Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy for The CW Network. i. Past executive Vice President and general manager for Lifetime Television ii. His position at The VW Network: direct and oversaw all phases of the network’s marketing, brand management, on-air promotions, print media, and new media initiatives. iii. Responsible for maintaining and developing The CW Network Brand, while managing a staff that covered all areas of their television marketing.

III Definition of Alternative a. Alternative #1: Netflix and Boutique Sponsorship i. Advertising Promotions: Since Gossip Girl’s past series are available via Netflix, targeting these viewers is crucial. Netflix has helped change the way consumers watch TV, in the sense that more people watch TV programming online instead of traditional TV Networks. This advertisement will promote Gossip Girl’s social media channels that allows viewers to see the latest insights on the new series. The advertisement will emphasize that the new series will only be broadcasting on The CW Network, establishing the fact that the new season will not be available on Netflix until it is over. These ads placed on Netflix will help predict a clear ROI from the investment of Netflix ads. ii. Social Media Platform: Gossip Girl will use their Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram profile to promote their public relations campaign. In order to maintain up to date information for Gossip Girl’s audience, the social media platforms will promote an incentive for viewers. Since fashion is an aspect viewers are interested in, code words will be placed strategically throughout Gossip Girl’s aired programming. These code words will give consumers access to the clothing fashion line of Gossip Girl, allowing them to potentially win outfits from the episode being aired. This will target both the primary target of women 18-24, as well as spark an interest with male college students. When viewers interact with the brand via social media, people will then have potential to maintain articles of clothing viewers are in awe over. Tweeting, posting, or mentioning Gossip Girl’s weekly code words will determine who gets priority over outfit prizes. iii. Event Marketing Tactic: In order to create buzz about the show, Gossip Girl brand ambassadors will partner with local boutiques in major cities to promote merchandise. Brand ambassadors will provide boutiques with clothing that was previously shown in Gossip Girl’s latest series. Winners that used code words will have access to their exclusive article of clothing. Aside from rewarding early Gossip Girl adopters, fans will have access to a Gossip Girl scavenger hunt that will be promoted via social media. The weekly scavenger hunt will give clues to viewers on where they can purchase the latest fashion trends throughout the Gossip Girl series. Once viewers arrive at the location that clothing is present, a character from the show will be at the boutique to help influence and maintain relationships with their viewers. This form of influencer marketing will help resonate trust from consumers, allowing viewers to reciprocate to the digital ads placed within Netflix’s platform. This will allow the target audience to respond to the promotion tactics since the fashion products being offered are relevant to viewers. b. Alternative #2: Social Media Challenge and Social Media Influencers i. Advertising Promotions: YouTube ads will help promote the Gossip Girl’s video blog. These ads will be placed on YouTube six weeks before the new series of Gossip Girl is aired. This will help promote the YouTube channel and create brand identity for YouTube users that are not familiar with the show “Gossip Girl”. ii. Social Media Platform: Cast members from Gossip Girl will help promote The CW Network broadcasting through their own personal account handles. During the live broadcasting (Mondays: 8pm-9pm), “Gossip Clues” will take place to let viewers in on immediate insights that only take place during the live broadcasting. Gossip Girl’s target audience who interact with The CW Network’s social networking platforms will get brand insight on promotion giveaways shown later that week on Gossip Girl’s YouTube channel. Trivia questions will be asked during the broadcasting to help promote viewership for the live program each week. Trivia winners will be announced during the weekly YouTube series. iii. Experiential Marketing Tactic: By the use of influential websites like YouTube, Gossip Girl will promote a weekly YouTube series along with The CW Network’s broadcasting. Actors will post weekly insights that can only be understood during the live broadcasting. This PR technique would include a “live” online interaction with viewer’s outlooks. YouTube gurus will help execute vlogs about makeup, fashion, social, and life advice to Gossip Girl participants. By creating an emotional connection during the YouTube experience, the target audience can then identify with the brand and help promote an experiential marketing program. IV Pro/Con Discussion a. Alternative #1: Netflix and Boutique Sponsorship i. Pros: 1. Reciprocation: Consumers are more likely to be receptive and respond to digital ads for products that are relevant to them. This helps create a clear target so Gossip Girl can tailor their ads to viewers by creating more enjoyable, effective ad experiences. (a) (b) (c) 2. Builds Gossip Girl’s Brand: New media messages are being developed by incorporating interactive activity for effectiveness. Using influencer marketing tactics creates trust and personable experiences with network viewers. Advertising messages that entertain viewers have higher success rates in digital contexts. (a) (b) (c) (e) (g) 3. Easy Execution with Time: Since there are only four months until the new season of Gossip Girl, social media channels are a fast way to spread PR messages. With this strategy, Rick Haskin can immediately contact Netflix and discuss ad placements that will show six weeks before the new season airs. After maintaining a partnership with Netflix, social media objectives will be set in place, allowing an incubation period for creatives producing online content. Since cast members are not being filmed when the series premieres, the crew can travel to boutique locations to promote Gossip Girl’s character identities. (a) (d) (e) (h) 4. Effective ROI Measurement: Netflix ad placement, social media platform usage, and influencer marketing tactics are easy ways of gaining insight on PR investments. Creating new and innovative online content by applying messages to the desired target audience improves the growth of viewership. The metrics surrounding this alternative’s strategy helps deliver a stronger, measurable ROI for The CW network. This determines where The CW Network stands in regards to advertising budgets, time implications, and network brand identity. (a) (c) (d) (f) ii. Cons: 1. Time: With four months for planning, Rick Haskin has to address strategy dilemmas immediately. Viral programs, influencer marketing participants, and partnership contracts take time and research for effective promotion results. (a) (b) (c) (d) (g) (h) 2. Must Keep Up with Competition: In order to maintain competition with other broadcasting networks, effective promotion executions must be precise. Since “out-of-the-box” marketing efforts are part of the network’s PR objectives, avoiding clutter in the digital landscape needs to be a primary priority consideration. Proper portrayal of Gossip Girl’s brand with company efforts must be present during the entire campaign execution. Failure to target audience effectively will lead to lost resources and promotional failures. (a) (b) (c) (e) (f) (g) (h) b. Alternative #2: Social Media Challenge and Social Media Influencers i. Pros: 1. Emotional Appeal: Alternative two provides an emotional connection viewers cab have with the Gossip Girl brand. This allows engagement within the viewership community with Gossip Girl’s product and service. (a) (b) (e) (f) 2. Online YouTube Ads: Online ads help build brand equity because ad viewers are exposed to Gossip Girl’s message when and where they would interact with the YouTube channel. The placement of these ads help provides maximized outcomes from the communication campaign. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (g) (f) 3. Brand Interaction: The CW Network can have one-on-one conversations with their viewers online. This allows the brand to gain large variety of information from their fans by starting a topic of conversation with a public relations purpose. (a) (b) (e) (f) (g) ii. Cons: 1. ROI Risk: If the campaign is not planned properly because of time constraints, the YouTube channel could have trouble measuring its effectiveness due to the lack of measurement tools. YouTube measurements are more qualitative than quantitative, which makes it more difficult when measuring investment returns. (a) (b) (c) (d) (f) (g) 2. Contract Breach: Since the public relations solution has a time frame of four months, cast members may not have the time to participate in short notice vlog executions. (a) (b) (c) (d) (f) (e) (g) 3. Lack of Social: Although effective at influencing brand reputation, campaign awareness might not generate sales or leads for sales. Social media may not provide strong enough incentive for late adopters of the YouTube medium and Gossip Girl brand. V Conclusion a. Recommendation: Alternative #1- Netflix and Boutique Sponsorship b. Elaborate: i. Media: Netflix ads, Social media code words, Word of Mouth, Influencer marketing. ii. Pros with Media: 1. Plays Consumer Advocate: ensures the most appropriate viewers are targeted and meets consumer’s needs, perceptions, and concerns. Helps recognize the complexity of viewers and their emotional appeal to Gossip Girl’s brand. 2. New Traditional Media Execution: Alternative one uses influential websites like Netflix to communicate with viewers online. This allows for better brand identification since the medium of television is not as cluttered as webpages. This connects the brand with viewers online and viewers watching television since Netflix has access to both. 3. Word of Mouth Exposure: Viral marketing gets viewers to pass along the PR message to others. This increases the exposure and influence of the PR message to the quickly growing audience in a short amount of time. This consideration is more likely to resonate with viewers by producing ad experiences Gossip Girl viewers trust. 4. Investment Projections: Communication helps weave together the PR message by reaching the communication goals set at the beginning of the campaign. Investments toward the new and innovative online content will provide clear ROI projections for clients. iii. Benefit Client’s Objective: Alternative #1 will help stimulate weekly viewership by providing an incentive to participate with weekly activations. 1. Allows Deep Understanding of Target’s Motives: a. Connects with both primary target (Women ages 18-24) and the new secondary target (college males). b. Creates a well-established PR message by increasing viewership. 2. Reduces Online Clutter: a. Creative execution techniques reduce clutter in the online ad space by producing a custom, localized PR campaign. b. Allows Gossip Girl to maintain a current brand evolution with their viewers. 3. Accountability: a. ROI research will help illustrate whether or not The CW Network’s PR campaign works effectively. Information form online resources becomes vital at client-agency review time. b. Develops a clear understanding of the campaign’s promotion problem. c. Reduces the risk of lost resources. (Time, Money, Energy) c. Comparative Advantage: Client can have a deeper understanding of the motives target members face while watching live broadcasting. This alternative reduces miss interpretation of target’s motives and allows clear determination when measuring the campaign’s effectiveness and promotion efforts. Creating a positive viral marketing strategy helps fix the problem of fans not watching Gossip Girl’s broadcast every week.