In market for less than a month, streaming video-on-demand service shomi has already introduced a sequel of sorts to its first marketing campaign.
Director of brand and product marketing Rita Ferrari said while the first phase of the campaign was focused on creating awareness of the shomi brand, the second phase – breaking this week – places a greater emphasis on its content.
She said “binge-worthy” series such as FX’s Sons of Anarchy and American Horror Story, alongwith the History series Vikings and sitcoms like 2 Broke Girls, will all be prominently featured in the new campaign from Rethink and Proximity.
“We’re not doing a wholesale shift,” said Ferrari. “You’ll still see some brand [advertising] in there, but we’ve now added that extra layer of content marketing. Because we have so many key promotable shows, it’s been quite an exercise in trying to get all [the ads] out and schedule them.”
While she wouldn’t disclose preliminary subscriber numbers, calling them “highly confidential,” Ferrari said the company – a joint venture between Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications – has been pleased with early consumer uptake.
“There seems to a real interest in the service – people are subscribing to the free trial, the buzz on social media has been predominantly positive,” she said. “People are enjoying the service, they love the user interface and exclusive content.”
She said the fact shomi is available through set-top boxes (STBs) is particularly appealing to consumers, since they don’t have to worry about incurring additional fees from their internet service provider for exceeding their monthly data limit.
Shomi debuted early last month with a marketing campaign that included PR, social media and digital out-of-home.
The new campaign breaking this week includes “significantly more” out-of-home advertising, said Ferrari, augmented by radio (two 30-second spots), magazine and TV.
The company has also partnered with Cineplex Media on a new advertising component using its “TimePlay” service, which invites customers to use their mobile device to compete in sponsored games prior to their movie. The games will prominently feature TV shows and movies available on shomi.
In addition to digital out-of-home, the new campaign includes spectaculars, wall murals, standard 10-foot by 20-foot billboards and TSAs in key markets.
