History Television is going out in a big way this Fall, kicking off an eye-catching campaign that is sure to garner attention among consumers and advertisers alike. Fuelled by the strength of the channel’s compelling line-up of new and returning hit series – Pawn Stars, American Pickers and the Canadian original series William Shatner’s Weird or What? – the campaign stems across multiple media platforms, from page dominating newspaper ads to visually-striking 3D super boards, touting one of the best line-ups on Specialty television this Fall.
“History Television’s Fall line-up is bigger and better than ever and we wanted to create a campaign that reflected the larger-than-life series and characters viewers can expect this Fall,” said Jennifer Mason, Senior Manager, Marketing Strategy, Specialty. “The campaign was designed to reinforce this big, ‘can’t-miss’ message with a large number of viewers – no matter where they spend their time interacting with media.”
Currently Canada’s third-ranked Specialty channel (A25-54), History Television’s substantial Fall campaign includes advertising in print, out of home, radio, IPG, on-air and online. Targeting Adults 25-54 largely in Ontario and British Columbia, the print portion kicks off tomorrow, August 31 with a series of high-impact ads that exemplify the colour scheme and look of the History Television brand and play-up the channel’s entertaining personalities. Creative headlines including “Trust Us. It’s a Big Deal” (Pawn Stars), “It’s Not Antiquing. It’s Mantiquing” (American Pickers) and a trance-inducing compilation of “Shatner-ian poetry” (William Shatner’s Weird or What?) readily illustrate that History Television is full of big personalities this Fall. The unique print ads can be found in key publications including flex-forms in Toronto Metro, Calgary Herald and Vancouver Province.
In a clever out of home execution, History Television is bringing the striking Pawn Stars and American Pickers creative to life with traffic-stopping three-dimensional billboards at multiple locations across Toronto. Torontonians won’t be able to miss the massive 3D super boards that feature life-size objects – from bicycles and guitars to iconic Stormtrooper masks – in the form of a dollar sign, centred by a colossal propeller that extends over 20 feet. In addition, large show-specific creative can be seen at two of Toronto’s busiest subway stations; Union and St. George, as well as wall murals at multiple GO stations throughout the GTA and on over 100 prominent billboards across Ontario.
On-air promotion for the History Television Fall launch began on Global and Canwest Specialty channels in July, with spots scheduled throughout many top-rated primetime series. To celebrate the world premiere of William Shatner’s Weird or What?, the channel executed an original promo shoot with the screen legend himself, William Shatner, creating two unique spots for on-air and radio. The inimitable promos have been running since August on-air, as well as on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and have been met with a glowing response from TV viewers and Shatner fans across Canada (watch promo online here).
The channel’s Fall campaign also features innovative online and social media elements. History Television will take over the homepages of the two most popular online classified/auction sites, eBay and Kijiji, on August 31, September 7 and September 14 to promote Pawn Stars and American Pickers. In addition, Facebook users can take part in fun and engaging William Shatner-esque Facebook polls (i.e. “What is William Shatner’s weirdest talent?”) and will be invited to tune-in to William Shatner’s Weird or What? each week on History Television.
To coincide with the marketing efforts, the Fall publicity campaign involved an original press kit distributed to print, online, radio and broadcast outlets across the county. Additionally, History Television utilized the hosts from all three series for press opportunities, which included an extensive press junket with Rick and Corey Harrison of Pawn Stars and media interviews with Canada’s national television treasure, William Shatner.
History Television’s creative and media plans were developed in-house by Canwest’s award-winning Creative Agency and Media Strategy teams.
History Television’s Fall schedule launches on Tuesday August 31 with the Canadian premiere of Pawn Stars, Season 3 at 9 pm ET/PT and American Pickers at 10 pm ET/PT. The broadcast premiere of William Shatner’s Weird or What? launches on Wednesday, September 1 at 10 pm ET/PT.
