The Process Behind The Launch of Kiefer Sutherland's Touch

Kiefer Sutherland, David Mazouz Audiences were touched a week ago by Kiefer Sutherland's new drama - and can audiences return on March 19 for that encore? Fox executives admit their launch technique for Touch is a little of the gamble, but they have been here before. The Touch roll-out is comparable to how Fox first showed Glee in '09 - airing a sneak preview behind The American Idol Show before waiting several several weeks for any fall launch. (The space between preview and premiere for Touch won't be as lengthy because the four-month gap for Glee.) Fox also struck gold this fall by providing sneak previews of recent Girl on multiple online platforms several days prior to the show's proper launch. In the two cases, the first preview assisted drive word-of-mouth towards the show's actual launch. The Glee stunt in May 2009 produced so-so amounts and was considered a little of the bust - before the musical series first showed just like a lion later that year. Fox continues to be waiting to locate another show to do a similar plan - coupled with initially introduced intends to perform the same factor with Terra Nova in May 2011, but that dino drama could not be prepared over time. Now, Fox is wishing to strike again with Touch. Sutherland and the team happen to be off and away to an excellent start, premiering on Jan. 25 with 12 million audiences along with a 3.9 rating among grown ups 18-49 (granted, against a repeat episode of contemporary Family on ABC), which makes it Fox's greatest-ranked drama opening in 3 years. "We've seven days to obtain individuals people to speak to others and encourage them to stay tuned," states Fox marketing leader Joe Earley. "You would like individuals to share it, discuss it and obtain others to look at.Inch Earley concurs the preview was "dangerous," and "there have been concerns completely around around the network side and also the studio about carrying this out. But when your decision is made we'd one concentrate which makes it work. And our marketing and publicity teams labored difficult to make every cent go further." For instance, Fox needed to split Touch's marketing budget between your show's two bows. "We did not reach use our launch budget from the preview," he states. "But this is the way you're doing so if you have a show such as this.Inch However in pitching Touch to potential audiences, Fox executives understood these were handling a show that's difficult to describe. (Within the show, Sutherland may be the father of the mute child having a mysterious gift to obtain the connections between world occasions.) The preview was designed to help explain the show to audiences. Plus, despite the fact that there is no room right now for any permanent timeslot for Touch, Fox desired to make use of the network's huge National football league playoff audience (which attracted an astonishing 57.7 million audiences - not necessarily a bad marketing platform) and also the typical early curiosity about The American Idol Show. "Football is the reason why it broadcast if this broadcast," Earley stated. "You would not normally decide to air a preview 7 or 8 days out. But we understood we would have a very good game, with very broad appeal." March is alsoa difficult month to produce new shows, given Daylight Not Waste Time and viewer fatigue, so executives figured an earlier preview could not hurt. Fox also were built with a not-so-ace in the hole: Sutherland. "He's been behind this show each and every stage,Inch Earley states. "The energy of Kiefer Sutherland is palpable and that he makes themself available. There is nothing he wouldn't do for that show." Like Glee and New Girl, Fox will set to take advantage of the first person to person and obtain the show before audiences who haven't seen it yet. The show's first episode is going to be available for the following couple of days at fox.com as well as on video when needed - but Fox will pull individuals previews dads and moms prior to the show's actual launch to be able to stoke curiosity about the return. "We'll essentially create a bit more hunger for this again, after which it'll return," Earley states. Even when Fox had wanted to regenerate Touch early, it could not have. The network's schedule is totally full (with Alcatraz doing very well on Monday nights). Plus, Fox has designed a distinctive worldwide premiere from the show on March 19, with Unilever like a global sponsor. Earley states he's ready: "All signs are people loved the things they saw." Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!