Relating to upfront occasions, corporations historically maintain their shows after which have a celebration afterward. However Hallmark Media is doing issues in another way this 12 months.
The corporate entered the 2023 upfront season with a two-pronged method for its messaging. It started internet hosting quite a lot of branded occasions March 21 and can proceed via mid-April, permitting purchasers to decide on their very own Hallmark journey.
“We had been going to look to create these experiences,” Ed Georger, evp, advert gross sales and digital media, Hallmark Media, informed Adweek. “And provides our purchasers a chance to have interaction in these private experiences beneath the umbrella of bringing that love and that pleasure that our model stands for and immerse our viewers into the world of Hallmark.”
The occasions included all the things from a two Michelin star farm-to-table retreat and personal pizza excursions to a wellness-inspired night and an unique, one-of-a-kind baking class at Magnolia Bakery.
“Flexibility is a key phrase in our enterprise, so we gave our purchasers the pliability to select the one that matches their schedule and needs,” Georger defined. “And every one among them was a manner for us to reconnect face-to-face, speak about our model, speak about what we’re doing and do it in an surroundings that brings folks collectively.”
Then, following the reception-like occasions, the corporate is getting all the way down to enterprise.
Along with the experiences, Hallmark is following up with digital and in-person conferences with purchasers and companions to speak extra historically concerning the firm’s message and choices, and learn to ship options.
“We gave folks a alternative to decide on the expertise they had been most focused on, and people are, once more, methods to attach, methods to bond, methods to have fun our partnerships, understanding that we’re going to return again round, door-to-door, with a extra formal presentation that speaks to not solely what we’re doing, however a chance for them to inform us what’s essential to their enterprise,” Georger stated.
Countdown to the upfronts
Concerning the corporate’s messaging, Hallmark has a powerful story to inform, the evp of advert gross sales defined.
“An enormous a part of our story continues to be the energy of Countdown to Christmas and our vacation place,” Georger stated. “For 9 years in a row, [Hallmark Channel is] No. 1 throughout the fourth quarter, pushed by that vacation place.”
