We created the first advertising spin-off of a popular French TV series, Platane, which is loosely based on the life of Eric Judor, an actor, director and screenwriter who has become one of the most-liked figures in France, thanks to his lovable loser character. Together we developed 14 new episodes that were faithful to the show and its characters, and added a new element, an EDF representative who helps Eric solve everyday problems using EDF services.

We launched our series like a real HBO programme. We started by releasing a teaser and the poster, as would be done for a big movie. Next we posted episodes on the web as a sneak peak, and then released them on TV and streaming platforms. We released about two episodes every two months for a year. There are 14 episodes in total, broadcast on TV and promoted throughout the EDF ecosystem, including Facebook, Twitter and a special website.

Several digital campaigns were also developed in order to expand the experience, such as an interactive greeting card from the moon and an interactive video with a special-effect generator.

Finally, we pushed each episode to influencers to extend the reach of the series into the cinema and entertainment industries, like for a real TV show or film. We also developed an array of extras for fans: GIFs, bloopers, outtakes, etc.

The series has been a resounding success: the first season has more than 33 million views on the web – equal to half the population. Even more importantly, the series has an 88% positive rating in France, all ages combined, and the campaign scores the same in terms of its impact. Unaided recall stands at 46% (versus the average 27%), aided recall is 33% higher (versus the average 14%) and proven recall 13% higher (versus the average 5%). Never has the image of EDF, a well-established market player, improved so considerably.

This bold campaign was especially successful in terms of sales: EDF surpassed the one million customer mark for natural gas, becoming France’s second-leading brand (a longstanding sales target). All the services also received a boost, achieving 85% brand awareness for at least one service promoted in the campaign, and 80% of the French population wants to find out more.