HGTV and Food Network’s Campaign of Love
Right now, about three million Cablevision customers haven’t had HGTV or the Food Network for exactly a week due to a contract expiration. As you can imagine, this has caused a complete uproar. The two widely popular shows are suffering a huge blow because of it, but have used the marriage of traditional media, internet marketing & social networking to stay alive.
Here in northern Jersey, we’re living in one of the few areas of the US that isn’t getting HGTV or Food Network right now. However, the TV commercials have been non-stop: both HGTV and Food Network personalities have made appearances in 30-second commercial spots like these to voice their displeasure and apologies about what has happened to us, the viewing public. Their quick fix: two separate campaigns for two mini-sites named ILoveHGTV.com and ILoveFoodNetwork.com.
These two sites (both of which are made with Wordpress) are breaking news blogs that update you on the dispute resolution process between Cablevision and these two programs. Each page uses the same basic template and layout, including the very much so expected Facebook and Twitter widgets, with various Youtube clips.
As an internet marketer, I was extremely impressed at HGTV and Food Network’s quick build of a community site that harnesses a blog and social networking to keep fans up-to-date, regardless of the fact that these campaigns are funded by grossly expensive primetime TV ad spots. It goes to show that all you need is Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to keep your community informed. Let this case study be your ammo for the next time management at your office hasn’t warmed up to these great free tools yet!
