Uplifting and soothing content has become a something of a balm during the lockdown period, with anxious people increasingly seeking alternatives to the doom and gloom that has become commonplace on their TV and online news feeds.
That desire for positivity has led to the creation of properties such as actor/director John Krasinski’s YouTube sensation Some Good News, which has attracted 2.6 million subscribers since debuting in late March and just this week was acquired by ViacomCBS after what was described as a “massive” bidding war.
Closer to home, The Weather Network is attempting to bring a little sunshine of its own into the lives of homebound Canadians with a good-news-only content hub of its own: “A Brighter Day.”
The content hub is housed within a dedicated section of The Weather Network’s website, as well as on both Instagram and Twitter. It consists primarily of user-generated content curated and compiled by The Weather Network staff, with a focus on acts of kindness and stories of resilience, creativity and heroism.
“It’s part of our brand essence,” says Sam Sebastian, president and CEO of The Weather Network’s parent company, Pelmorex. “The vision for our brand has always been revealing the remarkable in every day.”
“A Brighter Day” launched on Thursday with video features including people recreating their favourite vacation photos at home and a profile of a new group called “RVs for MDs”—recreational vehicle owners providing access to their vehicle to front line medical staff who might be afraid of passing COVID-19 to family members.
“We’ve been telling the weather story for the past 31 years, and often times they’re devastating stories, but we also try to find the silver lining,” says Sebastian. “[A Brighter Day] is on-brand for us.”
The videos, which typically range from 60 to 90 seconds in length, will also be shown as highlights during The Weather Network’s morning and evening program slots.
There is no sponsor attached to the property, although ads are running as pre-roll on The Weather Network.
The Weather Network claims to reach nearly every Canadian each month across it platforms, with average monthly duplicated reach of eight million in both desktop web and The Weather Network app, and nine million on mobile web and TV.
While Pelmorex is launching “A Brighter Day” in Canada, Sebastian says that the company is considering exporting it to its international properties including Spain’s eltiempo and clima in Latin America.
