Corus Entertainment

Scream was a Corus specialty network known for slasher flicks. Viewers ate up the gore, but advertisers were wary. Post-Twilight, more women were embracing supernatural/thriller entertainment, but they weren’t watching Scream. Corus decided to rebrand Scream as Dusk, a network that would win over vampire-loving ladies and the advertisers who woo them.

Schedules weren’t final, so convincing women that Dusk was for them without referencing specific shows or movies wouldn’t be easy. The idea was to give them the experience of watching Dusk. Similarly, advertisers would also need a Dusk experience since there were no audience numbers.

To reach women, online advertising featured interactive ads, such as a mirror shattering to reveal the Dusk logo. And in cinemas, a series of mini “flashes” built buzz for longer spots that ran pre-movie.

Advertisers were sent Boyfriend Replacement Arms – arm-shaped pillows designed to be squeezed during frightening and thrilling moments. To keep momentum going post-launch, “poisoned” chocolates were delivered to media buyers and planners.

Trade advertising shifted perception. Pre-launch, Dusk had 47 unique advertisers, six of them female-skewed. Post-campaign, that number grew 40%, 16 of which were female-skewed.

Consumer advertising scared up new viewers of both sexes. Within the first four weeks of launch, Dusk’s Average Minute Audience (AMA) of adults 18-49 increased by 146%. The female AMA increased by 136% within four weeks of launch.

Those results were sustainable as well. When compared with the August-December period the year before, Dusk’s reach grew 173% among adults 18-49, and 200% among women 18-49.