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, groundbreaking 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, groundbreaking 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 1634’s. Insight We would need to inspire people to think about a better, simpler life to get them interested in the show. July 18 th 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 1634’s each day (NRS July ‘15 June ’16).