ABC Family Promotes Christmas Programming Via Giveaway
ABC Family is getting people in the holiday spirit with a giveaway to promote the network’s annual Christmas programming.
On Black Friday, street teams dressed in branded red fleece, hats and scarves will be handing out branded reusable shopping bags to shoppers and passersby in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. Each bag will include tune-in information for the “25 Days of Christmas” and a cookie scented ornament.
Teams will target high traffic shopping areas, including Herald Square and SoHo in New York City, Michigan Avenue in Chicago and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market in Boston, among other hot spots, John Rood, senior vice president of marketing of ABC Family, said. Giveaways are also planned on Dec. 1 and 2 in those areas.
About 60,000 bags will be distributed as part of the promotion.
The stunt is designed to drive viewership of the network’s annual holiday programming, which drew an audience of 96 million last year. ABC Family’s annual “25 Days of Christmas” kicks off Dec. 1.
“We want to try to get the attention not only of viewers, but our cable and satellite and affiliates partners and Web visitors,” Rood said.
Last year, ABC Family staged a street campaign with carolers and handed out cups of hot chocolate and pine-scented ornaments. This year, the network wanted to “make it bigger and better,” Rood said.
And this year, the network is hitting 1,000 retail stores in the top five markets to promote the annual Christmas special with shelf talkers, floor clings. Signage across 800 movie theaters and 225 American Greetings stores and malls, TV and radio spots, online ads and print ads also support the programming effort. The Regan Group is handling the street team effort for ABC Family.
