Unis
Launching of a New Canadian Television Channel
Challenge
In August 2013, the CRTC authorized TV5 Québec Canada to create a new Canadian French-language channel called Unis. Several leaders in French-Canadian communities backed a competing project and criticized this decision to give TV5, which is headquartered in Québec City, the go-ahead. A few months before Unis began broadcasting, its launch was looking doubtful and our goal was to have a successful launch with no glitches. We also wanted to emphasize the “local, Francophone, and different” character of the channel.
Strategies and Activities
We created a strategic plan targeting the general public, including the one million French-speakers scattered across the country outside Québec, as well as associations, government, and media leaders.
We developed an approach and came up with key messages tailored to the situations of French-speaking areas across the country. Social media played an important role.
We organized the “Sors la langue de ta poche” (speak your mind) Facebook contest, which helped reach our audience and promote the channel.
We orchestrated a media strategy and plan.
We coordinated media, logistics, and events for the Unis launch across the country, including the Gala in Winnipeg.
Results
Avoided all potential pre and post-launch pitfalls.
Received a generous amount of positive media coverage before, during, and after the launch across Canada.
Attained 115 positive pieces of coverage for a total reach of 52 million.
Generated significant traffic on Unis’ social media with the Facebook contest. The number of followers jumped from 0 to 14,000 in just a few months.
Relevant Data
115
Media clippings
52
M media impressions
14000
Facebook fans
