ZDF has an image problem, at least among some of its potential audience. Younger target groups know that ZDF exists. But that formats are running there that address their topics, reflect the reality of their lives and ask their questions? Many are simply not aware of this.
That is exactly where the task lies. ZDFneo and the new formats of the main program are the broadcaster's strategic answer to this gap in perception. Our job as a specialized PR team for entertainment PR: get this content to where the target group finds it before they actively search for it.
(How it came about that Schröder+Schömbs PR built up a large portfolio of entertainment clients as a lifestyle agency It's written here)
Since mid-2022, we have been working with an eight-person team for ZDF. The so-called “young formats” are supervised: fictional series as well as non-fictional programs, mainly on ZDFneo, occasionally also in the main program.
The range of services goes well beyond traditional press work. Media work is at the core, and we are also active in audio PR, acquire influencers and create content for ZDF channels. We support around 60 to 70 formats per year, from the first press enquiry to the last clipping.
Send out a press release and wait? That doesn't work here. If you want to reach young target groups, you have to be where they are: in relevant online media, on the right platforms, in formats that this target group actually consumes.
This applies equally to fiction and non-fiction, albeit with very different logics. A documentary series needs different contacts, different hooks, a different language than a romantic mini-series. Our team knows both.
And sometimes good media work means one thing above all else: creating space. Space for interviews, for cameras, for talent. That's when the agency becomes a set.
Three factors are decisive: the right media partners, the right format and the right moment. If you want to reach GenZ and millennials with targeted serial PR, you need not only traditional press work, but also influencer collaborations, social content strategies and a deep understanding of how this target group consumes media.
For the press day for the new ZDFneo series “My Ex”, we did just that: provided rooms, coordinated TV and online interviews for a full day, and made sure that the process was right.
“My Ex” tells the story of Ivy, who is romantic and impulsive, works as an interior designer and has just separated. At her friend Emma's bachelorette party, she receives a prophecy during a tarot reading: Her great love comes from the past. And she only has until the equinox in September, just three months, to find that person.
Palina Rojinski plays Ivy. By their side are Helgi Schmid as Philipp and August Wittgenstein as Chris. The series was produced by Keshet Fiction Germany, based on the international model Mythological Ex.
The “My Ex” streaming premiere is on 27.4.2026 in the ZDFmediathek, on TV the format starts on 6.5.2026 on ZDFneo.
A press day like this is the end of a long chain of editorial contacts, pitch discussions, scheduling and content preparation. It only works when the environment is right. More and more often, our agency is precisely this environment. We are prepared for interviews, recordings and photo shoots at Torstraße 107. And we are always happy when a bit of action comes back to us.
ZDF has strong, relevant formats that take GenZ and millennial topics seriously and tell stories that move this target group. Our job as a PR agency for media and entertainment is to ensure that this also reaches the right people in the right media, on the right channels, and with the right people.
Sometimes this is done through traditional public relations. Sometimes through influencer collaborations. And sometimes about a press day when Palina Rojinski and August Wittgenstein claim the conference room for themselves. We really like it that way.
