A couple months ago I had the good fortune of being 1st AD for two episodes of a new TV show called "The Day I Almost Died."
The basic schtick of the show was recreating real instances where someone does something dumb/dangerous and they end up almost dying. Good stuff! The episodes on which I worked included a guy falling down a mineshaft, an illegal fireworks mishap, and a snowmobile accident among others.
As I told people about the show I noticed that discussions immediately veered toward the exchange of personal anecdotes of near-death situations. "Let me tell you how I almost died..." It seems that nearly everyone has "almost died" - and are excited to share their story. With that understanding, I put together a campaign designed to capitalize on peoples' inherent need to share their brush-with-death tales while promoting the show.
Campaign Overview
Build a custom The Day I Almost Died (DIAD)-branded YouTube channel to collect an array of stories of peoples’ near-death experiences. Leverage channel content and community to promote 1st season of the show.
After creating a slick-looking YouTube page with existing art/assets and setting up the backend metrics and such, you'd need a single full-time manager and a bit of administrative support to get it up and running.
Through smart phones and YouTube webcam capture, we would collect hundreds (if not thousands) of amateur video clips. This content would be tagged, made shareable, and featured as deemed necessary. With basic social media promotion and TV network support, the DIAD channel would gain a considerable audience. Throw a few contests in there and watch the traffic!
Apart from the primary benefit of getting more eyeballs on the current programming, I put forth these bonus points:
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Indigo Films would be able to “mine” thousands of submissions for the best new stories for Season #2 and onward. This will save time sourcing material for future seasons.
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DIAD could promote YouTube channel during TV programming and drive more free submissions into the mix. More submissions = more raw material for Seasons #2 – ?
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Indigo Films and ID Channel will reach new audiences and strengthen existing ones.
Unfortunately, the budget wasn't there and I was too late in the game to make it happen. However, it's a great idea and once the series is renewed I'll likely re-pitch.
The Day I Almost Died should air in July on the Discovery Life channel. Check your local listings!
Download THE DAY I ALMOST DIED proposal