The Challenge

With a slew of specials and the newly recruited Doctor lined up for the 60th anniversary, the BBC tasked the FIFTH with elevating Doctor Who into an undeniable cultural phenomenon, attracting both old and new fans.The franchise’s rich 60-year history presented both a blessing and a challenge – while it boasted a loyal fanbase, it also appeared daunting and hard to penetrate for new fans. 

The Solution

Recognising the power of fan culture in similar franchises – where fans hold the narrative, making sketches, memes and fan edits – our insight led us to develop a campaign that allowed Whovians to take the reigns and invite new viewers into the fandom. To do this, we needed to engage with individual fans who had leverage outside of the Whovian community – expanding into connected interests like drag, music, fashion, comedy and pop culture – asking them to demystify 60 years of Doctor Who episodes for new fans. 

Introducing: The Next (Re)Generation

A play on the regenerative nature of the series and our strategic approach; targeting a new generation of fans, and new communities who share a connected interest with Doctor Who. 

We assembled a team of Doctor Who fans in these connected communities and asked them to celebrate their love for the show, while utilising key calendar moments to invite new and curious viewers to join in. The Christmas specials, Ncuti Gatwa’s episode premiere, and the widely celebrated Doctor Who Day were all conversation starters for these creators, and served as a catalyst for other people within these communities to jump into the conversation, showcasing just how seamlessly new viewers could join in on the fun. 

A key example: asking music creators to create a theme song remix, which could then be used by fashion influencers to create a series of iconic Doctor Who looks – engaging two completely new communities.

The Outcome

Our content had a staggering impact on viewers. Working with our AI measurement partner, we found that a whopping, 68% of people planned to watch new episodes after being exposed to our content, representing 34,745,514 real individuals reached. 

Additionally, 73% remembered the Doctor Who brand among 37,300,331 people, surpassing the benchmark by 27%. 52% agreed that “Doctor Who was a cultural phenomenon” and we over indexed in emotions of awe by 145%, pride by 113%, excitement by 97%, and admiration by 55%

Our approach not only deepened engagement with existing fans but also effectively drew in new viewers from diverse communities, expanding the cultural impact of this legacy franchise.