Why Leno’s move to prime time is a brilliant branding move
Thursday, December 11th, 2008By: Allen Adamson
From the NBC network’s point of view, moving Jay Leno from his late night spot to a prime time spot is a stroke of financial brilliance. It’s going to save them the cost of producing high-budget cops, docs, and lawyer dramas (which people DVR and watch on-demand anyway). From my professional marketer’s point of view, moving Jay to 10 P.M. from 11:35 P.M. is a stroke of branding brilliance. Actually, two strokes. To begin with, among the first things a good branding strategy takes into consideration is the target audience. Jay’s forty-plus fans don’t (can’t) stay up late. Their ability to make it to even the 11:00 news is diminishing. Giving them their dose of laughter and live and lively banter when their eyes are still open is a smart way to keep them brand loyalists. It demonstrates an understanding of their needs. Second, all successful brand extensions – and that’s what this is – are the result of taking what people love about the original product and differentiating it in a relevant and innovative way. The Jay Leno Show will do just that. Leveraging Jay’s intelligent brand of topical humor and refreshing it in a ready-for-prime-time manner will allow the brand to stand apart from other talk-type shows, not to mention other 10 P.M. TV options. NBC appreciates Leno. Viewers appreciate Leno. Brand professionals should appreciate NBC’s decision to take a strong brand and enhance its appeal in an inventive way. In my opinion, it’s not just a stroke of programming genius, but a couple of strokes of branding genius.
