“Schooled” is an hour-long television show and online initiative that was produced for OfficeMax’s Back-To-School campaign. We were looking for alternative ways to connect with the target market of 8th grade kids and their moms. In the show, eighth graders are called back from summer break to take a test in order to advance into high school. The exam was a hoax and the school was rewarded with money for its diminishing school budgets. And the kids were given the surprise of their lives, a surprise concert by teen-rocker Jesse McCartney.

We started making consumers aware of “Schooled” with banner ads telling them the date and time the television show would be on ABC Family. We used websites that were popular with the target market. A few days before the show aired we started a flagship promo with Google Video hosting the show with clips and trailers. “Schooled” aired during a prime-time slot for the target market a couple of days later with so much success that it was an instant hit on Google Video and YouTube. That was followed up with in-store DVD give-aways with purchase.