The idea was to ascend to being a culture brand. In a world where people are disconnected, looking closer by telling brave stories is the only way to reconnect.

Provocative stories that have purpose are in our DNA. So we leveraged this to stake our claim in culture. We wanted to OWN BRAVE STORYTELLING.

As a brand we needed a cohesive new look and feel to tie everything together. We unified our disparate talent into a collective, and amplified their voices using handcrafted elements.

The themes and the look were intended to be a giant step away from what the brand had been more recently associated with. It captured both what was always in our DNA as well as something entirely new and distinct.

On-air, from 8/15-10/15, 86 million impressions ran for the entire campaign. Off-air, A&E premiered its brand film and Brave Storytelling creative immediately after Labor Day in cinemas (NY & LA) and through targeted digital/social video placements (Tremor, Hulu, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

A&E layered in Amanda Demme’s inspiring photography in key trade/consumer publications with high impact units (Vanity Fair, THR, Variety) as well as targeted out of home in LA.

We aligned with TV’s biggest night by running the brand film in The Emmy’s (9/17) and continued the conversation in late night and morning talk programming with the Brave Storytelling spots. (Rachel Maddow, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Today Show) We showcased our Brave Storytelling creative in three of fall’s biggest premieres: This Is Us, Will & Grace, The Menendez Brothers.

This multi-platform campaign garnered over 247 million impressions and 5.8 million views on Facebook, alone. It out performed the average social post for A&E by 220%. Beyond the numbers, the message of the campaign resonated with viewers and critics alike.

? “A&E Launches Ad Campaign to Stand Out in Cluttered TV Space” - The Wall Street Journal

? “Beautifully shot and executed. Loved the diversity of the cast and the message they all brought” - Liz Friedlander

? “A&E is officially shedding its image as the Duck Dynasty network.” - The Hollywood Reporter

? Named a top 5 Marketing Campaign of 2017 by Promax BDA

This success enhanced the success of the network, establishing A&E as a top 10 cable network in November of 2017. (SOURCE: Nielsen, Live+SD, Prime, A25-54, Ad-Supported Cable, Comparison for March vs. March 2017)