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How is CBS marketing ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’?

Stephen Colbert will return for the third consecutive year to host the Kennedy Center Honors on CBS.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision/Associated Press)
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Everyone seems ready to see Stephen Colbert back on TV.

But it's inevitable that the Colbert of CBS' "The Late Show" will not be the same as the brash, satirical right-wing pundit on "The Colbert Report."

On Tuesday, the 51-year-old funnyman joins the next generation of late-night hosts that includes Jimmy Fallon (NBC's "Tonight Show"), Seth Meyers ("Late Night") and most recently, James Corden ("The Late Late Show").

During his time on Comedy Central, Colbert racked up a fervent fan following for his more satirical, conservative on-screen persona known for outrageous acts such as making his own super PAC and co-hosting a "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" in Washington, D.C., with Jon Stewart.

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Now, the comedian is ready for a new chapter. At the Television Critics Assn. media tour in August, Colbert said the countdown to being himself on the late-night show has him pumped.

So how does CBS promote the show and the "real Stephen Colbert"? Simple: Lots and lots of build up.

Keeping a Twitter presence

From jokes

to links to videos and other Colbert-related content,

the Twitter account for the new late night show has become a go-to marketing tactic for CBS.

So far, the account has almost 64,000 followers, with many users even posting their enthusiasm.

Laugh-out-loud YouTube videos

Three months ago, "The Late Show" began rolling out YouTube videos featuring Colbert to generate buzz.

It worked.

The first video, "The Colbeard," amassed more than 2 million views.

He also launched a series called "Lunch With Stephen."

But these promo videos are more than just click bait. They are a way for CBS to help introduce viewers to the less-familiar version of Colbert.

Connecting with younger audiences

In addition to YouTube, Colbert also took his jokes to Snapchat. Last week, the comedian began posting a series of short videos on the app's "Discover" content feature.

The social media app popular with young users has reached 4 billion daily video views, Snapchat spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker told The Times last week.

"[Colbert] made some really specific content for that platform to talk to that audience directly," Marc DeBevoise, the senior vice president and general manager of CBS Interactive Entertainment, told The Hollywood Reporter. He said the show's producers have "done a tremendous job thinking about how to reintroduce the show to its fan base and new fans through a digital-first launch."

Promoting a guest lineup

Colbert told journalists at TCA his favorite thing about the Comedy Central show "became doing the interviews."

"That was the most energetic part of the show for me, and now I can just talk," he said, of switching gears to late-night interviews as opposed to ones on "The Colbert Report."

Just talking sounds a bit less exciting, but the guest lineup takes care of any audience woes. Actor-director George Clooney, GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, tech executive Elon Musk and hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar are among the handful of A-list guests joining Colbert this week.

“I think you are going to see interviews that really run the spectrum," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler told reporters at the press tour.

For more news on the entertainment industry, follow me @saba_h

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