“Like-moi!” was a colossal success on the web. Of the kind rarely seen in Quebec. “Honestly, we were surprised by what happened,” states Geneviève Provost, a producer at Zone 3. “We had unreal online viewing ratings, sometimes exceeding TV viewing ratings.”

So “Like-moi!” was a defining moment with a before and an after. Previously, broadcasters and producers were all searching for the new holy grail: how to reach Generation Y. This generation, which loves technology and does not consume content in the traditional ways, was becoming increasingly important for advertisers as its purchasing power grew. But no one knew how to reach Generation Y. That was before.

 

“When we dreamed up ‘Like-moi!’, millennials were a hot topic,” recalls Geneviève. “We wanted a site that showcased their specificities, that spoke to them, and that would appeal to them while allowing the older crowd that views our content to recognize them.”

The sincere interest the “Like-moi!” team showed for Generation Y youths was the foundation of the show’s success. Beyond the caustic and self-deriding tone of the sketches, the show’s strong presence on social networks and the web also made a difference.

 

 

And it’s all thanks to the broadcaster, Télé-Québec, and its bold handling of production. “Télé-Québec immediately agreed with our view that we should have a strong online presence,” says Geneviève Provost. “Since the show constantly makes references to the web and mobile technologies, we needed to be on these technologies, and they understood that. At the time, there weren’t many broadcasters that would have dared to burn a sketch a month before the premiere. But that was the spark we needed. I think the Like-moi! Facebook page and the character of Gaby Gravel launched the show.”

Maintaining a presence on social networks is time-consuming for the production team. “We receive a huge number of messages… Just Gaby Gravel’s Facebook profile… When we post something, we have thousands of Likes in a few hours. Luckily, we have very few negative reviews, there are some dumb questions, but it’s still fun and it gives the TV team a boost as well.”

The manual for the perfect Y, available on the show’s site, provides stats that show how this generation stands out. “We wanted to attract them and provide a platform that didn’t merely replay content. It’s the best way to summarize ‘Like-moi!’ in an interactive fashion. And the work that Turbulent did, especially on the visuals, was dead on.”

Due to its success, the show, popular mainly among Generation Y, may spawn another since the production team is at work on new web content for the show.