TBS' and TNT's International Women's Day Programming Takeover Success Provides a New, Female-Fueled Tentpole

Fastforward to March 8 2019 and that39s exactly what Quigley and his team didamp160 From dawn through primetime TBS and TNT played original and licensed programming that was created or directed by women capped by the basic cable premiere of Patty Jenkins39 Wonder Woman simulcast on both networksamp160 The videos above and below encapsulate exactly what TBS and TNT did on that dayamp160amp160There were blocks of episodes of classics like Friends directed by legendamp160Pam Fryman strings of original shows like The Detour Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Claws and the network premiere of Refinery29 and TNT39s anthology seriesamp160Shatterbox featuringamp160short filmsamp160directed exclusivelyamp160by women which had the knockon effect of helping some of those directors check off the required network experience to be eligible for episodic directing jobsamp160quotFor us it was important that this takeover be organicquot Quigley saidamp160 quotTo me what was the most satisfying aspect of this was looking across the day on these two networks and seeing very different projectsamp160 You had these compelling narratives and a range of different perspectives and charactersquotQuigley categorizedamp160the linear portion of the takeover as a success but what stood out to him was the increased viewership on the TBS and TNT apps we39re talking increases of just under 300 for connected devices and up 737 than average for mobile usageamp160 quotThat tells me we probably got a much younger more engaged audience watching on connected devices and mobile versus what we39d see on our networksquot he saidThis takeover required several teams working together from programming to ad salesamp160 quotOne of the first calls I made was to Jenn Cohenquot Quigley saidamp160amp160Cohen is the Senior Vice President of Entertainment Content Partnerships and she immediately became one of the biggest champions of the Women39s Day takeoveramp160 She and Quigley saw a unique sponsorship opportunity for the special programming slate but in keeping with the theme of the day the two were seeking a partner for whom female empowerment and overcoming obstacles was an integral part of the brand rather than a company that simply stuck a quotgirl powerquot message into their branding efforts for a monthquotWe did not want to take this lightlyquot Cohen saidamp160 Working with the ad sales teams they found their ideal partner in Orangetheory Fitness the gym franchise cofounded by fitness guruamp160Ellen Lathamamp160 quotYou know when a partnership is rightquot she continuedamp160 quotIt39s easyamp160 Everyone understood exactly what the day and the sponsorship was all about from the onsetquotquotThis integration broke new ground and is a big part of how we see changes in TV advertising planningquot saidamp160Kevin Keith Chief Brand Officer Orangetheory FitnessThe key to the Orangetheory Fitness partnership was the digital crossover Quigley mentioned aboveamp160 The Orangetheory Fitness creative developed inhouse at Turner by a team of women centered on Latham39s story and ran in the linear showing of Wonder Woman on TBSamp160 But Turner and Orangetheory also created a whole social campaign to support the inspiring branded content that will run for the remainder of March which is Women39s History MonthquotEven now you can see in the Orangetheory Fitness Instagram comments that people are so inspired by Ellen39s story and are grateful for us highlighting herquot Cohen saidEven before seeing the reactions from both viewers and business partners Quigley and Cohen had counted on doing this takeover againamp160 But because of that strong response the possibility of other takeovers highlighting programming from other underrepresented groups is a real possibilityamp160amp160quotWe want to see what else we can do to bring a message of empowerment and pride in what we39re doing on the programming sidequot Quigley said quotAs a business I don39t know that we can be more relevant unless we bring more of those diverse stories to the screenamp160 Using these kinds of takeovers to cast a bright light on those stories also gives them a bigger platformquotAdvertisers themselves continue to see the advantage of touting their core valuesamp160 quotI like to support companies and brands that I believe have the same values I doquot Cohen saidamp160 quotI don39t think I39m alone in thatquotOrangetheory Fitness image courtesy of TBSClick 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 MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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TBS' and TNT's International Women's Day Programming Takeover Success Provides a New, Female-Fueled Tentpole

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Oriana Schwindt

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TBS' and TNT's International Women's Day Programming Takeover Success Provides a New, Female-Fueled Tentpole

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Oriana Schwindt

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