Turner owns and operates some of the most valuable brands in the world, including Adult Swim, Bleacher Report, Cartoon Network, CNN, ELEAGUE, TBS, TNT, truTV and Turner Sports. For the entirety of Turner’s history, these properties have operated with general independence, and limited crossover content.

We set out to change that with the “We Make Fans” campaign, crafting the first unified corporate narrative and integrated presence of each brand, while maintaining the focus of our collaborative efforts on audiences and fans. Our objective was to demonstrate that Turner does more than just make great content—we create real communities, connecting people through creative storytelling and shared experiences.

Since fans are the center of the campaign, our goal was to capitalize on this community and their sense of belonging to create a tangible, in-person experience that would bring to life what made the “We Make Fans” campaign stand out – our fans.

The creative inspiration behind the idea for a fan art gallery was a single conceptual understanding of Turner’s true purpose— “We make fans.” Because Turner believes that true fans make the most valuable and engaged consumers, highlighting the depth and creativity of these loyal fandoms by showcasing Turner brand-inspired fan creations was a powerful way to demonstrate the connection between Turner and its audiences.

The fan art gallery was an in-person, highly engaging showcase of art inspired by Turner programming and created entirely by fans. Visitors to the installation walked among the art, some of them interactive and constantly evolving, to see and feel firsthand the depth of fandom and appreciation that Turner’s roster of characters, stories, and talent inspires. To showcase the wide range of content and subsequent wide range of fandom, the fan art gallery included examples from almost every brand in the Turner portfolio.

Turner’s fan art gallery would engage visitors on multiple, highly memorable levels and continue the messaging and spirit of the overall branding campaign. By first displaying the gallery at events and conferences such as CES, in which the audience is typically comprised of executives, clients, media and business-to-business relationships, the gallery would stand as a physical representation of the size and value of Turner’s fandom.

By inviting CES visitors into the highly engaging and interactive installation, we could provide a unique and distinctive opportunity to solidify the impact of Turner’s most beloved properties.

Finally, implementing augmented reality would raise the level of interactivity and wow-factor, combining real-world visuals with digital enhancements through the mobile app that provided visitors to the installation a higher level of engagement.

Coordination began in the fall of 2018, first identifying which brands and corresponding fan art were available and approved for external use before developing the overall structure and design of the gallery. Agreements or licensing documents were created as needed for a one year term of use in anticipation for the gallery to travel to multiple conferences or events throughout the year.

The Turner fan art gallery then debuted at CES 2019 as a large-scale installation in the midst of the massive annual trade show. It was situated inside of Turner’s ad sales meeting space at the conference, thereby attracting clients to engage with the exhibit while conducting meetings. In addition to the traditional fan art pieces, the gallery incorporated an augmented reality video app to enhance the experience and offer bonus content. By viewing certain elements through the augmented reality app, viewers were rewarded with unique and dynamic interactions.

Overall, the fan art gallery highlighted the overall messaging behind the “We Make Fans” campaign, which empowered a cohesive, unified messaging strategy across all of Turner’s target audiences. We were able to successfully showcase our fans in a genuine way while proving Turner’s dedication to making and fostering not just great programming, but creatively engaged and lifelong fans.