The Vampire Diaries

The CW TV network was looking for an innovative way to promote the special Halloween episode of The Vampire Diaries. They chose to build exposure and awareness through ChaCha’s mobile SMS advertising which would effectively target and reach their tech-savvy teen and young adult audience.

The Goal:

Drive awareness and tune-in for The Vampire Diaries Halloween episode on October 29, 2009

The Solution:

Served nearly 4 million text ads targeted to the entertainment category in a 6-day campaign.

To drive awareness and build the audience for the Halloween special of The Vampire Diaries The CW partnered with ChaCha. ChaCha developed a creative campaign with numerous ad scripts playing off the theme “Halloween Sucks.” Every day, from October 24 until October 29, a new set of creative was served, counting down the days until The Vampire Diaries Halloween episode.

Example Message Flow:

Question: What is a popular costume for Halloween this year?

Confirmation Ad: Trick or Transwer! *In 2 days (Oct 29 @ 8/7c), get dark n scary this Halloween season w/ Vampire Diaries. You’ll be saying Halloween sucks! Text HALLOWEENSUX

HALLOWEENSUX Response Ad: On Thurs Oct 29, the chilling new tv show, “The Vampire Diaries” will leave U thinking Halloween sucks, but not in the way U think! Its 8/7c only on The CW!

Answer/Answer Ad: Ghosts <http://www.chacha.com/ topic/ghosts> and Witches are always the most popular Halloween Costumes. Thanks for asking. *Halloween sucks, or does it? Txt DOESIT

DOESIT Response Ad: Halloween doesn’t suck but vampires do on The Vampire Diaries (a chilling irresistible show according to US Weekly). See it Thurs Oct 29 @8/7c only on The CW.

The Results:

During the life of the campaign, the number of questions related to vampires increased a total of 213% and the number of questions related to “Vampire Diaries” increased a total of 323%. More than two dozen different ads were utilized, all directing viewers to tune-in to the special Halloween episode.

The CW is America’s fifth broadcast network and the only network targeting women 18-34. ChaCha served nearly 4 million conversational text ads targeted to the entertainment category during the 6-day campaign. During the life of the campaign the number of questions related to vampires increased a total of 213% and the number of questions related to “Vampire Diaries” increased a total of 323%. “ChaCha has a solid track record of driving awareness and building audience for entertainment programming especially among younger viewers who tend to be the heaviest texters,” says Scott A. Jones, CEO of ChaCha. Caty Burgess, Director of Media Strategies for The CW says, “Our viewers use their mobile devices to stay in constant touch with their friends, family, and the world, and so for us to stay in touch with them wherever they may be, we’re utilizing innovative mobile services like ChaCha to get our messages across in a highly targeted and unique manner.”

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