CBS Wanted to create some buzz around the launch of their new series, Jericho…
The show depicts a fictional Kansas town cut off from the world by what appears to be a nuclear bomb attack. The network’s initial idea was to have a town in Kansas change its name temporarily for a period of time. Geronimo was then tasked with developing ways to further extend this idea and make the program bigger and more interesting.
Geronimo Promotions implemented the following components:
- A nationally recognized artist was retained to turn a 40-acre field in Kansas into photo-realistic land art that showed the signature picture of the series, a boy standing on his roof with a mushroom cloud in the distance.
- The nearby town of East Lawrence changed its name to Jericho for the program premiere.
- On the day of the premiere, a major press and publicity event was held in a tent on the farm next to the land art. At this conference, the governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, was in attendance and gave a press conference with the star of the show, Skeet Ulrich. At the press conference, she read a proclamation that announced that it would be Jericho Day in Kansas the day of the premiere.
- Helicopter rides were given to local VIPs and camera crews so people could get a birds-eye view of the land art.
- The Mayor of East Lawrence read a proclamation announcing their temporary name change on a stage erected in downtown East Lawrence.
- Following the proclamation, the world premiere of the series was shown for the residents of Jericho on a giant outdoor screen and a nationally acclaimed blues singer, Kelly Hunt, gave a free concert.
The combined impact of the events and the press and publicity that was generated contributed substantially to the successful launch of the series.
