Objective

Onyx Collective’s sexy and gripping legal drama “Reasonable Doubt” follows Jax Stewart (Emayatzy Corinealdi), a corporate defense lawyer navigating challenging high-profile cases.

Season 2 picks up where the first left off, with Jax trying to heal from her wounds from last season’s arduous trial and deadly affair, and attempting to get her life back on track. That is until one of her closest friends reveals that she has killed her husband. Her friend is claiming self-defense, but an uncompromising prosecutor thinks otherwise. Needing all the help she can get, Jax brings in an ambitious defense attorney to lead the case, but things get tense very quickly. Can Jax defend her friend, save her marriage, and protect her energy while being catapulted into the biggest case of her career? Or will she lose it all?

“Reasonable Doubt” is Onyx Collective’s first scripted drama series. The show is groundbreaking for its all-black writer's room and directors - a cast and crew with a commitment to authentic representation and camaraderie that allows diverse voices to shine on screen.

In advance of “Reasonable Doubt” season 2’s arrival on Hulu, Onyx Collective’s goal was to create excitement and buzz that would ensure strong viewership numbers. Marketing aimed to craft a 360 campaign based on the characters, storylines, and themes from the new season to intrigue and excite both the core demographic and new “opportunity audiences.” 

The core audience includes:

• Black Women 25+ (elder millennial skew)
• Season 1 viewers and fans
• Legal + Crime drama lovers
• Fans of steamy thriller dramas

The opportunity audience includes:

• General Female Audience 25+ (with a 25-34 sweet spot)
• Fans of Black-centered stories
• Existing fans of the star-studded cast and crew

Strategy

To launch season 2 of “Reasonable Doubt,” Onyx Collective crafted a narrative-driven promotional campaign focused on the show’s main character, Jax. The campaign positions Jax as being on trial - in the figurative sense - as she navigates an overwhelming onslaught of new challenges. 

It was an “everywhere you look” 360 campaign, with promotional messaging for “Reasonable Doubt” appearing across every conceivable media touchpoint: paid media, synergy across Disney-owned programming/channels, social media, partnerships, publicity, and experiential.

Highlights of the campaign included:

• The cinematic trailer and accompanying powerful A/V campaign, featuring specific themes and hooks, took viewers on a journey.
   
• Out of Home: Premium outdoor placements in high-trafficked areas in NYC and LA showcased “Reasonable Doubt” Key Art. Can’t miss it digital placements were showcased across 7 markets.
   
•  A faux new “article” about Jax on TMZ with cross-platform and boosts from multiple social media accounts.
   
• A talent-led social media campaign including behind-the-scenes and video shares, Instagram collabs, YouTube live and Instagram Live guest appearances, Q&A’s, and Inside the Episode videos.
   
• An immersive premiere activation event at Dekalb Historic Courthouse in Atlanta. Fans, press, and influencers were invited to screen the show’s season 2 premiere and experience an immersive “Reasonable Doubt” branded experience. Activation touchpoints included photo ops, a live courtroom sketch artist, courtroom bites and branded cocktails, and other giveaways.

Results

The campaign was a success, appealing to the show’s core demographic and new viewers, as well.

Successes of the campaign highlights mentioned above include:

• The “Reasonable Doubt” “Boss” trailer has 15 million+ views to date.
• The digital out-of-home campaign reached more than 13MM.
• 450 people attended the premiere screening and activation. The audience skewed heavily female (87%) and half the audience was between the ages of 18-35. There were 5,400 total engagements for the event

Media