James Delahunty
16 Mar 2005 10:04
AfterDawn reported that the BBC was investigating the leak of a brand new Doctor Who episode weeks before it is due to be aired. Now Wired has an article that claims the BBC may have leaked the episode themselves in order to increase interest in the new series. It is a method of advertising known as viral advertising. A group called the Broadcast Assassins were brought in last year by the BBC's entertainment group to "discuss the impact of new technologies on viewing/listening behavior," said Asa Bailey, a veteran advertising expert and member of the group.
"We told them all about the how-tos, and how to do viral advertising," said Bailey, who is also founder of the Viral Advertising Association. He said the BBC was very interested to find out how to use Viral advertising to inform the public of its upcoming programming. "I told them they should release things before their time, like what they've done with Doctor Who," he said. "Give out the first episode online, because it's going to be valuable. You've got that cool factor, and it's the whole, 'I've seen it before you have' kind of thing."
He does not know for sure however if the leak was actually intentional but commented on the quality of the episode saying that it was too high quality to have leaked by other means. Of course the BBC has denied it leaked the episode. "The leak of the first episode on the internet was not a publicity stunt," BBC spokeswoman Annie Frederick told Wired News in an e-mail. "It was a significant breach of copyright which is currently under investigation. The source of it appears to be connected to our co-production partner. We would urge viewers not to spoil their enjoyment and to wait for the finished version."
Their co-production partner is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation which also denies it leaked the episode. "We believe it was one of our suppliers," said CBC spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles, who wouldn't elaborate on the nature of the supplier. "And at the moment, the investigation isn't complete." Bailey however is not convinced and believes the BBC is trying out viral advertising. "It's a classic," Bailey said. "The best viral advert they could have done for that program would be to release the first (episode). You couldn't have come up with a better viral advert than that."
Source:
Wired