the thought

Kathleen Destino

Reality Television. The category conjures up distinct feelings in most people. They either love to love or love to hate the category now known as “Reality TV.” In an interview on NPR with Jon Murray, one person often credited with starting the entire Reality TV phenomenon (he co-created the original Real World on MTV in 1992), the interviewer asks, “Can you sleep at night?”

The NPR Talk of the Nation host is not hiding his feelings about the genre.

I love to love a particular reality television show called Project Runway. Maybe it’s the insight into the fashion industry, maybe it’s the dynamic personalities that appear on the show, or maybe it’s just that I love the runway show with the eclectic designs that come down it each week.

Whether you love to love or love to hate the show, credit must be given to Project Runway for its on air success as well as its off air marketing tactics.

According to an article from Media Life Magazine, the show has grown to become the most- watched show among households in Bravo history, averaging 2.88 million viewers. It is currently Bravo’s number one show and the fan base keeps growing.

Their success on air is, in part, due to their off air and online efforts. They have created an interactive environment for their audience, utilizing mobile marketing, blogging, and an ever popular website.

While watching the show, viewers are encouraged to download ringtones to their mobile phone. The choices? Heidi Klum’s signature “Are you in or are you out?” or Tim Gunn’s “Make it work.” Upon visiting the website to download the ringtone of my choice, I found I could receive mobile alerts, download wallpaper from the show, and even “adopt” my very own designer to send me messages on my phone (there is nothing like purchasing famous friends for a small fee).

Project Runway also encourages audience interaction on the website by asking viewers to vote on various topics throughout the show. They ask viewers who should be “out”, who would they like to see return, and who should be the winner of the challenge? All votes are calculated at BravoTV.com and some results are displayed during the show.

In addition to ringtones, wallpaper, and voting opportunities on the website, there are blogs by everyone from last season’s runner up, Daniel Vosovic, to a Runway producer, to the VP of Bravo TV.

The strategies the show uses seem to be working. The same article from Media Life says “Bravo… has served more than 29 million page views and recorded more than 2 million unique visitors for Runway areas on BravoTV.com since July.”

Bravo has created a marketing campaign that appeals to their audience. According to Wikipedia, “Bravo’s target audience is age 25-54, affluent, educated and tech-savvy males and females with high levels of disposable income and who are open-minded.” Bravo has taken the leap from purely traditional advertising and marketing tactics to include a variety of means to reach their viewers. Their inclusion of mobile marketing, blogging, as well as traditional television and print advertising keeps them up to date and popular with their audience.

So far, they have a winner!