3 minute read
Olga da Polga
Series Overview
For the first time, a liveaction TV adaptation of Michael Bond’s (creator of Paddington) beloved Olga da Polga books was broadcast on CBeebies from the 14th November. Produced by Glasgowbased production company Maramedia, it tells the adventurous, funny and imaginative tales of Olga the guinea pig and features an eclectic cast of loveable animal and human characters.
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PR Overview
From the Observer and the Mirror to Radio 4’s Today Programme and BBC Breakfast, the PR campaign for Olga da Polga met and exceeded the goals set in our original campaign strategy. There was a total of 36 online and print pieces and major TV and radio slots. Olga da Polga featured in CBeebies top ten performing brands list, with significantly and consistently higher than average viewing figures and percentage share for its slot. It proved especially popular with certain demographic groups, with a very high percentage of the audience coming from adverse urban or financially stretched areas of the country, reaching a more diverse audience and drawing them to the BBC.
Following an initial meeting with Maramedia cofounders Jackie Savery and Nigel Pope, we began working on the launch of their new CBeebies series, Olga da Polga, at the beginning of October 2022. This allowed us a comfortable 67 week lead in time before transmission to work on the campaign. Our main aims were to raise awareness and drive a wide audience (of children and adults) to watch the series, tapping into the increased public appetite for ‘feel good’ shows. In turn, we aimed to reinforce the reputation of Maramedia and its offshoot Marakids, as experts in both wildlife filmmaking and children’s TV.
The campaign began with a strong newsfeature in the Observer by arts and media correspondent Vanessa Thorpe, the story had a full page spread based on an interview with Karen Jankel and a selection of photos, this ran in print and online in late October. The Mirror ran a feature following an interview with Jackie and Karen which included a selection of archived photos and stills from the show, this ran in print and online. Other print coverage included an article on Julie Wilson Nimmo in the Daily Mirror on her comeback to children’s television. A similar story was shared in the Sun, OK! and the Daily Star in the following days which all included mentions and photos from the Olga da Polga series.
There was particularly strong TV and radio coverage for the project; BBC Breakfast interviewed Jackie Savery and Karen Jankel live in a ‘feel good’ interview that was nearly ten minutes long. The average daily reach is 6.8 million viewers. In the same week, Jackie and Karen were interviewed on Radio 4’s flagship current affairs Today programme live in the studio, which has an average daily 5.9 6.5 million listeners. BBC Scotland’s The Nine, a news and entertainment TV programme also interviewed actors Julie Wilson Nimmo and Greg Hemphill, the show has a weekly reach of around 160,000.
With the leads being big Scottish names and with Maramedia based in Glasgow, we targeted the Scottish press and coverage included a feature in Scotland’s paper the Sunday Post, following an interview with Jackie and cast members Greg and Julie. The story was also picked up by the Glasgow Times and Glasgow Live. Trade press included a Behind the Scenes feature in Broadcast magazine by production team members Jackie and Fiona as well as a C21 media piece and a piece in The Agency. TV previewers and reviewers do not cover children’s TV so this avenue was unavailable to us.
Michael Bond’s (Paddington Bear) status as a renowned children’s author piqued considerable interest in the Olga da Polga series. The support of his daughter, Karen Jankel, in the campaign added a warmth and personal element to the story. Karen generously provided us with a number of archive photographs from Michael as well as an original pilot version of the programme Michael had filmed in the 70s.
10th November 2022 BBC Breakfast Jackie and Karen interviewed live in the studio at the BBC Breakfast studio in Salford for approximately 10minutes.
19th November 2022 BBC Radio 4’s TodayJackie and Karen interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme for approx 10 minutes live in the studio.
10th February 2023 Times RadioJackie interviewed remotely on Times Radio's Ed Vaizey Show.
BBC Scotland’s The Nine TV interview on BBC Scotland’s evening show with lead cast members, Julie Wilson Nimmo and Greg Hemphill.
23rd October 2022 The Observer/Guardian Online Feature by Vanessa ThorpePrint (PDF) and Online “Olga da Polga: Paddington Bear author’s muchloved guinea pig comes to the small screen” l Reposted across Yahoo! News and MSN news
