Teletoon kicks off new A18-34 block Sunday
Teletoon is getting ready to add some personality – and its very first personality – as Teletoon at Night launches this Sunday evening at 10 p.m.
The net announced earlier this month that radio personality Fearless Fred Kennedy from Edge 102.1 was taking over as the face of the two-hour block – previously dubbed Detour – which is going after the 18-34 demo. It’s also the first time that Teletoon has brought a host on board.
“Fred personifies the brand,” says VP of marketing Russell Ward. “He’s smart, he has a bit of an edge to him and he’s also aspirational.”
Teletoon is also looking to build on Fred’s existing fanbase and push forward with a strong social media strategy.
“It’s a tricky because that 18-34 demo is really sophisticated,” explains Ward. “They don’t like being marketed to in a traditional way, especially in an invasive way across social media. So we have to be really smart about it and allow them to come to us with the conversation.”
Ward says that Fred is already an active Twitter user, and he’ll also roll out extra content for Teletoon at Night, including blogs, interviews, etc.
On the programming front, Ward says that Teletoon is pushing its exclusive content, as it will be the only Canadian broadcaster airing popular Adult Swim toon Robot Chicken and animated comedy Archer.
It will also air the Teletoon at Night Pilot Project, in which a number of pilots will get their chance on air. “We’re going to use this feedback on this platform to tell us what they think. In some respects, the audience is becoming programmers themselves,” explains Ward.
A prime example of the new line-up is the marblemedia and eOne co-pro The Dating Guy (26 x 30 mins) will be the block’s full-on Canadian series. The animated comedy, created by marble’s Mark Bishop and Matt Hornburg, follows four 20-something fellows on their search for love… or something like it.
It’ll be followed by an extensive online component at DatingGuy.com, with interactive components from blogs, quizzes, full eps along with two original web series. Weekly debrief The Morning After Show is filmed in live-action with dating experts and celebrities to discuss topics from the previous night’s ep.
Meanwhile, Dr. Love is the second live-action comedic webseries featuring the title character who discusses topics and clips from on-air The Dating Guy.