• by Kim Rosenblum , June 10, 2011

Marketing Challenge: TV Land launched "Hot in Cleveland" in the summer of 2010 to stunning ratings and huge buzz thanks to creative, flexible and very opportunistic marketing that allowed us to take advantage of pop culture trends and happenstances.

TV Land had been based primarily on retro branding and acquired situation comedies, but in 2009, developed a new original sitcom. "Hot in Cleveland" would be the first step in a long-term business strategy to shift to scripted originals. It was a major investment and commitment. We needed big results.

TV Land's well-known brand created unique challenges in attracting new viewers. They might mistake the show for just another rerun, or not know where TV Land is on the dial. We had a modest media budget, so we prepared to be both creative and reactive to opportunities.

Creative Solution: In December 2009 we taped the pilot for our first original sitcom. Then came the Super Bowl Snickers ad! Suddenly Betty was a media sensation! The series was green lit and an aggressive launch date was set. With little time and marketing money, we focused on riding the waves as they came. When Betty was big on Facebook we fed the flames with a Facebook fan solicitation ads. When Betty was set to host SNL, we scrambled to debut our distinctive "Windblown" cast spot during the broadcast, much sooner than we had originally planned.

We soon found other opportunities. When the "Girl Power" touchstone movie "Sex And the City 2" was creating a media sensation, we made spots and a custom trailer that paralleled our four-women-of-a-certain-age comedy. Valerie Bertinelli turning 50 and her dramatic weight-loss story led to big press and a Jenny Craig partnership. The show's location provided our next media opportunity as Cleveland faced the free agency of LeBron James. In a video spot, our ladies tried to convince him to stay. (Our only failure.)

Media Solution: We did also buy media, selectively. We could not afford to blanket our potential target, so we bought smart contextual placements. Keeping potential new viewers in mind, we drove to the specific local channel number. And when we couldn't do that, due to restrictions or a national media (such as print) we drove to a URL (hotincleveland.tv) for the channel number.

Results: The happy conclusion was the highest cable sitcom premiere ever with nearly 6MM total viewers, as well as the number one program on all of cable with A25-54, W25-54, A18-49, W18-49 and total viewers! Actual ratings were 1.9 (A25-54), 2.4 (W25-54), far exceeding even our most optimistic internal projections. Perhaps most significant was 59% of A25-54 that watched the premiere were new to TV Land. (Source: The Nielsen Company, Most Current Data)

Impressive numbers by any measure, but the long-term results will be just as important for TV Land. The successful launch effectively changed the brand and began shift mass perceptions. Our creative opportunistic marketing has helped take us from "the rerun channel" to a vibrant, contemporary source for original comedy series.

All winners were presented June 7 during the 2011 EFFIE Awards gala in New York.