Channel 4 partnered with Metro to promote its new factual entertainment series Eden. The campaign aimed to get people interested in Eden by prompting them to think about modern life and the desire to start over. It did this through a highly contextual partnership with Metro that allowed daily bespoke ads responding to Metro's headlines and news. This drove over 2 million viewers and sparked conversations among readers.

1.
Best
Topical
Campaign:
Channel
4
&
Eden
Executive Summary
Have
you
ever
wanted
to
just
get
away?
Just
give
up
your
emails
and
phone?
Does
that
yearning
for
a
simpler
life
strike
a
chord?
It
did
for
Channel
4.
Eden
was
their
new,
ground-­‐breaking
factual
entertainment
series
with
a
clear
proposition
–
see
what
happens
when
you
press
reset
on
modern
life.
OMD
UK
and
Channel
4
bought
this
concept
to
life
via
a
highly
contextual
and
culturally
connected
partnership
with
Metro,
where
our
campaign
responded
to
their
headlines
and
reacted
to
news
as
it
emerged.
The
powerful
partnership
helped
drive
over
2
million
viewers,
sparking
conversations
among
readers
and
newsbrands.
Background
and
Objectives
Eden
was
a
new,
ground-­‐breaking
factual
entertainment
series
that
asks
what
will
happen
when
23
people,
each
with
different
skills
and
talents,
decide
to
start
again,
from
scratch,
in
a
remote
Scottish
location.
Eden
wasn’t
really
about
survival,
nor
was
it
about
escape.
It
was
about
the
draw
of
the
possible
and
the
opportunity
to
simply
pack
up
and
leave
the
modern
world
behind.
Channel
4
knew
that
Eden
had
potential
to
be
more
than
just
broad
appeal
television.
Eden
would
ask
questions
of
the
society
in
which
we
live;
it
would
inspire
people
to
challenge
the
status
quo
and
make
changes
to
the
way
they
live
their
lives
–
it
was
the
very
definition
of
the
Channel
4
remit.
Our
brief
was
to
draw
1.5
million
viewers
into
the
central
conceit
of
the
show
as
something
broader
than
just
another
structured
reality.
Our
communication
objective
was
to
get
people
interested
in
Eden
by
prompting
them
to
think
and
talk
about
the
world
we
live
in.
Newsbrands
are
peoples
go
to
media
for
information,
so
their
role
was
important
from
the
outset.
They
would
help
us
generate
intrigue
and
their
high
readership
would
help
drive
viewing
among
16-­‐34’s.
Insight
We
would
need
to
inspire
people
to
think
about
a
better,
simpler
life
to
get
them
interested
in
the
show.
July
18th
was
perfect
for
the
Eden
launch.
The
political
and
global
climate
in
July
resonated
perfectly
with
the
key
themes
of
the
show
–
the
opportunity
to
start
afresh,
the
desire
to
simply
pack
up
and
leave.
Brexit
had
sparked
a
nervousness
and
uncertainty
within
the
UK,
people
were
thinking
and
talking
about
our
future.
There
was
no
better
time
to
prompt
the
question
‘what
would
we
do
if
we
could
start
again…?’
We
needed
the
perfect
platform
–
one
that
would
be
key
in
capturing
and
reporting
the
mood
of
the
nation.
We
needed
a
platform
that
would
allow
us
to
speak
directly
to
our
audience,
and
one
that
would
allow
us
to
keep
up
with
new
stories.
This
led
us
to
our
second
insight
-­‐
the
role
that
newsbrands
play.
Newsbrands
set
the
agenda
and
they
would
allow
us
to
keep
up
with
conversations
and
be
reactive.
Specifically
Metro,
the
best
title
for
our
young
adult
audience,
reaching
1.3
million
16-­‐34’s
each
day
(NRS
July
‘15-­‐
June
’16).

2.
The
Plan
We
worked
with
The
Metro
to
create
a
culturally
connected
partnership
–
one
that
gave
us
a
unique
insight
into
tomorrow’s
headlines
and
the
opportunity
to
respond
to
the
news
as
it
broke.
4Creative,
Channel
4’s
creative
agency,
were
able
to
create
tactical,
bespoke
copy
on
a
daily
basis,
which
on
its
own
was
thought
provoking
and
impactful
and
when
put
against
relevant
news
stories
was
even
more
powerful.
The
Metro
partnership
was
truly
agile
–
with
flexibility
of
format,
section
and
editorial
topic
to
execute
a
campaign
that
was
closely
aligned
to
the
page
we
appeared
on.
This
allowed
us
to
stretch
the
creative
idea
beyond
Brexit,
making
the
most
of
different
editorial
pillars
and
therefore
maximise
eyeballs.
C4
Eden
captured
the
currents
of
public
opinion
and
became
its
own
voice
within
the
paper,
commenting
on
prominent
subject
matters
in
a
thought-­‐
provoking
and
witty
way.
Results
We
got
people
thinking
and
talking.
Reactions
to
our
clever
placements
show
that
Eden
had
captured
the
mood
of
the
nation,
and
it
sparked
a
conversation
online
about
the
world
we
live
in.

3.
Eden
is
a
show
born
of
a
dissatisfaction
with
modern
life.
At
the
time
of
the
campaign,
Brexit
was
dividing
the
nation
and
the
geopolitical
situation
was
as
fractious
as
it
had
been
in
years.
There
was
no
better
time
to
ask
“what
if
we
could
start
again?”.
Working
in
close
partnership
with
the
Metro,
we
reacted
to
the
news
on
a
daily
basis.
The
relevance
of
the
ads
to
news
stories
on
the
same
page,
made
them
stick
out
and
created
conversations
about
the
show.
Harry
Dromey
-­‐
Group
Marketing
Manager
at
Channel
4
Our
relationship
with
newsbrands
became
reciprocal.
You
know
a
campaign
is
successful
when
it
becomes
the
news.
Newsbrands
began
talking
about
Eden
in
the
context
of
what
was
happening
in
the
now
for
the
UK.
The
front
page
ad
on
Metro
sparked
debate,
with
both
the
BBC
and
the
Independent
talking
about
it
online.
The
Independent
tweeted
the
front
page
to
1.97
million
people,
and
even
created
a
humorous
meme.
The
tables
had
turned.
Channel
4
had
set
the
agenda
within
newsbrands.
https://www.indy100.com/article/channel-­‐4s-­‐new-­‐programme-­‐
summed-­‐up-­‐how-­‐everyone-­‐feels-­‐about-­‐britain-­‐-­‐b16Z17JprW