Four vertical video stills of men dancing, walking down a street and talking to camera beside Doctor Who logos
Submitted by Brave Bison

BBC Doctor Who Next (Re)Generation TikTok Creator Campaign

Influencer Marketing

Brave Bison assembled Doctor Who fans across drag, music, fashion and comedy on TikTok to draw new viewers to the BBC show, reporting 35M reach.

35MReach
73%Brand Recall
68%Plan to Keep Watching

Case in 60 seconds

Doctor Who reached its 60th anniversary with a passionate fanbase, while its long history made the show daunting for potential new viewers, so the BBC asked Brave Bison to widen its appeal to both audiences.

New viewers enter a fandom through people they already follow in their own communities, because a fan from drag, music or fashion explaining Doctor Who makes the show feel open rather than daunting, which is the reading Brave Bison built the campaign on.

The Next (Re)Generation borrowed the show's regenerative premise to hand the invitation to fans whose influence reached beyond the Whovian community, so connected interests became the way in rather than decades of episodes.

Brave Bison assembled Doctor Who fans from drag, music, fashion, comedy and pop culture communities to post on TikTok around the Christmas specials, Ncuti Gatwa's episode premiere and Doctor Who Day. Music creators remixed the theme song, which fashion influencers then used to create a series of Doctor Who looks.

Brave Bison reports 35M reach, 73% brand recall at 27% above benchmark and 68% of viewers planning to keep watching, while 52% agreed the show was a cultural phenomenon, figures it credits to an unnamed AI measurement partner.

Strategy Breakdown

Both loyal Doctor Who fans and new and curious viewers from communities with a connected interest in the show, including drag, music, fashion, comedy and pop culture.
The long history that keeps a passionate fanbase attached to Doctor Who is the same history that makes the show look difficult to enter for people who have never watched it.
Fans of similar franchises hold the narrative through sketches, memes and fan edits, so Brave Bison treated fan-made content as the route in for newcomers rather than as a by-product of the broadcast.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • TikTok

Partners

  • Brave Bison

Participation mechanic

  • Creator posts acted as conversation starters that invited other people within each community to join in, and a theme song remix made by music creators was taken up by fashion influencers to create Doctor Who looks.

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Reach35M reach
Brand Recall73% brand recall
Plan to Keep Watching68%

Why Brave Bison's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Handing a legacy franchise to its own fans lowers the barrier for newcomers, because an enthusiast explaining the show carries peer credibility that the rights holder explaining it does not.

  2. 2

    Casting fans for their reach into adjacent communities extends a fandom sideways rather than deeper, because each creator brings an audience that already shares an interest with the show.

  3. 3

    Chaining formats across communities, with a music remix reused by fashion creators, lets one asset open two audiences, so each contribution becomes material for the next rather than a standalone post.

  4. 4

    Anchoring creator posts to calendar moments such as a premiere and a fan day gives creators a reason to talk and gives newcomers a timely point of entry into an ongoing story.

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