ABC Family Doubles Down on the Life Stage that Has Made Itthe #1 Network with W18-34, W18-49, F12-34, and a Top 5 Network Among Adults
ABC FAMILY DOUBLES DOWN ON THE LIFE STAGE THAT HAS MADE IT
THE #1 NETWORK WITH W18-34, W18-49, F12-34, A TOP FIVE NETWORK AMONG ADULTS AND THE NETWORK WITH THE MOST SOCIALLY ENGAGED AUDIENCE
NETWORK CEMENTS ITSELF IN THIS LIFE STAGE AND COINS THE TERM ‘BECOMERS’
ABC FAMILY WILL DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING IT CREATES OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS AND EMBARKS ON A YEAR-ROUND ORIGINALS STRATEGY NETWORK ALSO ANNOUNCES PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT AND
SUMMER 2015 PREMIERE DATES NETWORK UPDATES ITS WATCH ABC FAMILY APP TO INCLUDE ENHANCED SOCIAL FEATURES AND MORE PROGRAMMING
New York City, New York – Tom Ascheim, President, ABC Family, will announce at its network
upfront today in New York that ABC Family is doubling-down on the life stage that has made it a
leading voice in entertainment for W18-34, W18-49, F12-34 and a top five network with adults, in
addition to having the most socially engaged audience. The network identified and coined the term
‘Becomers’ to describe people in this life stage. Traditionally, Becomers are in high school, college
and the decade that follows and are navigating the wonderful, fun, exciting, and scary time in life
when you experience the most firsts – first car, first apartment, first job, first love, first heartbreak – all the firsts that exists between who they are and who they want to become. Becomers are 69 million
strong in the US, with an estimated spending power in the trillions.
“We are renewing our focus on an especially vibrant and important part of the consuming public, whom we have named ‘Becomers,’ and are committing to this life stage rather than to a generation,“ said Ascheim. Becomers are exploring and establishing who they are becoming – personally, professionally and romantically -- they live in that magical and messy place between their first kiss and their first kid. We are doubling our commitment to original programming and will serve their modern media habits with gusto by reconceiving our WATCH ABC Family app as a marriage of content and fandom that will make it a vital part of their viewing habit.”
Eleven years ago, ABC Family was ahead of the curve when it began super-serving Millennials to
become their entertainment staple. Today, nearly 70% of 12-34 year-olds are Millennials but in five
years, Millennials will be less than half of the target. For that reason, ABC Family is cementing itself
in the Becomer life stage and will grow its reach by creating more programming with added variety,
To visually articulate the Becomer life stage on air, the network has moved into a graphic style that is
more textured and organic, combined with a color palette of deep, varied hues. The creative philosophy of the brand is to be conversational, immersive, unpredictable, immediate, emotional and
fun. ABC Family talent will be showcased in a new brand campaign that presents the stars in a more
relatable and less artificial way – it is a ‘selfie’ approach rather than a ‘portrait’ approach. The look
and feel aligns ABC Family’s brand essence with Becomers and captures the casual, vital and
urgent way young people interact with one another. (Please open hyperlink for an
example:
https://youtu.be/7-dy-5NZJ64)
ABC Family also announced that it is breaking ground on a Becomer Insights Group (BIG) to
Maine - Summer is just around the corner and Maine's lakes, rivers, beaches, and pools will soon be in full use. This is a perfect time of year to remind residents and visitors about healthy and safe swimming practices.