entertainment

GAC Network Broadens Base With Hollywood Talent

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Looking to expand beyond its country music fan base, cable network GAC Living Country has enlisted actor (and aspiring country singer) John Corbett to appear in a series of new television commercials selling the network’s “country lifestyle.”

The new campaign, which is quietly launching on the network this week before fully rolling out in the first quarter, expands on an effort the network launched last year that showed country music artists and how they “return to the country” in their downtime, says Sarah Trahern, senior vice president and general manager of the network. Enlisting a Hollywood actor (who -- although a West Virginia native -- spends his downtime at a horse ranch in California) is a way to build upon the country music base as the network adds more entertainment-oriented programming (such as its reality show, “Farm Kings”), she says.

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“We wanted to expand on what we did on the country music artists to someone with a more national appeal than just our country music fans. John was a great person for that,” Trahern tells Marketing Daily. “He lives the mid-American lifestyle, but at the same time he’s an aspiring country artist. He seemed to be the logical person to bridge that transition.”

After the Corbett spots run their course, the next phase of the campaign will feature the network’s fans, showing how they “live country,” Trahern says. All three stages of the campaign are intended to create an identity for the network for fans of country music and the more relaxed lifestyle it represents. 

“We really want to create a place where viewers feel comfortable with a variety of different shows,” she says.

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