heat4 Live Launched

Channel 4 has partnered with Bauer Media to create three live dual screen social TV events, developed to support three hero Channel 4 shows this summer.
The first of these innovative digital events will take place at 6.30pm on Friday 8th June, around the Hollyoaks ‘Savage Party’ special.
The heat4…Live! campaign seeks to take advantage of the increasing trend of dual viewing behaviours around TV programming, providing bespoke companion content when the shows are on, and a live and interactive online 15 minute ‘show-about-the-show’ following the credits.
The campaign is the result of a successful pitch by Bauer Media, who answered a call from OMD and Channel 4 for an innovative and noisy new platform that speaks to Channel 4’s core values, providing a richer viewing experience for fans of C4’s shows.
The live, highly interactive shows are produced by Box TV and hosted by T4’s Will Best and heat Editor, Lucie Cave, with appearances from cast members and Skype chats with celebrity fans. The show, broadcast live from a London living room, will hijack viewers’ ‘second screens’ during the shows, bringing live reactions and exclusive extra content, with a longer 15 minute live ‘wrap’ show at the end.
When the Channel 4 show is being broadcast, the heat4 second screen experience will serve bespoke companion content and curated twitter feeds, creating an experience akin to the audience watching telly together and bantering with friends.
The second screen experience will spring to life on E4.com and heatworld.com as the shows start, in a new ‘total take-over’ format, and will exist in ‘companion’ mode throughout the duration of the 10 week campaign, as a bespoke entertainment channel/digital hub that lives simultaneously on both partner sites.
The heat4…Live! marketing campaign kicked off on May 29, with Bauer created editorial and advertising content across all heat platforms, in more! magazine and more’s Facebook site, and a radio campaign on heat and Kiss scripted by the heat editorial team and Bauer radio creative, including the media first of live radio ads on the Bauer network.
heat and E4 will drum up excitement through social media activity in the run up to all three live shows, encouraging audiences to watch the live programmes and share their thoughts with fellow viewers.
Lucy Banks, Executive Creative Director of Bauer Media said: "We are thrilled to be producing this brilliant campaign in partnership with Channel 4. It allows us to use heat’s ability to ramp up engagement and ‘editorialise’ excitement about great Channel 4 shows with this ground-breaking new format that rewards their viewers – and ours - with an even deeper experience of the stuff they love best."
James Walker, Acting Head of Marketing, Channel 4, commented: "The way people watch TV is changing all the time and we’re constantly looking to create new and exciting ways that bring audiences to, and engage them with, our shows. Combining Heat’s strong editorial with Channel 4’s great programming will make for a really captivating viewer experience and we’ve loved working with Bauer to bring Heat4 to life."
Alex Ebdon, Head of Planning at OMD, added: “We wanted to tap into the creativity of the UK media market to create an innovative collaboration that demonstrates Channel 4’s pioneering spirit. We ran our first pure “Innovation Pitch” with Channel 4, and this exciting partnership with Bauer Access is the result. We’re thrilled with this result which pushes the boundaries of content marketing.”
See: heatworld.com, www.bauermedia.co.uk and www.channel4.com