Michael Stelzner, of Social Media Examiner recently interviewed Mark Burnett and Brian Reich about the HUGE, almost ground-breaking, social media strategy being created around the new Sarah Palin reality show - Sarah Palin's Alaska.
Mark Burnett from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.
4 blogs have been created to support the show, and there will be 2 podcasts each week; one immediately after the broadcast and the other later in the week. The 4 blogs are to enable lots of very different audiences to "engage" with the show on any level that fits them. Explains Brian Reich, the Social Media Director for TLC -
"the blogs will focus on culture (and fashion), politics, media and pr and then then behind the scenes aspect of the show. So that if we're talking about dog-mushing, we can offer information on dog-mushing on the blog"
This expands and deepens the content of the show, but also allows the TLC folks to explain what's going on in a cool way without turning the broadcast into a news program/documentary or talking down to the audience who may have no clue what dog-mushing is. TLC calls it having a deeper conversation, making the whole thing a "richer and more compelling experience".
As such it's fascinating. And fun. But it's not new. Squidoo has been surrounding a tiny topic with a bigger experience with their shopping modules, video, debates, prediction modules, etc. since 2005.
There is another aspect to it. Spin. Taking a potential negative and spinning it into a bigger, more appealing asset. Here's another example: At PF Changs, your server comes to your table to mix their special formula of a hot sauce. Could it be that management realized no two servers would ever be able to replicate the exact same "company" sauce, so why not re-position is as a custom creation, unique to the server? Now, no matter that it's always different every time you eat there.
For all of 2010, pundits have been saying that Social Media is no longer the story: it just is, and that "is" is part of everyone's regular marketing. It's fun for this online visibility, web based marketing consultant to see that prediction being so deftly deployed, by TLC.
