Earlier this year, wallet-friendly streaming service Philo commissioned a survey that found more than half of Americans turned to the television set in order to relax and unwind.
Now, Philo is capitalizing on that trend with a new brand campaign that colors its streaming service as the ultimate television destination for people who are looking for comfort-based entertainment.
The new campaign, called "Channel Comfort," was produced in partnership with Brooklyn-based firm Red Antler and features a 30-second spot filmed on location in Mexico City with what Philo describes as "a collection of comfort creatures."
From now until September, the "Channel Comfort" theme will be used in Philo advertisements across the spectrum, including spots currently appearing on television and pre-roll YouTube ads. An associated print campaign begins in September, and out-of-home advertisements will be prominent in Chicago and Memphis, a spokesperson for the company said.
Next month, the campaign will reach a peak when Philo launches a new streaming network called the Comfort Channel, which the service bills as "an original channel designed for Philo that promises instant streaming bliss."
The Comfort Channel will aggregate content airing on channels like Nickelodeon, VH1, Hallmark and HGTV. It wasn't immediately clear if Philo had acquired content rights to shows airing on those networks, if the content would be from a network's back catalog or if shows would simulcast on the Comfort Channel as they air on a network.
The entire comfort-focused campaign aims to help Philo stand out in a sea of streaming options for consumers. Research from NPD Group cited by Fierce Video showed Americans subscribed to as many as seven streaming services — and that was just two years ago.
Other studies have shown that consumers feel there are too many streaming options on the market. Philo is hoping to capitalize on that sentiment by spotlighting itself as a destination for viewers to tune in and let the 60 cable-like networks on its platform serve up top content without users having to seek it out.
"Our team set out to create a product with the kind of stuff we loved watching, one that was easy to use and helped folks simply navigate a complex TV ecosystem — one that's only gotten more complicated and confusing since that time," Matt Stein, Philo's head of brand and creative strategy, wrote in a blog post. "While we’re always working on ways to innovate and make things even better, we are pretty proud of the work done thus far."
Philo offers streaming feeds of linear cable networks from Paramount Global, AMC Networks, A+E Networks, Warner Bros Discovery, AND Bloomberg for $25 a month. The service includes an unlimited cloud-based DVR that stores programs for one year after they air, as well as thousands of TV shows and movies in its on-demand catalog of content.
Last year, Philo said it had more than 800,000 paying subscribers.