Bravo Pushes Shows With 4D Model
- by Wayne Friedman , November 15, 2007
"360 is over," says Jason Klarman, executive vice president of marketing and digital for Bravo, delivering a keynote address at the OMMA Video conference. "We are living in a 4D world. The reality is there is an explosion of media. It's no longer a linear model anymore."
For a company like Bravo--which has a number of well-branded reality shows--"Project Runway," "Top Chef," and "The Real Housewives of Orange County"--the major challenge is to get viewers, users and ultimately advertisers interested in their brands, especially when they are off air and out of production.
"We have changed our view of the world," says Klarman. "No longer are we content-centric, but consumer-centric." Bravo breaks its 4D model into four areas: attention, interaction, experience and sharing.
Attention comes with its vignette "podbusters." One example: "Project Runway" co-host Tim Gunn talks about solitude--escaping the busy trappings of New York with a visit to the Cloisters, a quiet museum and garden in Upper Manhattan. The segment was sponsored by Saturn, and featured Gunn driving to the Cloisters in a new Saturn model.
Klarman says the "interaction" comes when viewers have live voting in connection with its shows. "Experience" is evident when Bravo uses sponsored-SMS text messaging, such as sending users special recipes from its "Top Chef" contestants.
The "holy grail," says Klarman, is having users share video--ultimately acting as buzz marketing agents for Bravo's shows. In that regard, Bravo is starting up its own social-networking area, called MyBravo, as well as an application on Facebook.
"People are hungry for more when "Top Chef" goes away," says Klarman. "We are generating millions of page views, extending beyond the show's [TV] cycle." And it's clicking with the advertisers. Brand awareness for "Project Runway" is up 31%; intent to purchase is 63% higher, and products "in high design" positions are 29% improved.
