​Pivot is entering the increasingly crowded original drama series field on Thursday with the launch of Fortitude, a co-production with Sky Atlantic, that is seeing the Millennial-targeting network marry its corporate commitment to education and inspiration to action with a more traditional marketing campaign.

As with everything at Pivot, the marketing and creative teams working on Fortitude have a dual target of both attracting viewers who are interested in watching great television, as well as pulling in audiences who care passionately about the deeper issues dealt with by the characters or the plot and who may be inspired to take action in real life.

For Fortitude, a slowly-unfolding mystery thriller set in a remote arctic town (tag line: “It’s Not Just the Cold That Kills”) that has meant crafting a campaign that speaks to both to lovers of suspense, as well as to viewers who are fired up by environmental science and climate change, said Tracy Klein, Pivot VP of marketing.

Pivot has created a robust digital component to back the Fortitude campaign at InvestigateFortitude.com, an online content hub that will feature a nine-part digital companion video series. The three-minute videos, hosted by Jacob Soboroff (TakePart Live, School Pride), and developed in partnership with the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, explore the science behind the mystery in three-minute segments featuring environmental and health experts.

“We want people to be able to come in and be intrigued by the show, and then come to this content where you can go a step deeper and learn more about these real-life issues raised by Fortitude, but also find ways to take action,” said Klein.

Pivot’s digital sibling TakePart.com will also host a companion editorial series, featuring additional articles, photo galleries, and infographics, as well suggested actions that viewers can take in real life. Both Pivot and TakePart.com are owned by Participant Media.

But at its core, Fortitude is still a suspense thriller, and Pivot’s creative team has been working with the series’ stark visual palette to evoke feelings of cold, discomfort, and unease in the on-air and online spots.

“It really is about creating the feeling of that shiver,” said Murphy Gilson, SVP of creative and branding at Pivot. “If you grew up in the snow, you know that you can feel the cold, even when you’re inside. There’s that feeling where you can’t quite release and relax a bit. We tried to constantly keep that presence so you’re never completely comfortable. There’s a little bit of frost or cold in all of the visuals.”

Gilson’s team also created a “Fortitude in a Flash” video series to help retain viewer engagement throughout the slowly-unfolding season.

“Typically serialized television has that [viewer] erosion as people think they can’t re-enter if they miss an episode,” GIlson said. “We’re trying to prevent people from having that feeling.”

The two- to three-minute season-long recaps are aimed at getting viewers up to speed quickly, as well as reinforcing the story for viewers who may not have skipped an episode, but still missed an important point in the intricate mystery.

For Fortitude, Pivot will also continue its tradition of placing the first episode of the series online for viewers to watch for free to encourage sampling and discovery. Subsequent episodes will be available online to authenticated viewers using the Pivot app.

Across the pond, Fortitude will be premiering day-and-date on co-production partner Sky Atlantic across several territories.

In a move that garnered lots of social media chatter earlier this week, Sky Atlantic unleashed an 8-foot animatronic polar bear on the streets and Tube lines of London, to celebrate the series launch:

Fortitude premieres Thursday, January 29, at 10p.m. ET/PT on Pivot.

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