Are media’s partnership with Girlfriend magazine delivered extraordinary results for the Amazon Prime original series “Class of ’07”.

Never has the battle for eyeballs been more epic in the entertainment industry. With so much choice and control when it comes to their time and attention, today’s viewers present streaming/TV providers with an altogether new challenge. How do they convince them to tune in to their show and not the myriad of others out there?

This was the challenge Prime Video faced when launching their new Australian Amazon Original series Class of ’07. Class of ’07, which premiered on 17 March 2023, oozes high-school nostalgia. Anchored around a 10-year reunion that happens to occur during the apocalypse, it surfaces iconic memories of a simpler era.

As a new local series with zero IP awareness, the absence of a well-known ensemble or the free kick of global social chatter, Class of ’07 needed to rapidly relate with audiences to drive intrigue and interest and ultimately get viewers to click “Add to Watchlist”.

To do this, Prime Video retained media agency Rufus Powered by Initiative and engaged with Are Media, creating a nostalgia-filled, omnichannel creative campaign to bring back the iconic teen magazine Girlfriend for a one-off print edition. The limited-edition print run sparked nostalgic hype against the target audience of now twenty-and-thirty something women, with Class of ’07 organically interweaved throughout the mag.

The team looked at the relationship between the key themes of the show and the audience, asking: what’s going to create an emotional connection? What will get people talking about a show and generate press pick-up?

Are Media secured global megastar Taylor Swift for the cover of Girlfriend’s exclusive collector’s print edition, which saw editorial unpack the hottest trends, fashion hits and celebrity crushes of 2007. Consumers were treated with the return of fan-favourite sections such as “How Embarrassment!” and “Sex Ed” with sexologist Chantelle Otten, as well as celebrity interviews with Emily Browning, Caitlin Stasey and Megan Smart from Prime Video’s Class of ’07.

The campaign delivered a deeply integrated, cross-platform and multi-experience partnership that utilised Are Media’s omnichannel capabilities to connect with over eight million Australians per month and transport them back to ’07 with the ultimate time capsule release:

Influencers: Distributed to influential fans, sparking mass memory sharing.

PR: Influencer packs with collector’s print edition and nostalgic merchandise from the 2000s (or noughties) were distributed to key Aussie media personalities, creating UGC and increasing brand awareness.

Westfield: Co-branded Girlfriend cover photo booths were placed in shopping centres and at the premiere event, to live the ultimate high-school dream.

Key results:

• Delivered Prime Video Australia’s most streamed program post launch and even went global making the top five streams across five countries.
• Transported millions back to 2007 and got Australia talking.
• The full Class of ‘07 campaign achieved over 1,076 pieces of organic editorial coverage and reached over 3.15 million Australians organically, 46 per cent longer than average dwell time on Are Media editorial content, outperforming benchmarks by 259 per cent.
• Class of ’07 saw the biggest local premiere event for a Prime Video Australia release in terms of both attendees (up 34 per cent) and social shares (up 144 per cent).

Hushidar Kharas, Prime Video Australia and New Zealand’s country lead, said: “Content is an intrinsic part of culture, and what better way to celebrate the culture of the noughties than by bringing back the beloved magazine that women across Australia read in their teenage years! Our strong partnership with Are Media and Rufus has enabled this fun flashback, and we hope readers and viewers are delighted.”

Andrew Cook, Are Media’s director of sales, said the partnership showcased the company’s ability to deliver creative marketing activations across multiple touchpoints:

“We were thrilled to work with Prime Video on this unique campaign, bringing back the iconic magazine Girlfriend. The concept was a great example of the creative potential of our omnichannel offering, which drives engagement and awareness for maximum results,” he said.

“This campaign demonstrates the strengths of our creative team, and their ability to tap into the 2007 zeitgeist to create an out-of-the-box offering, and to deliver the campaign across Are Media’s omnichannel offering. Plus, it’s been wonderful to reinvigorate Girlfriend magazine for a new audience – and take our 2007 readers back to their teen years!”

Summer Treseder, Rufus powered by Initiative’s strategy lead, said: “Knowing media is the ultimate time capsule and has the ability to spark nostalgic hype like nothing else, we set our sights on Girlfriend early.

“Using this partnership as the epicentre of our entire campaign we maximised its influence to not only drive attention but organically promote Class of ’07 in a way that all Australian women would connect with… and we couldn’t be prouder of the results.”