Slice is to launch its biggest marketing campaign for a single series in the history of the channel. The national multi-platform, multi-phased campaign promoting The Real Housewives of Vancouver, debuting April 4th. introduces Canadians to the stars of the show and builds awareness and excitement about the first Canadian edition. The brand new series premieres with a special two-hour event on Wednesday, April 4th and will settle into its regular time the following week, Wednesdays exclusively on Slice.
Targeting women 25-54, the extensive five week campaign celebrates the arrival of Canada’s newest stars with striking creative that features the ultra-glam housewives posing on a red carpet set against a radiant Vancouver skyline. The off-air campaign is focused in Toronto and Vancouver with customized headlines for each market that include “The International Sensation is Here!” in Toronto and a more local approach for Vancouver that reads “Our Housewives Have Arrived!”
“We’re making a huge splash and building excitement for the first Canadian edition of the hit franchise with our biggest, most extensive campaign to date,” said Solange Bernard, Director of Brand & Publicity, Lifestyle Channels, Shaw Media. “With slick creative that hit the air waves and ignited online buzz early along with wide reaching targeted executions we’re speaking directly to women wherever they go.”
The campaign’s on-air promos featuring the huge hit song Blow by Ke$ha, hit the air two months early to unleash the larger-than-life stars onto the Canadian scene and set the tone for the overall campaign. Promos are running across all Shaw Media channels leading up to a complete launch day on air domination as well as on targeted US cable avails. A heavy radio buy on top radio stations including spots running within Perez Hilton’s Virgin Radio segment in Vancouver are igniting interest with just the right audience.
The chic creative is capturing the attention of women through strategically placed out-of-home executions including large scale ads in Toronto’s Eaton Centre, ad boards in Winners and women’s only fitness clubs, salons, and grocery store ad bars. Full page ads are running in female skewing magazines including Chatelaine, Style at Home, Hello! Canada and People Canada, daily newspapers in Toronto and Vancouver and on popular female oriented websites including Glam.com, TMZ.com, People.com and PerezHilton.com.
To drive the hype and amplify social media buzz leading to the launch of the series, Slice developed an extensive social media strategy part of which included a video revealing the housewives posted to Slice’s YouTube channel that received over 120,000 views within 48 hours of being posted. The channel continues to roll out a series of videos revealing exclusive behind the scenes access to the wives to social media sites including Facebook and Twitter. Slice will continue to engage users and drive conversation with a sneak preview of the first episode streaming online at slice.ca on March 28 and once the series premieres, via Get Glue and live tweeting with the cast.
The marketing campaign and materials were developed in-house by Shaw Media’s Marketing team in partnership with digital artist Brett Simms.