Developing a Global Brand Campaign for Paramount +

Project Organization

Finding a spot for thick data

In the second part, I created a section for each need and tracked between the personas, what platform they used, why they used it, and then started making connections using thick data was a told in interviews, but couldn’t be captured in the first graph.

Research Method

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We took the brief and crafted a one sentence “How Might We” statement.

How might we use paramount’s recognizable stars to showcase Paramount’s different types of entertainment so target audience wants to stream Paramount+

The strategy we identified to help us achieve this is to
use Paramount’s IP’s in a away that showcases the appeal to their genre

It’s more than just having them show up and make an appearance, but our strategy lies in the specific way they will show up, what they do, and what they say.

We want to communicate that Paramount is entertaining in everyway. They not only have genres that you’re already a fan of, but we have OTHER great and entertaining genres.

The IPs we choose will not only showcase their personality, they’re going to represent their genre and demonstrate why that genre is so entertaining.

EX. Southpark
we already know the show is popular, we know people like it because it’s funny. But we want to showcase WHY it’s funny.

If you have a neutral opinion on South Park and see ad that features a south park character standing, you would think “ oh ok they got that show on paramount”. Instead we want them to think “i think i might really like South Park. I want to watch it. They have it on Paramount. Paramount also has______ and i would like to watch that too. It’s worth it to get Paramount”

To create a compelling message we have to understand what is entertaining about each of these different genres Paramount offers.

We’re using these three Guiding Questions to help us focus our research

Question 1: What are existing strategies for advertising a streaming service?
Question 2: Why does the target audience like streaming?
Question 3: What do fans love about movies and shows on Paramount+?

Exploration

Naturally, we wanted to start the research exploration by looking at what other streaming services are doing. We looked closely at Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney Plus, and MGM. We looked at recent commercial campaigns, analyzed their messaging and visual strategies and tactics use to communicate that message.

Looking for Patterns

After exploring, I affinitized my insights and identified 3 main strategies for promoting a streaming service:

The most obvious and common way is to celebrate the platform. These commercials showcase the strength, iconicness, and impact that these streaming platform have.
MGM+ remastered themselves by showcasing their influence and how they shaped entertainment from the start and now, they’re back in the game with new originals.

The second most common way is to celebrate the watcher. These commercials capture our diversity - our unique quirks and niches. They make us feel proud to be a fans and remind us to shamelessly embrace what we like. Hulu’s Embrace the Obsession Campaign is all about that.

The third way, and the least used, but the strategy that’s won the most advertising awards out of the three categories is to celebrate movies and shows. These commercials remind us WHY we like movies and shows. Netflix does this extremely well. In their commercials, they aren’t selling their streaming service, but the power of movies/shows and how it makes us feel.

Research Method

All three are strategies provide useful lessons in what differentiates successful and impactful advertising from sales and product focused advertising.

For our campaign, we want Paramount+ to connect with or celebrate a human experience.

Think of The Wolf of Wall Street: We can’t sell a pen just by listing the features and benefits. We need to show it’s intrinsic value to consumer’s life

We can’t position Paramount+ as the solution to the consumer’s life. Because it’s not. Everyone already has a streaming service, because we all already know the value of movies/shows. Many of the popular paramount shows and movies are available on other platforms.

There’s no problem to be solved. But there is an connection and relationship to be made.
We want audiences to see the value of Paramount+ not just in the content they provide, but because the Great American Entertainer. (This will be further elaborated in the rest of this research summary)

Yes we will use IPS, we will use them in a way that showcases the appeal of their genre.
aswell, but the heart of this campaign will revolve around a basic human experience that serves as a catalyst for connection for paramount+ and the intended audience.

Interviews and Field Notes from Online Micro Cultures

To answer this question, I conducted interviews and engaged with online micro cultures on YouTube, reddit, and TikTok. My “field notes” are captured in my journal while the interviews had digital notes.

Organizing What I Learned

Why do we like streaming? What technology, cultural, or behavioral changes initiated or resulted from the transition from watching tv and movies on cable and at the theater to streaming platforms?

Social Media and on demand content enabled the rise of micro-cultures. Because there is access to a large variety of content available at a given time and an online platform where we can efficiently talk to other fans, it lead to the explosion of microcultures, (some being super niche)

I took the insights from my research and compiled it into this graphic.

Applying Insights to Paramount+

Here’s a scenario: You’re at your friends house, and they’re playing the latest episode of Yellowstone.
You think that it’s the best thing ever, so go home and binge watch the last 5 seasons and the sponoffs before the next season comes out in November,

We want to catch up so we can be a part of the live conversation. By joining online microcultures, we can discuss fan theories and life-tweet our reactions towards newest episode.

We can even more immersed in the show by watching behind the scenes teasers on youtube or tiktok. We can watch content from fans who live in another part of world and have similar lifestyles to the characters in the show.

Paramount+ takes it even further.
Paramount+ has a diversity of content with a diversity of influence that spans over generations.

These online Micro cultures aren’t just limited to current watchers, but can include the first-generation watchers that saw the films during it’s initial release period. What’s special is the fact that they experienced the cultural and social context of that time.

Here’s an example:

Your grandmother watched Breakfast at Tiffanys when she was 20 in 1961, your mother watched the same movie when she was 20 in 1985, and you watched the same movie when you were 20 in 2022.

The beauty of these classic Paramount movies is the exploration of timeless themes. Breakfast at Tiffany’s showcases the experience of a 19 year old girl turning 20. She searching for her identity and a place where she feel she belong.

You, your grandmother, and mom, can all have a conversation about the way the movie resonated with in your 20’s but bring in your own social context and experiences of your decade.

Paramount+ can sparks conversations that inspire fandoms across generations.

Looking at How Culture and Events Effect and are Affected by Movies and Shows Throughout the Decades

For this section, I wanted to look at more than just young American fans, but global fans from a variety of decades.

This section of research took a lot of listening, and a lot of analyzing.

I dove into those online microcultures on tiktok, youtube, reditt. I interviewed friends and family, read articles in film publication and did my own research into larger themes and societal norms of each decade.

I concluded that fans love paramount because: Paramount movies and shows challenge our perception and relate to our experiences

How do Paramount Movies and Shows Challenge our Perception and Relate to our Experiences?

Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar changed the way we view time and space. It shows that time is fixed, a universal constant that can be warped and stretched. It’s so different from other space movies because instead of just showing us space, we experienced space and the wight and gargantiusness of it. Before this movie space was portrayed as a setting for action and adventure to happen, but this movie used space as a character that changes the setting of time. Interstellar is a story about humanity. The universal human experience of love is showcased through the bond between a father and daughter. Christopher Nolan created an experience and overwhelmed with sense of wonder throughout.

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather challenges our perception of gangsters. The classic 1930’s gangster was brash, fast paced. At this time we NEVER would have sympathized with a murder. This movie adds humanity and complexity to the family of Mobsters. We see that the mafia is an organization with its own codes of honor and loyalty and aren’t solely focused on criminality. What really resonates with us are themes like loyalty, power, and the corruption of the human soul. These transcend cultural boundaries and are relevant thought decades.

Comedy Central Shows

We like shows on Comedy Central because they aren’t afraid to raunchy in society that requires professionalism. I think we’ve all seen south park clips on TikTok. There’s countless profiles that only post clips from Southpark with views ranging from 3,000 - 1 million, average of 15,000. Fans like the deep social commentary that’s hidden behind funny and vulgar dialogue. It’s liked by fans worldwide, comments and views are evidence of that. On tiktok you can more obviously see how others react to the jokes. From our interviews, that’s what makes the clips even more enjoyable.

Nickelodeon Shows

We like shows on Nickelodeon because they show group of friends like us having fun. These alternate experiences are wacky and dramatic, but relatable around the globe. It’s crazy that we’re meeting people in our adult lives who grew up in different areas around the globe, but watched the same shows when they were younger. They fell in love with the same characters and get the same inside jokes. Discovering this shared experience acts as a immediate connection. There’s been a few times in class where two students are talking about a show, and another student across the room light up and says “wait omg are you talking about I Carly? And the other students reply yes! I love that show” all three students grew up on different continents. These showcase Paramount+’s unique advantage of stories that resonate thought time and beyond cultural barriers.