Client: NBC
Type: PLATFORM LAUNCH
Agency: CP+B
Year: 2014
THE CHALLENGE
In 2014, the curtain rose for a new era of late night TV. After 22 years as the host of The Tonight Show Jay Leno retired. Jimmy Fallon was officially appointed to take over the top rated, most coveted time slot in Late Night. CP+B was tasked with creating digital products to support Jimmy in his new role. But how do we take a 60 year old TV show and modernize it for today?
THE INSIGHT
Since 1954, we’ve tuned into the Tonight Show to make us laugh, get our fix of pop culture, and wind down for the night. Not just the show, but the act of watching the show is embedded in our culture. But the way we’re watching TV is changing. 88% of the US population uses a second mobile device while watching television and we knew from research that hardcore Jimmy fans are more likely to download and interact with an app. These two points suggested the need to define distinctive roles for the website and the App. The website needed to focus on easy consumption of content across multiple devices in a consistent manner, while the App needed to take on the role of engagement platform, creating a way for hardcore fans to participate in the show.
THE SOLUTION
Instead of thinking about the Tonight Show Web Site and Mobile Apps as support for a 60-minute television show, we thought about them as unique ways to deliver Tonight Show content for the world we live in now. We deconstructed an hour long show into it’s component parts. Breaking it down to it’s atomic level. Not just 3 minute video clips, but 15 second videos, 140 character tweets, single images, image collages, and GIFs.
We designed the website experience to be the platform where you consume content. The siteis responsively designed so the experience is consistent no matter what type of device you are on. Viewers can consume bits of content no matter where they are. The App experience is focused on hardcore Fallon fans, giving them a platform to participate in the show via, #hashtag challenges, video challenges and other content generating ideas Jimmy and his team come up with.
RECOGNITION
• Emmy - Outstanding Interactive Program
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
• Hanna Rosenblom