I am a member of Team Coco, and I actually did manage to find TBS last week and partake in the strange buffet of comedy that is Conan. Conan O’Brien’s first week back on the air after the whole NBC debacle was actually pretty great. There were some uncomfortable moments when he couldn’t help but point to his open wound and share with the audience his pain over having The Tonight Show ripped from him. Other than that, it was great. And over 4 million people watched, beating even The Daily Show in the 18-49 demographic all week.

One of the things that makes Conan a success, even on a network that most people don’t even know they get, is that he gets it. By “it” I mean this place and time.  Well, I know that doesn’t clarify anything, so I’ll break it down.

1. Conan understands that he can’t just disappear for 9 months and expect people to remember him. We all have short memories, and fans feel abandoned if you don’t engage them often. He didn’t waste time and made plans right away to keep the conversation about him alive.
2. In February, he created his Twitter account. And his first tweets were actually good and earned him a following. By April, he was at Twitter headquarters, and you can bet that everyone who was there was tweeting about him. He not only became a Twitter influencer, but he engaged other Twitter influencers to expand his reach across that entire media channel. There were, of course, pictures and video to go with it, both effective means to get more attention.
3. He went on tour so he got face time with his fans. No matter how good you are on social media, being there is what makes the greatest impact and makes your online efforts even more effective.
4. He got people talking about him and participating in media stunts with personality. Orange blimp. Enough said.
5. Lastly, Conan got great guests to come on his show because they honestly like him. They are friends, and they are all more than happy to appear on a network they haven’t heard of to show their support of him. You might expect second and third string celebrities (C-listers maybe?) on a basic cable talk show, but he kept himself relevant and maintained his friendships so that he didn’t have to do that. Oscar winners. Emmy winners. Cool celebrities you want to watch.

I’m happy to see someone on television who embraces what’s going on in the world and is able to adapt to it enough to actually succeed because of it. We are wireless, social, connected, and can smell insincerity. Conan is media smart and authentic, so I predict even after the pixie dust settles, he will emerge a real player in late night.

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Tags: Conan, influencers, stunts, Twitter | Category Marketing, Media, Web & Tech