Canal+: DISCOVER WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Social Media

Advertiser: CANAL+

Product/Service: BORGIA SERIES

Agency: CAKE PARIS

Creative Director: Alban Penicaut (Cake Paris)

Copywriter: Constantin De La Borde (Cake Paris)

Art Director: Vincent Boursaud (Cake Paris)

Associate Managing Director: Michael Bernier (Cake Paris)

Strategic Planner: Thomas Roffé (Cake Paris)

Digital Pr Manager: Hubert Munyazikwye (Cake Paris)

Account Manager: Audrey Mazet (Cake Paris)

Producer: (Emmanuelle)

Photographer: Mikael Vojinovic

New Media Manager: Benoît Ménard (Canal+)

Marketing Director: Samantha Etienne (Canal+)

Marketing And Advertising Director: Mathieu Mazuel (Canal+)

Advertising Manager: Perrine Long (Canal+)

Communication Director: Béatrice Roux (Canal+)

Media placement: Social PR - taxis - September 6, 2011

Media placement: Event - Grand Palais in Paris - September 6, 2011

Media placement: Social Media - Twitter - September 6, 2011

Media placement: Social Media - facebook - September 6, 2011

Media placement: Social Media - blogs (fubiz, minutebuzz...) - September 7, 2011



Summary of the Campaign

How do you reach influential bloggers to create buzz/PR on 'Borgia', the Canal+ new series about the (in)famous Pope's family and its sulphurous reputation (violence, sex, corruption) in the late 15th century's Vatican?



We came up with the idea of pranking influential bloggers, to put them at the middle of a sulphurous situation they would share.



For this, we invited them to a mysterious party. As they got in the cabs we sent them, they found a forgotten digital camera loaded with sulphurous amateur pictures involving priests in orgies.



Bloggers are curious, and as they had a look at the pictures they encounter something quite unexpected.



The Situation

'Borgia' is the new series from Canal+ about the famous pope's family and its sulphurous reputation (violence, sex, corruption) in the late 15th century's Vatican. The challenge is to get it on the web through social media and bloggers.



The Goal

The goal was to optimise web feedback a few weeks before the launch. So, bloggers were the perfect target.



The Strategy

A blogger stunt on the way to a mysterious private party for Borgia's première.



Execution

We 'abandoned' the digital cameras on the back seats of taxis we sent to bloggers who were attending the party in Paris, France.



The taxis were equipped with hidden cameras.



When they arrived, bloggers were received by priests and nuns and understood what was this mysterious party was: a Borgia première.



Documented Results

Finally, 52 bloggers were attending the event. Each one of them has posted a positive article on the event/the series.



The hashtag used by the bloggers quickly the hit #1 position in the French trending topics.



Nearly 300,000 impressions on Twitter.



An editorial partnership with the French trends website, Fubiz, has led to 700,000 targeted impressions.



1.6m viewers for the first episode - an audience record for Canal+.