The March 14, 2008 premiere of Canadian live-action kids series The Latest Buzz achieved the milestone of becoming the most-watched premiere in the 20-year history of Family Channel, and solidified its position as the number-one pay and specialty service in Canada.

What is the secret of its success?

Produced by Decode Entertainment and commissioned by Family, The Latest Buzz follows five teenagers who are invited to become key writers for an upscale magazine called Teen Buzz.

‘Early research showed there definitely was a hit on our hands,’ says Dominic Vivolo, SVP, marketing and sales at Astral Television Networks.

‘One of the pillars of our brand positioning is that our stars are able to come off the screen and interact with our viewers,’ says Vivolo, ‘but the kids also feel like they’re part of the brand.’

With that in mind, Family invited kids to attend a series of free ‘Latest Buzz Bashes’ at select Cineplex Entertainment theaters across Canada. There they could walk the red carpet, have their pictures taken, and even record video ‘shout-outs’ for use on air. Plus, part of the star interaction included playing Xbox 360 with one of the cast.

‘We try to do a national umbrella promotion with everything that we do,’ says Vivolo, ‘but then we customized it in each of the regions to highlight some of the things that were going on in that particular area.’

Hence, different headliners were featured at each bash. In Ottawa, West 49 provided a learn-to-skate clinic. In Coquitlam, BC, snowboarder Crispin Lipscomb was the main attraction. And in Edmonton, the kids were treated to a performance by the rock band Social Code.

‘In the Oakville/Toronto area, Life with Derek stars Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat were there as well,’ adds Vivolo. ‘That was a good way to give credibility to the stars that are about to become stars – with current stars.’