Analysis of Fox's early release of the New Girl pilot episode.

1. Campaign Analysis
Leaking out the Quirky: Fox Launches New Girl Pilot Early
Fall Pilot season is a crazy time for television. There are dozens of new shows vying for
viewers, advertising dollars and loyal fan followings. Separating a show from the crowd is no
easy feat and in Fall 2011, Fox released the entire pilot episode of their newest quirky comedy
sitcom early. New Girl’s premiere episode was available one month early on flights, OnDemand
programming in select hotels and at screenings in “taste-maker” cities. Fox also released the
pilot episode one week early to online platforms include Hulu, iTunes, Fox.com and New Girl
star Zooey Deschanel’s blog. While it may have been risky, Fox’s early release of New Girl’s
pilot was carefully engineered and strategically executed and lead to high viewership numbers
and the ultimate success of the show.
Background and Campaign Overview
Home to sitcom hits including the OC, 24, Bones and Arrested Development, Fox has
launched successful sitcoms in the past. In recent years, the network has risen to the top of the
charts with advertising goldmines including American Idol and Glee. However, their most recent
line-up of half-hour sitcoms such as Running Wilde and Lone Star, received lackluster reviews
and early cancellations. They needed an exceptional, well-marketed sitcom to separate
themselves from the masses and restore their sitcom credibility.
Strengths
Fox chose to release the pilot on four distinct but equally effective online platforms so
they could target specific niche markets. To target devoted Zooey Deschanel fans, Fox chose
Deschanel’s successful HelloGiggles blog as one of its platforms. Because Deschanel already
has such a strong following and social media presence, this was a smart decision because this
platform effectively reaches members of this market and gave them a space to express
excitement and create more conversation. Fox reached their loyal Glee following by pre-
releasing the show on iTunes, the platform of choice for fans to purchase episodes and albums.

2. Fox reinforced this connection by airing New Girl on Tuesday nights at 9PM, immediately after
Glee’s one-hour episode.
According to Mashable, 83% of viewers under 25 watch “some, most or all” of their TV
programming online. This is not wildly surprising given the amount of time that Gen Y already
spends on the web, however, the survey revealed that 64% of all Americans get at least some
of their TV content online. Given this digital climate, it made sense for Fox to release the
episode on the ad-supported streaming site, Hulu. Fox targeted potential viewers in a space
where they spend ample amounts of time. Instead of aggressively pushing members of this
market away from the platforms they already use, Fox brought the content to them with hopes
that they would like the programming so much that they would come back to the network to
watch live episodes. Fox also hosted the episode on their own site to capture already loyal Fox
fans.
By choosing platforms that made sense, Fox insured that their strategy would gain the
right viewers – the ones that were more likely to evolve into loyal fans. Fox knew that New Girl
pilot was buzz-worthy and memorable enough to leave viewers wanting more. Instead of trying
to target a broad demographic, Fox effectively focused on niche markets to create a core
audience that was passionate about the show and willing to share.
By releasing the show “early” relative to other fall pilot premieres, Fox gave viewers a
feeling of exclusivity. Similar to luxury sale site Gilt’s “invite-only” launch, Fox personalized the
New Girl experience and invested time in relationship marketing. However, there is one
important caveat: all of these strategies would be counterproductive if New Girl’s content was
not strong enough to sustain viewership and lead to positive feedback. If the content had been
poor or even mediocre, this early release strategy would have evoked harsh criticism before the
show even launched and jeopardized viewership during the live premiere.

3. Weaknesses
While the early-release campaign gave New Girl momentum and more engagement than
other fall pilots, it did come dangerously close to overexposure and dilution of the show itself.
Online channels and social media platforms were not the only medium where New Girl footage
was aired. Fox aired several 30 second and 1-minute TV spots and trailers during prime time
day parts. This abundance of promotion ran could have made viewers sick of the show before it
had even started.
By releasing the pilot early, Fox could have eliminated members of their live viewing
audience because they would have already seen the episode. In terms of content, some critics
argued that the character development in the first episode happened too quickly and did not
give viewers the chance to genuinely get to know the show’s stars.
New Girl’s branding limited its overall reach because of its bright colors, hipster-chic
images and kitschy patterns (See Figure 1). Although much the show’s writing, plot lines and
characters are targeted towards a male-oriented audience, Fox’s girly promotions discouraged
male viewers from watching. This campaign will make it even more difficult for Fox to engage
the elusive 18 – 24 male age bracket in the future.
Figure 1: New Girl’s ‘cutesy’ branding
Opportunities
New Girl’s leading lady Zooey Deschanel has a millions of loyal fans, a robust online
presence and a huge social media following. Deschanel is co-founder of HelloGiggles; a highly
successful entertainment and lifestyle blog geared toward girls aged 13 – 35. Positioned as a

4. “safe place” for girls and women on the Internet, HelloGiggles is widely popular and has high
reader engagement among New Girl’s target audience. Fox already used the blog as leverage
by releasing New Girl’s pilot episode on the site, but the collaboration does not have to end
there. To further engage this fan base, Fox should continue to partner with HelloGiggles and
post content and clips on the site and host other New Girl contests and promotions.
HelloGiggles and Zooey Deschanel’s personal social media following are valuable assets and if
used effectively, can rapidly build an online presence for New Girl.
In terms of product placement and merchandizing opportunities, Fox can take advantage
of Deschanel’s reputation as a young, Hollywood trendsetter and also as a musician in the indie
band ‘She & Him’. Because of this image, Fox could partner with sites like Gilt or RueLaLa and
launch New Girl themed collections curated by Deschanel or give viewers the option to
purchase the clothing and accessories she wears on the show. Deschanel also has
endorsement deals with Cotton and Rimmel cosmetics. Fox could partner with these brands
through product placement, a branded content viral video-esque campaign or just continue to air
these commercials during New Girl’s half-hour spot.
Fox could create a more seamless interactive experience and launch a site like HBO’s
successful social TV platform, HBO Connect. On the site, viewers could interact with the show,
its actors and other fans all in one place in real time. This would be a powerful tool to more fully
engage passionate fans and would also establish Fox as an innovative and digitally savvy
network.
Threats
Given the volume of sitcoms launching pilots during the fall, New Girl is in a vulnerable
position and must market itself aggressively to earn viewers and share of HUT’s. Several shows
with very similar target markets launched during Fall 2011, including CBS’s Two Broke Girls,
NBC’s The Playboy Club, and CW’s Ringer. These new shows aside, there is also an
abundance of successful already-existing prime time programming. New Girl is more

5. susceptible to failure because Deschanel is its only big-name star, whereas; many of these
competing fall shows have casts full of well-known celebrities.
Fox’s early release strategy makes any show that has yet to leak its pilot a potential
competitor because some viewers will be seeking new content. Although Fox partnered with
Hulu during the early release of the episode, online streaming services serve as a threat
because many viewers do not own a TV and do not consume content anywhere else besides
the web. Because Fox already launched the show online, these individuals may only be willing
to watch from their computers.
Short attention spans and an emerging ‘everyone-thinks-their-famous’ mentality has lead
to the rise in popularity of reality programming. This becomes a threat to New Girl because
viewers may spend their precious leisure time watching popular reality shows like the Real
House Wives series, Kim and Kourtney Take New York or The Biggest Loser. Specifically, New
Girl will be competing with several shows during its 9PM spot including NBC’s Biggest Loser,
ABC’s Ringer, and CW’s Ringer. This is significant because there are huge overlaps in New
Girl’s target market and that of these programs. New Girl airs during the prime day part (8PM –
11PM) when the rate of Households using TV’s is the highest. While this can be an opportunity,
it can also be a threat with so many others vying for viewer’s attention.
Conclusion
Fox took a chance with its early release strategy but launched a campaign that was
carefully executed with attention to detail, niche marketing and clever manipulation of specific
online platforms. If Fox and New Girl continue to design new and creative ways of reaching and
engaging with their audience, the show will gain a passionate, loyal and interactive fan base.
Fox can increase their audience with branding that is more targeted towards men and already-
interested Deschanel fans. Partnerships with brands, online retailers and the companies that
Deschanel is already endorsing will contribute to this success. The combination of these
strategic decisions will increase their Nielson ratings, their share of households watching and

6. open up more opportunities for Fox. Ultimately, these successes will increase the likelihood that
Fox gets the advertising dollars it needs to make a profit and continue to produce New Girl.

7. References
Erickson, Christine. How HelloGiggles Creates a Positive Online Community for Young Women.
Mashable. 21 February 2012. http://mashable.com/2012/02/21/hellogiggles/
Gorman, Bill. Fox Gives “New Girl” a Full-Season Pickup. TV By the Numbers. 28
September 2011.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/28/fox-gives-%E2%80%9Cnew-
girl%E2%80%9D-a-full-season-pickup/105348/
Hibberd, James. Fall 2011–12 Primetime TV Schedule Chart. Entertainment Weekly.com. 18
May 2011. http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/05/18/primetime-tv-schedule-chart/
O’Dell, Jolie. TV Viewing’s Shift to the Web. Mashable. 12 April 2010.
http://mashable.com/2010/04/12/tv-online/
Porter, Nicki. What Fox’s Promotion Strategy for “New Girl” Can Teach You About
Promoting Your Content. Copy Press. http://www.copypress.com/?p=1335
Rose, Lacey. Fox's 'New Girl' Gets Early Push on iTunes, Hulu and Fox.com. The
Hollywood Reporter. 5 September 2011.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foxs-new-girl-gets-early-231452
Rose, Lacey. HRTS Panelists Answer: Is Twitter Helpful for Showrunners? The
Hollywood Reporter. 19 January 2012.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/twitter-showrunners-hrts-panel-283419