objectives

On September 23, 2007, PBS launched THE WAR, a Ken Burns film. The goal, for DKC, was two-fold: to drive tune-in for the series by creating a national event and to bring war and combat issues into the national conversation.

strategy

In the spring of 2006 (over a year and a half before broadcast), DKC began a series of informal screenings at West Point, Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, and various military bases, followed by discussions and screenings with Time, Newsweek, TV Guide, People, and Washington Post, among others.
About twelve months prior to broadcast, DKC began regional discussions.

Some events targeted just media while others targeted for key consumer groups. Among the cities included in this outreach were Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, etc.

At the same time as the above, DKC began organizing a national public affairs initiative that would engage PBS stations and win editorial and opinion press.

Since the film focuses on individual stories, DKC created a partnership with the Library of Congress Oral History Project, Burns and PBS. Every PBS affiliate in the country was involved, along with numerous media outlets.

The goal was to increase significantly the collection of oral histories of World War II vets, who are dying at a rate of 1,500 a day.

result highlights

For nearly a month – including the two weeks of the broadcast – THE WAR was everywhere: multiple daily features in every market in the country, national electronic shows like “Today Show,” “Late Night with David Letterman,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Early Show,” “Oprah,” “Conan O’Brien,” CNN, ABC “This Week”, “Fox Sunday,” major national news outlets, such as US News and World Report, Time, Newsweek, GQ, etc.

Print coverage was also extensive, with multiple pieces in every major daily, weekly and monthly, including the following: San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, USA Today, Newsweek, TV Guide, and Time.

Beyond the press, we also hit record numbers for a PBS series, with an average national rating of nearly 4 (over twice the PBS average) and much higher numbers in key markets. The companion book reached number 7 on the New York Times bestseller list (and stayed on for nine weeks).