Introducing Change to Audiences

How does a brand as old as the British sci-fi show Doctor Who keep things fresh while still delivering for longtime fans? Well, today the show announced that for the first time in its 54-year run, the main character of the Doctor would be played by a woman. Through some sci-fi hijinks, the main character has the ability to be reborn with another face and body whenever the production studio decides it’s time to shake things up. It is one of the ways the show has retained viewer interest decade after decade.  There has already been some push-back from certain corners of the Internet as well as some defenders of the recent casting news. There will be the inevitable commentary on how this is a politically correct move while others will welcome the diversity in a long line of white male actors.

My interest in this topic lies in how the show has been able to retain a rabid and vocal consumer base for decades and generations, and how it stays relevant today. Plenty of screen time is devoted to building up the mystery of who will take on the role next. The anticipation drives more interest and interaction online among fans. The showrunners conduct interviews touting the secret new actor and the “new” direction of the next season. The anticipation has to be balanced with reassurances that the essence of the brand will still be the same, regardless of who plays the main character or who runs the show. This is a conundrum that any brand around for several decades faces. How do they keep their consumer base happy while seeking new consumers and markets? A television show doesn’t have the ability to split its products along markets and regions, so how can they create a single product that appeals to so many different markets and people?

Currently the show has decided to take the risk of alienating long-time viewers in order to attract new audiences. Instead of abruptly introducing such a controversial move, they’ve also been slowly but surely preparing the audience for the change. They introduced the female version of the main villain three years ago and have been leaving little hints in dialogue about the same happening to the main character. I think this can be used as a learning tool for other brands seeking to introduce a major change to their product. Audiences are much more likely to accept something new when they’ve been eased into it. There will be those who reject any kind of change, but priming the audience can help bring even those people around at some point.

Doctor Who as a brand has always had to balance the change written into the show’s structure and being part of a country’s television institution. It will be interesting to see how the brand handles some of the criticism in the coming seasons. Will the brand use this as momentum to introduce even more diversity or will it revert? So many brands bow to public pressure after making drastic changes to their products; will Doctor Who be able to convince their audience to accept this change?

References:

http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-is-exactly-what-the-franchise-needed.html