The Nat Geo team crafted a campaign to drive awareness and viewership for QUEENS, while positioning the series as an industry shifting moment for the natural history genre at large. QUEENS brings the natural world into focus through the female lens – both in front of and behind the camera – for the first time. Four years in the making, the seven-part series leverages cutting edge technology to reveal surprising insights into how female animals in the wild rise to power, often relying on cooperation and wisdom over brute strength.

As the leader in natural history programming, National Geographic always strives to push the boundaries of its yellow borders. Traditionally, natural history series are created, voiced and shot by male talent, but the programming team turned the lens over to a female-led camera crew to focus on female animal behaviors and matriarchies. The PR team utilized this to expand their typical audience and reach, stretching their creative muscles to reach new audiences in unexpected places, like New York Fashion Week.

National Geographic is available in 172 countries around the world, with an expanded reach through Disney+. Led by the U.S. team, the global PR teams worked together to reach a wide audience interested in animals, conservation, entertainment, women’s interest, tech and more.

With the launch of this new series that celebrates powerful matriarchies in the natural world and an all-female creative team behind the camera, the Nat Geo PR team set out to engage journalists and influencers in new, unexpected places. The overarching objective was to create buzz, awareness, and excitement in order to drive viewership to the series - all the while positioning QUEENS as the blue chip original series with strategic mailers, events and cross promotion strategy via internal and external companies. From a press and influencer safari trip to the Serengeti, to the Queens ball with a special message from Secretary Hillary Clinton and a live musical performance, and an out-of-the-box Fit for a Queen fashion show at New York Fashion Week, a custom mural at SXSW, and continuing festival presence, the Nat Geo team was able to engage press and influencers in NY, LA and across the globe.

In addition to a robust earned media campaign garnering more than 1,200 pieces of coverage, and 2.75 billion potential viewers, the team also utilized a number of creative events and stunts to spotlight our queens. Press and influencers were taken on safari in the Serengeti to experience the majesty of the natural world featured in the series with their own eyes; film festivals, screenings and panels highlighted the female-led production team - groundbreaking in the natural history space; and Hillary Clinton introduced the premiere event, which included a live musical performance, unveiling of a music video drop and a Queen’s Ball. The campaign continued with National Geographic’s first ever Fashion Week activation, a custom mural at SXSW, and continuing festival presence. With company-wide cross promotion and synergy between Disney parks and brands along with NatGeo platforms (magazine, books, society) and ABC broadcast coverage we aligned company-wide to utilize our resources.

Strategy and tactics used for this campaign leaped out of the box to get the word out far and wide. We did this through a breadcrumb strategy – giving people little elements of the series one drop at a time – generate curiosity, buzz, awareness and fan excitement for QUEENS as THE blue-chip original series from National Geographic with strategic pitching, mailers, events, and cross-promotion synergy with internal and external companies. Through strategic events and panels and embracing female-centric partnerships for maximum impact (Cherry Picks, NYWFT, Geena Davis Institute, etc.), we engaged and attracted empowered audiences.

Our goal was to establish QUEENS as an industry-shifting moment for National Geographic and the Natural History genre at large. Through these key events – a safari trip, New York Fashion Week and the Queens Ball, we were able to immerse reporters into experiences, which resulted in long-form features in outlets like New Yorker, Glamour, and more.

Press and influencers were taken on safari to experience the majesty of the Queens themselves, film festivals screenings and panels highlighted the female-led production team — groundbreaking in the natural history space, Hillary Clinton introduced the premiere event, which included a live musical performance, unveiling of a music video drop and a Queen’s Ball. The campaign continued with National Geographic’s first ever Fashion Week activation, a custom mural at SXSW, and continuing festival presence.

In total, the PR team for QUEENS garnered more than 1,200 pieces of earned media including a New Yorker feature on the New York Fashion Week stunt, and garnered worldwide media praise from outlets such as Glamour’s Jessica Radloff : “Epic,”... "one of the most profoundly moving National Geographic series you'll see," The Mirror UK’s Nick Webster: “a massive hit”, Sports Illustrated’s Adam Childs: “powerful,” Okay Africa’s Zee Ngema:“an intimate journey,” BET’s Yesha Callahan: “‘QUEENS’ challenges traditional narratives and reshapes our understanding of female leadership in the animal kingdom and human societies,” Forbes’ Tony Bradley: “Their tales of strength, love, and sometimes loss were profound and moving.” and Laura Manske: “Stunning” … “compellingly spotlight and celebrate animal matriarchies” …“impressive tapestry of a series,” and Neal Geraets from the Sydney Morning Herald : “champions female talent”… “pushing back against norms.”