Ads for USA Network’s summer mini-series The Starter Wife have been hard to miss - spend was estimated at $20M of media value. I can understand why USA put its eggs in this basket - the series is jammed with stars, entertaining, brilliantly timed to start a week after every other network scripted show wrapped and backed with sponsor support & integration unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Pond’s, actively targeting the “40s and fabulous” set, is the presenting sponsor of the series (Variety coverage of tie ins here). They are woven into the content of the show, throughout the commercial breaks with ads and interactive contests, joint displays at Wal-Mart & Costco, and premiere placement throughout the Starter Wife community. Yes, even a 6 hour mini-series can have a community these days and this one is rich in both content and engagement. In addition to blogs written by the real inspiration to the story as well as fictional characters, there are expert tips on nutrition, games such as “whack an ex”, community polls, and even some content from the series itself.

Is it possible for an online community surrounding a tv miniseries to take off and have a life of its own? I guess we’ll know in a month or so. With content so deep and broad and a target audience that typically isn’t in the crosshairs of this type of effort, there just might be a chance for relevance and longievity here. Regardless, Pond’s has managed to create a marketing effort that makes sense and defies your Tivo fast forward button.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 10th, 2007 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Other posts by Virginia.