CBS Entices Younger Daytime Viewers Via Promo
In an effort to generate a younger viewing audience for the daytime drama Guiding Light CBS is inviting 500 viewers to host a soap opera party for their friends tied to a specific storyline in the hit show.
CBS is using Alloy Media + Marketing’s Insiders Network to promote the event. The “Insiders” are a network of peer influencers recruited through Alloy’s database of 27 million “Millennials” targeting women 18 to 34. The database is made up of consumers ages 10 and up. Consumers selected can invite three friends to their home party to watch the May 27 episode of Guiding Light and receive promotional gift bags.
CBS created the promotion to extend the show to a younger female audience and generate buzz around the “Who Shot Philip?” storyline, said Sean Horvath, VP-entertainment marketing for Alloy.
“It’s all really about buzz,” Horvath said. “CBS is trying to expand [its] audience and bring younger viewers in. It’s creating hype about the show in a different type of tactic than handing premium items out on the street.”
“This is an out-of-the-box thing for CBS Daytime,” Horvath added.
Party hosts will distribute goodie bags to each attendee, which contains branded T-shirts, a squirt gun, a disposable camera and a family tree of Guiding Light characters. Participants will be asked to take photos of the parties to upload on Alloy’s Web site. And beginning May 30, each participant will be invited to enter a contest, which offers lunch with one of the show’s stars. The contest ends June 13.
