ABC2, the Australian channel trying to engage viewers 24-35 after 7 p.m., took a look at its limited budget and decided on the obvious: let local comedy acts tell their brand story for them.

So in order to raise brand awareness and get the word out that ABC2, part of Australia’s national broadcaster, hits the airwaves at 7 p.m. after ABC’s broader programming concludes, ABC2 partnered with three comedy musical acts that are local but also, and most importantly, already familiar with their envisioned audience.

“We wanted to create new IDs and were looking to reach new audiences in our intended demo,” said Nicole Quinton, creative services manager, TV marketing and communications at ABC TV. “One key method for finding audiences beyond our own air is to align ourselves with others who have an audience we want. We decided the best way to connect with our young demographic was to engage with talent that were already speaking to them.”

And by choosing comedy acts, ABC2 was deliberately addressing comments that its program schedule is confusing. ABC2 begins at 7 p.m., but the rest of the day is ABC content. “The underlying honesty has helped make this campaign a success for our brand,” said Quinton.

“We wanted to look at an engaging way to lift awareness about the channel while giving audiences fun, irreverent branded entertainment,” said Quinton.

The team at ABC2 chose three local musical comedy acts with noticeable online followings: Axis of Awesome, a well-known trio with more than 15 million hits on YouTube for one song alone; The Bedroom Philosopher, a solo act with albums, a book and popular festival appearances; and The Bondi Hipsters, two Australian brothers with a Web series and ‘90s-style music videos.

“We started searching for talent that aligned with the ABC2 brand,” said Quinton. “The criteria was really simple – are you doing great things in social and do we share similar audiences? If so, let’s work together!”

ABC2 asked each artist to create two 60-second musical promos about the channel. The only directive was that the videos had to refer to ABC2, but the rest was up to them – enabling the contributors to use their own creative voices.

“Authenticity was key. We briefed the talent on challenges we have and they were able to humorously weave that into their songs. We retained script approval but did not censor nor seek to modify the concepts beyond any editorial policy issues.”

And what they ended up with was three lewd, rude music videos that worked perfectly.

“The songs are rude but we didn’t censor. They’re honest, funny and speak directly to our target audience.”

It was only once they had been posted and shared online that ABC2 released them on air. Each contributor also posted them online – in their own ways.

“Ultimately ABC2 provided great branded entertainment. We’re hoping these spots are just the beginning,” said Quinton. “The concept is unique and we want to keep evolving it – even if we piss off a few people along the way.”

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