## FXX delivers content strategy online and off with Every Simpsons

by John Prinzo

“FXX? What channel is that?” is a question you would be asking yourself 2 weeks ago. Due to the popularity of some FX programming – which includes the majestic, _Louie_  – a new channel was formed in order to house some second tier newcomers. Anchored by new episodes of _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ and reruns of _The Simpsons_ it appeared FXX was going to be FX’s edgier little brother. I heard chatter about shows like Jim Jefferies’ _Legit_ moving from FX to this new channel. I quickly forgot.

Lost in an non-navigable sea of digital channels somewhere in the 1200s, FXX would be easy to miss. Then come _The Simpsons_ and the Every Simpsons Ever Marathon. Fans of _The Simpsons_ have seen every episode … thrice. Many own the DVDs. What makes this so special? A marathon of all 562 episodes (I think they left the NYC episode out) in sequential order shown day and night for 12 days. The full breadth of _The Simpsons_ glory in a two-week stretch. It was the longest running marathon of the longest running TV show in history. **It was an event**.

The “event” mindset makes watchers feel like they are part of something. FXX leveraged the popularity of the show and the fun of a marathon to drive watchers to the station. Checking a channel everyday for two weeks will certainly help a fickle public remember where it is. Once watching _The Simpsons_, we were barraged with commercials for other FXX programming like _The League_. Social media pages were created and hashtags unleashed thus the buzz continued online, which certainly drew even more viewers to the channel.

We all might not have witty, timeless, award-winning content like _The Simpsons_ on tap, but it should get you thinking about how we can use content to raise interest and drive traffic where you need it.