The Briefing Room

First-Run Episodes On The Cable Network Have Been A Huge Ratings Success

Northern Lights Editor John Laskas recently completed an ambitious campaign for USA Network to promote its first-run episodes of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Spearheaded by Jason Holzman, the network’s new VP of Brand Creative, the marketing effort has paid off with the drama series rating as the #1 entertainment telecast for its October 4th premiere, and ranking among the top 10 cable shows in recent weeks.

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“The show has had a successful run on NBC for six years,” explains Jason Holzman. “It was a huge marketing challenge for us since people tend to associate cable networks with ‘Law & Order’ re-runs. We wanted to do a breakthrough campaign with an explicit message that USA would have new shows. The spots have received great response from the fans, the show’s actors and producers and even creator Dick Wolf. From this time slot one year ago, our total viewers are up 99%.”

The launch spots play like episodes of the show, which was a deliberate technique by the USA creative team. Meant to feel like you’ve stumbled on a re-run of the show, the spots feature the “Criminal Intent” cast in their typical investigative roles, but take very surprising turns. In “Crime Scene,” Detectives Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) & Eames (Kathryn Erbe) are examining the scene of a murder when movers come in and disrupt the show. They drag the body away and pack it into a moving box, wrap the murder weapon in bubble wrap, and even take the security guard out of the room. Goren looks at Eames in bewilderment and declares, “That was odd.”

A similar premise follows in “Interrogation” featuring Detective Logan (Chris Noth) who is giving a suspect the third degree before movers come in and remove everything in the room, including the pen and pad in Logan’s hand. In “Logo,” Goren and Eames are more interested in figuring out the new USA logo at the bottom of the screen, examining it like evidence, than the severed hand sitting on their desk.

“The goal of this campaign was to bring the ‘Law & Order’ show identity and mesh it with that of USA’s ‘Characters Welcome’ brand ID,” comments Editor John Laskas, who has a longstanding relationship with the USA Network creative team. “We had to humanize the characters having them gently make fun of themselves without diluting the tone of the show. Timing was key, but the actors live in the skin of their characters so they nailed their performances.”

Laskas worked closely with frequent collaborator and Producer of USA Network Lori Moretz on the campaign. The two had previously partnered on promos for “Monk,” which won Promax Gold awards.

“John and I are a great team,” adds Moretz. “I wanted the spots to be as close as possible to what the writers [Derek Shevel and Nicole Morgese] had imagined. We took a lighter, tongue-in-cheek approach, which is consistent with the USA brand, and made ‘Criminal Intent’ feel fresh. The hardest part was injecting humor into a show that is usually dark and serious. John is talented at taking footage and building a spot from the scripts. We have a lot of trust in him because he understands the USA brand and knows how to reflect that in his editing.”

“The ratings for this show have been phenomenal, which is a testament to Jason Holzman’s vision,” concludes Laskas. “And Lori is a super star; she knows how to bring any creative idea to life. Between the people from ‘Law & Order’ and USA, it was a very professional and well-organized process, which made my job easy. Whenever people are passionate about a project, you always come out with a great product.”

In addition to the three launch spots, Laskas also cut 22 episodic spots for “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Client: USA Network

VP Brand Creative / Copywriter: Jason Holzman

Copywriter: Derek Shevel, Nicole Morgese

Art Director: Anil Butwa

Creative Director: Christina Hedrick

Sr. Writer/Producer: Lori Moretz

Director of Production: Sandra Schron

Producer: Desiree Tobin / Liz Gaffney

Production Company: Hungry Man, New York

Director: Brendan Gibbons

Director of Photography:  Jonathan Freeman

Line Producer:  Ken Licata

Editorial Company: Northern Lights

Editor: John Laskas

Producer: Jackie Vendetti

Executive Producer: Arthur Tremeau

Principal Performers: Chris Noth, Kathryn Erbe, Vincent D’Onofrio, Justin

Campbell

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