Nat Geo WILD recently came across the problem that many networks are now facing: consumers have the channel, they could watch the channel, but they just might not know how to find it.

So the international National Geographic Channels team set out to solve that problem, with a wide-reaching campaign – so wide, in fact, that it touched 120 countries around the world and more than 200 million viewers before hitting its own air.

The campaign is anchored by the tagline “How did you miss this?” referring both to the channel itself and to jaw-dropping moments featured in its programming and footage.

The message was clear: you have this channel, you see the wonderful moments on this channel, so why aren’t you watching it? The tone playfully flowed into the fast pace of the main spots (below) that quickly cuts between especially shocking, eye-opening, close-up shots of wildlife.

“We wanted to do something different – not the usual natural history campaign that you’ve seen,” said Emanuele Madeddu, SVP of creative and consumer marketing at National Geographic Channels International.

Following that edict, Nat Geo WILD enlisted the help of newly formed agency Holman and Hunt for “something much more visceral with some more fun in it,” according to Madeddu, avoiding overdone wildlife promos that are “always high quality, awe inspiring.”

So National Geographic channels around the world kicked off the awareness campaign using the summer season as its home base with this simple goal:

“We wanted more people talking about this channel,” said Madeddu. “We want to make everyone aware of how cool and entertaining this channel is.”

Richard Holman, creative director at Holman and Hunt, said the logical place to start was Nat Geo WILD’s existing footage.

“All of this great footage meant that it made sense to do a clip-based spot, but more in-your-face than a typical wildlife promo,” said Holman.

“We’ve seen those fantastic promos, with slow motion and awe-inspiring music,” said Madeddu. “It’s really more a ‘screen saver effect.’ You forget about these promos as soon as you watch them. We wanted something more memorable.”

A lot of the footage was shot by viewers, which also added an interactive element and “removes you from the world of polished documentaries, making it more personal,” according to Holman.

So Holman and Hunt aimed for a more “rock ‘n’ roll edit,” according to Holman, using explosive moments and surprising close-ups to create the unexpected.

“My aim, creatively, was to have this spot pick the audience up, give them a shake and put them down,” said Holman. “It hits you – I wanted it to leap out of the screen.”

The tagline was added into this strategy as well, with big, bold text jumping off the screen at viewers, challenging them to watch every moment.

“The idea is based on the truth that when the programming is this dramatic and spectacular, how could you have missed it?” said Holman, adding that with such an international and far-reaching audience, the simple, clear tagline was best as “often the simplest is most effective.”

The spot’s music, which was composed specifically for this campaign, plays into the overall effect by including silent or quiet moments that counterbalance the dynamic action interspersed throughout.

“In these ad breaks where a lot of people are fat forwarding,” said Madeddu, “having something that visually works was probably the first need, then when you stop and watch it, the sound becomes the most important part.”

Nat Geo WILD’s brand campaign kicked off this March, utilizing the entire summer season across all of parent company’s Fox International’s entertainment channels in its portfolio, finally ending on Nat Geo WILD itself.

CREDITS:

Creative Director – Richard Holman

Creatives – Mark Howard & Jo Tanner

Executive Producer – Lucy Hunt

Offline Editor – Matt Chodan

Flame Artist – Jason Farrow

Post Production – Envy Post

Audio Composition – Echoic

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