TORONTO – Sixteen Candles, one of the most popular teen movies from famed 1980s movie director the late John Hughes, will be the first movie shown on Rewind, Channel Zero’s latest specialty channel brand, when it launches Saturday.
Replacing Movieola in channel lineups (the short film channel moves to its new online home) Rewind will feature flicks such as The Godfather, Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Moonstruck, Edward Scissorhands and many others – all targeted towards Generation Xers who came of age in the 70s, 80s and 1990s. In fact, the whole first weekend is being dubbed “High School Confidential” by Channel Zero, with titles The Breakfast Club, Teen Wolf and Weird Science also on offer.
The channel will be available on Rogers, Shaw, Telus, Cogeco, MTS, Videotron and other cable and telco partners. Customers of these providers will receive a 60-day free preview ending January 31, 2013 and can subscribe to Rewind as part of a movie-based theme pack. Rewind hosted a launch party at Toronto’s Hard Rock Café at Yonge and Dundas on Wednesday featuring lookalikes of some popular personalities Cher, Jake and Elwood Blues and Johnny Depp (pictured below).
The company also said that the new channel means Canadians can finally retire their old VHS tape players they keep just to play their ancient copies of those old movies and to deal with that, it is hosting a VCR recycling day on January 5th. Consumers in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton will be invited to a local mall to experience Rewind and dump their dated technology. For each VCR brought in, Channel Zero will donate $25 to the World Wildlife Fund – and anyone dropping by can fill out a ballot for a chance to win a $2,000 cash prize. One prize will be awarded in each city.
Through Rogers Connect Market Research, a Canada-wide online survey was completed by 1,235 consumers and 269 marketers in August 2012. The survey topics included channel appeal and demand, naming and taglines, consumer viewing preferences and marketing advice, the company also released today. “A key advantage to working with Rogers Connect on this study was the ability to tap into marketing and creative expertise through Rogers’ Marketing Magazine subscriber database. Combining the niche insights of this group and the needs of consumers gave us a 360 degree perspective on our new channel,” said Chris Fuoco, vice-president sales and marketing, Channel Zero (pictured at Wednesday’s launch).
Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they are likely to watch a free preview, and over two-in-five (43%) would be willing to pay $5 monthly for a movie package offering Rewind. “The survey affirmed our instincts: it told us that a channel offering films from the 70s, 80s and 90s has broad appeal across the country and in all demographic groups; it also confirmed that this interest translates into a willingness to preview and subscribe,” he added, in the press release.
Four brand concepts for the channel were tested: Rewind, Channel X., Flix and Tube. The research indicated the winning name carried a theme of nostalgia; a feeling of going back in time to old films and TV shows from the VCR era. To help position the channel, several taglines were also tested – some were more product-based and some meant to appeal to the consumer’s sense of emotion. Respondents said that Movies worth watching. Again. evoked a connection to quality films they’ve likely seen before. Tested head to head, this tagline was preferred by consumers over seven alternatives.
Rewind’s core viewer is female, 42 years old, a mom with young kids at home, educated, affluent, with $100,000-plus household income, the company added.
