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Some French flair was hand-delivered by courier to my door today, courtesy of BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) which will soon start to broadcast The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo from Tuesday 4 December at 20:00.
I have to mention this dispatch I received today; this little marketing bon mot from the PR of BBC Worldwide Channels which runs BBC Lifestyle in South Africa on DStv was one of those perfect press packs which does exactly what both TV channel and TV critic want.
BBC Lifestyle wants publicity for The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo (which it will definitely get). The TV critic - like a hamster spinning in a wheel - wants to be amused, needs its interest piqued as a curious animal, and most of all need all of the information and to see your show.
Well, open any side of the beautiful BBC bonbon, and out tumbles a didactic deliciousness to amuse and delight little children and TV critics.
Inside, BBC Lifestyle has foursquare multicoloured cakes (delightful!) and all the information about the show extremely nicely packaged in brightly coloured pastel packages and wrapped with a little orange bow, with all the information printed in a simple two page booklet, ready to easily consume and know what the show is about.
There was also a beautiful (and I mean it) folded A3 size paper map of Paris depicting "Rachel Khoo's little map of Paris". Use it as wrapping paper for a gift, frame it as a kitchen picture, use it to eat the cakes on - whatever the purpose it's wonderfully whispey, playfully pedantic and instantly imbues a feeling of what the show is about.
You will know and feel as if you know The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo before you've even read a single word - which is what you want to give TV critics: a feeling of what your show is about and to make it stand out.
The other great thing is the press screening disk. Yes, BBC Lifestyle knows that in a 170 TV channel environment in South Africa that if you want your TV show to stand out amidst the noise and thousands of programming choices and for it be noticed by TV critics, you have to actually let them see it.
It also serves another purpose: If you let a TV critic like me see it (yes, there is the chance that I might not like it), you're already telling me before I've even watched it that you think it's quality, you think it's worthwhile, you're proud of it, and you're not scared to let its quality and charm and great production values speak for itself so that I as a journalist can in turn hopefully speak to potential viewers who might also be interested in it.
What a refreshing press box with all the right ingredients for the TV critic. Thank you BBC Worldwide for the press screening disk showing TV critics The Little Paris Kitcken: Cooking with Rachel Khoo.
Another thing: every single thing, from the press screener sleeve, every page of this entire "presentation", and the outside box had the name of the show, the starting date, day and time and channel printed on it. That's what matters; that's what sells and keeps your show top of mind and make it unmissable in the brain of the short-term memory loss attention deficit hamsters known as the TV critic.
