Tanya Lopez on Lifetime’s Strategy for Recapturing Women’s Hearts

EB Moss amp160Lifetime39s mission is described as amp8220recapturing women39s heartsamp8221 amp160What does that mean Tanya Lopez amp160There was a time where everybody said quotWe should be more inclusiveamp160and get the broadest audience we canquotamp160 The truth is in today39s landscape it39s really hard to appeal to everyone amp160You could barely appeal to every woman amp160We watch programming depending on our emotional state right then amp160I may say quotI39m going to go home and watch a dramaquotamp160and turn around and decide to watch somebody cook a chicken amp160It depends on how youamp8217re feeling in the moment amp160So to serve our audience the best giving them an emotional experience with content thatamp8217s iconic to our brand like our movies amp160thatamp8217s how we recapture women39s heartsMoss amp160How do you program for emotional need states Lopez amp160The emotion and the relatability is really important amp160But women also want to learn from what they39re watching and walk away saying quotHmm I didn39t know thatquotamp160 We do that with biopics on figures like Olympic gymnast Simone Biles amp160Oramp160on Harry and Meghan which my goodness how much more could you have not knownamp160 Yet we were able to dramatize and reveal new nuggets in our filmMoss amp160As the TV landscape itself is evolving is your focus shifting from linear to digital Lopez amp160Of course linear remains very important to us amp160Getting anything to break through the clutter is incredibly challenging but there are very few competitors that put out the special kind of movie content that we put out amp160We absolutely embrace social and love to create shortform content but it39s also about how we look at our movies and brand them throughout the year amp160We39re creating much more of a destination for our viewers with our acquired and original movie premieres about 70 movies this year alone amp160We donamp8217t just promote to this movie promote to that movie amp160we look at them as parts of an overarching themeamp160and strategically program based on those themesamp160amp160That lets you look at our movie content as a viewer or as an advertiser amp160and say quotOh this is what I can expectquotamp160 And that separates us from our competitorsMossamp160 Can you give me an example of any themes Lopez amp160Weamp8217ve had some great hits like Beachesamp160the remake with Idina Menzel and Nia Long and Cocaine Godmother The Griselda Blanco Storyamp160starring Catherine ZetaJones that live under our quotMusic and BioPicsamp8221 umbrella amp160There is the quotFaith and Inspirationalquot bucket which doesn39t have to just be religious it could be movies that resonate because theyamp8217re aspirational as well as inspirational like I Am Elizabeth Smartamp160or Faith Under Fire The Antoinette Tuff Storyamp160starring Toni Braxton amp160quotRipped from the Headlinesquot is an obvious theme for us with movies based on what we learned through the media but they have more insights and feel different in a cinematic way amp160And of course thereamp8217s amp8220Summer Escapesamp8221 and quotIt39s a Wonderful Lifetimeamp8221 a franchise that returns every yearMoss amp160How are you rolling this strategy outLopez amp160We have five big tent poles that started this summer with amp8220Summer Escapesamp8221 and weamp8217llamp160 finish out the year with amp8220Itamp8217s a Wonderful Lifetimeamp8221 amp160It will continue through 2019 with amp8220Musicamp8221 amp8220Faithamp8221 and amp8220Headlinesamp8221 amp160Each have movies with bigger talent and bigger concepts supported with a dozen that are sort of midrange budgets and then 30 that are slightly lower budget than thoseamp160As an example with amp8220Faith and Inspirationamp8221 we39re doing a big concept movie about two country music legends I canamp8217t say who just yet and next to that we39re doing a movie about gospel singing with a big star whom I canamp8217t mention either amp160Then we39ll do about five other movies that may not have the big names attached but that have that faith and inspiration elementWe are also back in the business of making movies from popular literary series amp160In 2019 we will be shooting titles from Jane GreenMossamp160 Can you describe the business opportunities using amp8220It39s a Wonderful Lifetimeamp8221 as an exampleamp160 You have around 19 movies in that theme along with some innovative packaging around them like influencer vignettesLopez amp160The vignettes tie things together and interstitial entertainment ensures Lifetime fans arenamp8217t coming just for the movie but all the surrounding shoulder programming amp160They love the Christmas movies and the linear elements but the digital and social content keeps them engaged amp160I know thatamp8217s important to our sales and marketing teams amp160Content blocks let them speak or market to one theme which helps get the audience excited about whatamp8217s comingamp160and adds clarity to the sales process tooMossamp160 Will similar sponsorship elements be offered for the different themed buckets Lopez amp160Peter Olsenamp160Executive Vice President Ad Sales AE Networks called this quotthe gold standardquotamp160of how they want to go to market and thatamp8217s why weamp8217re applying it to other big tentpoles amp160He told me the singular theme across linear digital and socialamp160gives advertisers that always onamp160360 multiplatform opportunity amp160It lets Peteramp8217s team plan farther out and they can offer advertisers a whole theme versus one title at a timeMoss amp160Is there any one movie that really resonated with you emotionallyamp160 Lopez amp160We did one on the toxic water crisis in Flint Michigan starring Queen Latifah a crisis thatamp8217s still there after all these years amp160These women felt no one was going to listen to them as they saw their children getting out of their baths with rashes and getting cancer amp160We met these women when we screened the movie in Flint amp160They said to me quotThank you for doing this movie amp160We don39t know if it39s going to make a difference but we just want to remind people that we are still here and it39s still not overquotI love stories that make me stop and say quotPay attention to this Tanyaquotamp160 I39m really proud that we39re back to taking on issues that are really important like our breast cancer initiative and screening these movies in Washingtonamp160or other communities and saying quotLet39s talk about this stuffquotamp160 When you turn around as a viewer and you go quotWow I haven39t thought about it like thatquotamp160those are exactly the stories that we like to tellClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of 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Tanya Lopez on Lifetime’s Strategy for Recapturing Women’s Hearts

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Tanya Lopez on Lifetime’s Strategy for Recapturing Women’s Hearts

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