Wild Alaska Live

Website

www.pbs.org/wildalaskalive

Background

Over three nights in July 2017, Wild Alaska Live turned the cameras on a must-see natural spectacle that plays out across the vast Alaskan wilderness. I served as the lead digital strategist for this multi-platform event that was a global co-production with the BBC. Significant work was done on-site in Alaska during the run of the program.

Key Results

Each episode was streamed on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, PBS.org, and the PBS Kids 24/7 channel. This strategy resulted in more than 690K full episode video views, allowing the program to reach a new audience who wasn’t watching the television broadcast. Also, each episode featured special social moments for the audience to engage directly with the program. This included polls, quizzes, and user generated content.

PBS expanded the program’s reach to younger audiences through content created specifically for YouTube and PBS social media channels. The PBS Digital Studios series It’s Okay to Be Smart produced special episodes inspired by Wild Alaska Live.

Additionally, while on location in Alaska we produced an additional 20 short videos and photos for Facebook and Instagram. The content included videos about Alaskan wildlife, a 360-degree video from inside the Mendenhall Glacier, and three post-show Facebook Live Q&A sessions with Chris and Martin Kratt, the program’s hosts. Cumulatively these videos yielded 8-million views and had a social reach of 30-million.