‘Bringing difficult subjects to the forefront in a social-first way’
Described by one judge as the “Goliath of digital support”, Hollyoaks continues to deliver brilliantly creative campaigns. In 2023, Hollyoaks reached over 493 million views on all channels. It also become the first and only soap to release full episodes on YouTube.
Hollyoaks brings “difficult subjects to the forefront in a social-first way”, as one judge put it. In the wake of its episode Ode to My Juliet episode, which tackles the subject of teenage cancer, encouraged the audience was to share their real-life experiences of the issue using the hashtag #OdeToMyJuliet. Content from the show was shared on TikTok allowing viewers to stitch, duet or greenscreen their stories alongside it. The hashtag was viewed a huge two million times and is an “impressive example of social delivering meaningful impact”, according to our judges.
And Its Death of an Influencer episode offered “lovely way to bring content creators into the storylines and build the Hollyoaks brand out to a youth audience”, one judge said. The Digital Team brought the influencer character Rayne to life by including in cameos of real-life influencers in an innovative strategy which also promoted the brand.
Winning this category for a third year in a row, Hollyoaks “continues to find new ways to appeal to its audiences outside of its linear offering and is standalone in its own right”, the judges said.