All business is personal. Given the surge of personalized TV media, NBC is mulling the idea of its own marketing/programming effort under the moniker TV For Me. </<p> This summer, NBC filed for the trademark TV For Me with the federal government. Vince Manze, president and creative director of The NBC Agency, confirmed the move. "With all the my TV, my somethings out there, why not?" he asks. There are no plans as yet to move forward, and registering the name is just a place saver. It reserves a spot for NBC--if and when it decides to put an organized effort together. As far as Internet registration is concerned, TVForMe.tv is available. But TVForMe.com is owned by Moscow resident Sergei Mikhailovich, according to NetworkSolutions.com. News Corp.'s new MyNetworkTV broadcast network has laid some claim to this burgeoning area--as well as its hugely popular MySpace.com site. MyNetworkTV is launching in a couple of weeks. Personalized media may be in the cards for NBC. But right now, the network is focusing on the new fall season as it attempts to escape a lowly fourth-place spot among 18-49 adult viewers. NBC's new broadcast season kicks off Sept. 18, and Manze says the network's new efforts are tracking well. Research shows that NBC's new drama "Heroes" has been earning high percentage marks in viewer awareness. The show has an "Intent-To-View" score of 50. "That's a huge intent to view," says Manze, who adds that there are some 60 fan-sites already devoted to "Heroes." Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" is also scoring well, registering higher than average scores of 40-plus on the "Intent-To-View" scorecard. Somewhat lower--but still higher than average--are "Friday Night Lights" and "Kidnapped," which are getting scores in the 30s. "We have a lot of shows with a lot of buzz and critical reviews," says Manze. Part of that is growing Internet buzz, says Manze. But while it is important, it may not add much to the marketing mix of launching a TV show. "My feeling is, it can't hurt," he says. "But I'm not sure it helps as much as people think."
As Fox begins its campaign for another year atop the 18-to-49 ratings race, the network is pulling out all the promotional stops. Tactics range from a new Clear Channel Radio initiative to targeting Amazon.com customers to capitalizing on "American Idol"--four months before the blockbuster returns. To drive viewers to the premieres of "Prison Break" (last night), "House" (Sept. 5), and "The Simpsons" (Sept. 10), Fox is the first marketer to test Clear Channel's new super-snappy one- to three-second spots, known as "blinks." The network will run two-second spots every hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the day of the shows' respective premieres. Clear Channel's 1,100 stations nationwide will be used, allowing for 45,000 spots over the three days. Clear Channel bills the "blinks" as the shortest spots in radio, and has been pitching them to Madison Avenue since June. The spots are an outgrowth of the company's 2-year-old "less is more" strategy to improve the listener experience by limiting the number of spots each hour--and allowing Clear Channel to charge more for them. In the Fox case and others likely to come, the "blinks" will run in conjunction with a longer 60-second spot in the same hour, giving the network the opportunity to promote its programming in a more traditional fashion. Fox will use these to plug the lineup for the coming evening. For example, on Sept. 5, the spot will tout the series premiere of new drama "Standoff" and return of emerging hit "House." Kaye Bentley, senior vice president at Fox, says the network was excited by the Clear Channel opportunity to experiment with the new "blink" format, particularly with "The Simpsons." "It just works so well," she says. "You can use the music and 'Doh!' You have so many options creatively." Bentley said the flash spots have some natural limitations, and are best used for returning shows with established brands. As a network, Fox has momentum. It ended last season as the leader in the coveted 18-to-49 demo in regularly scheduled programming--on the backs of a 13 percent increase over 2004-05. But the network faces a unique challenge in launching its fall season. The network must build loyal viewership in late August and September that won't stray once its prime-time lineup is dominated by the baseball playoffs in October. Another second strategy to outfox competitors in building buzz for the new season: a multi-tiered initiative with Amazon.com. One marketing tool is identifying a series of crime novels that might appeal to the prospective audience for new drama "Vanished"--which focuses on the search for the missing wife of a Georgia senator--then sending them a DVD of the premiere episode along with their purchase. Those individuals will also receive a targeted email hoping to drive tune-in. (60,000 DVDs will be sent out.) Similarly, Amazon customers ordering the first season DVD for "Prison Break" will receive a free copy of the season opener. "They've got an untapped audience, and can communicate in a targeted way with entertainment consumers," Bentley says. Another Amazon tie-in: on the day when shows premiere, Fox is running banner ads on the home page with links to preview videos. It is essentially buying out the ad inventory on IMDB.com, the entertainment site owned by Amazon. Bentley calls it a "mini-takeover." But hands-down, Fox' biggest promotional platform is cultural phenomenon "American Idol." On-air promos during the show hit 30 million viewers a night, no doubt helping to build interest in "House" and "24." Fox is dialing up its calling card to plug shows this fall, months before "Idol" returns. As tens of thousands would-be Clarksons and Underwoods line up to audition for the show nationwide, Fox is handing out items they can use to prep for the stage--which also carry a plug for two of its new dramas. Compact mirrors tout "Vanished" and breath mints publicize "Standoff," a show about two members of the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit who are sleeping together. Other Fox efforts to promote its new season include an eight-page custom-published "TV Guide" fall preview sent to radio DJs, "Wanted," wild postings in nine of the top-10 DMAs for "Prison Break," and billboards in mall kiosks. The billboards, as well as other out-of-home ads, will focus on programs on two nights: Tuesday with "Standoff" and House," and Thursday with new comedy "'Til Death" starring Brad Garrett. Garrett's name and face recognition from his "Everybody Loves Raymond" tenure helps drive effectiveness, Bentley says. "He's a known property--just by looking at him, you know it's a comedy."
At a time when CBS is moving quickly to shed former Viacom assets, its former sister company is becoming even more integrated. Viacom Inc. late Monday announced plans to make its flagship MTV and Nickelodeon cable network brands "full labels" of its Paramount Motion Pictures Group unit. As part of the reorganization, MTV and Nickelodeon will establish themselves as full-fledged studios alongside Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks SKG, Paramount Vintage and Paramount Classics labels. Veteran producer Scott Aversano was named president of MTV Films and Nick Movies, reporting to Gail Berman, president of Paramount Pictures, with a dotted line to Van Toffler, Group President, MTV Networks Music Group, and Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon and MTV Networks Kids and Family Group, on image- and brand-related matters. MTV Films has created such movies as "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Hustle & Flow," while Nick Movies has produced this summer's "Nacho Libre," and a number of films leveraging the channel's "Rugrats" and "Spongebob Squarepants" franchises. The word nickelodeon, ironically, was originally created to describe an early movie theater, which charged an admission price of five cents. Former Viacom unit CBS, meanwhile, appears to be going an opposite route, shedding assets rather than integrating them. It recently announced the sale of its Paramount Parks unit for $1.24 billion, as well as its intention to divest a number of radio stations. It recently announced a deal to sell 15 stations to Entercom for $262 million, and is expected to put more on the block. The company also is believed to be weighing the sale of its Simon & Schuster book publishing operations.
America's Hispanic population is growing by leaps and bounds. In 2005 it topped 42 million or 14.4 percent of the overall population, a .3 percent jump in the total from 2004. Of course, marketers realize that this represents a huge opportunity. But many advertisers are still grappling with how to target and approach the market. Immigration from the Spanish-speaking countries of the Western hemisphere, led by Mexico, is creating America's largest demographic shift since the early 20th century. Well over one-third of the country's Hispanic population--about 16 million people--are immigrants. Combined, native-born and immigrant Hispanic Americans now outnumber the 34.3 million Americans who claim Irish descent--and are poised to surpass the nation's biggest ethnic group, German-Americans, who number about 45 million. What is the single most important division in the overall Hispanic market? It's the considerable cultural difference between the native-born and immigrant populations, according to Elena Marroquin, vice president and director of strategy for Tapestry, a multicultural marketing firm. Within the immigrant population, it's the amount of time they have lived here. "Above all, their date of arrival and the age they were when they arrived are the most important factors forming their cultural frame of reference," Marroquin says. She points out that the language of preference flips between recent immigrants and their children: While 73 percent of Hispanic immigrants favor Spanish, only 25 percent of their children do. That number falls to 15 percent by the second generation. The age of immigration is also a very important factor. Marroquin notes that many marketers don't realize that foreign-born children of recent immigrants prefer to receive media content and marketing messages in English, not Spanish. Of course, many of the demographic determinants of income and propensity to spend are the same across cultures. Educated people tend to have more disposable income, with income rising alongside education (to a point). But the distribution of education is very different. While 9.4 percent of the American population fails to finish high school, the number skyrockets to 56 percent in Mexico--and among immigrants, it climbs to 65. The difference carries over into higher education: Close to 25 percent of Americans hold a college degree, but in Mexico, college education is the exclusive preserve of the economic elite, with only 5 percent having completed college overall. In America, 52 percent of the population ages 20-24 has had some college education, compared to only 16 percent of the same age group in Mexico. A less-discussed but potentially important facet of identity is national origin. According to Will Cane, the publisher of Quince Girl--a magazine covering the culture and commerce of the quinceañera,an elaborate coming-of-age ceremony for 15-year-old Hispanic girls--national origin is an important area of difference, given the 21 widely varying countries in Latin America. "Hispanic" is really almost a meaningless word, Cane says. "It encompasses several different backgrounds from different geographic locations that are loosely connected by language--but even that is tenuous." Businesses have marketed to them in a shotgun approach, he says, meaning that they run something en español. He believes the United States is just beginning to figure out the Latino market. However, Cane adds, some institutions, like the quinceañera, are popular across national and cultural borders. "What we've found is that the quinceañera is really one of a few universals. Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, all the way down to Argentina--they all practice the quinceañera, with varying degrees of cultural penetration." Tapestry's Marroquin disagrees about the importance of national origin in targeting the Hispanic market. While national origin is certainly an important component of Hispanic identity, she says it doesn't necessarily carry over into marketing and advertising. "There really is a Hispanic-ness," she says. "Even though they come from lots of different places, they do tend to view themselves as similar in substantial ways, as 'Hispanic'--beginning, of course, with language." And for areas where national origin is truly important--travel and tourism marketing, for example--the information-gathering capabilities of the Internet provide the kind of specificity that allows marketers to target ethnic and cultural cohorts. According to Natasha Funk, a senior executive at Terra.com, her site leverages a wide network of home pages based in Latin American countries to connect immigrants with goings-on at home. Through online surveys and tracking their Web destinations, Terra.com catches information about national origin along with the usual demographic data. The network can then target users with special deals, depending on category.
Nearly $950 million was spent on television product placement last year, according to a recent PQ Media analysis. And carmakers account for a huge chunk of that ever-growing network cash cow. The principal reason is automakers' deep pockets. The second: it's so easy. If product placement is supposed to fit seamlessly into a show, slotting a vehicle into the background or even the story line doesn't take much work, especially in dramas with high-speed chases. Cadillac's insertion of its new Escalade pickup into a recent episode of the gripping and addictive FX drama "Rescue Me" is a recent example--and an effective one. Although the placement (one of the top-ranked product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX) involves some high-speed action, what makes it work is "Rescue" lead Denis Leary. Leary's character (New York firefighter Tommy Gavin) has to be the idol of every suit-wearing, cubicle-sitting, bureaucracy-beaten man in the 25-to-60 demo. Super-cool in his leather jacket and shades, his hard-drinking, hard-smoking, hard-driving, hard-loving character is a tortured soul, plagued by family and occupational trials. But the way his character is presented, most men would endure his problems. More often than not, the issues are offset by beautiful women who can't keeping their hands off him and firehouse buddies who get along so famously that work is more like a fraternity than a job. And if he gets out of line, law enforcement is apparently willing to look the other way. He's a little like Vince in HBO's "Entourage." In the Aug. 8 episode, the Cadillac intersects with enviable aspects of Gavin's life. There's a gorgeous woman with an incessant crush on him and a drag race on the streets of New York. Best of all: no traffic patrol in sight. Fast women, fast friends, fast cars. In the episode, the swooning woman, Sheila, played by Callie Thorne, has an affair with Gavin. Now, she's waiting for him to sweep her permanently off her feet, a la Richard Gere's character in "An Officer and a Gentleman." Meantime, she presents Gavin with a spanking new Cadillac Escalade gratis. Does it get any better? Sheila couches the gift, a blatant incentive to get Gavin to pull a Gere--he doesn't--as a way to help him through a stressful time and an expedient way to give her son his own car. She offers to trade the Escalade for Gavin's beat-up Ford pick-up, a more appropriate vehicle for her teenage son. "This is mine?" Gavin asks. Sheila responds fetchingly, "It's a Cadillac!" Gavin initially resists, but he's clearly impressed with the shining ride. After she mentions it's "fully loaded" and has a V10, he "gives in" and climbs into the driver's seat. He turns the ignition and the engine hums mellifluously. In exchange for her $54,000 gift, Sheila asks for a quick breakfast together. Gavin can't be bothered. Instead, he takes off on his maiden drive, and finds himself at a stoplight next to a driver eager for a drag race. The two blaze through the streets, forcing cars off the road and crisscrossing into the oncoming lane. No cops, no problem. And even if he is pulled over, cops tend to let firemen go. Here's the shocker; Gavin leaves the other guy in the dust. When Gavin gets to the firehouse, he excitedly extols the virtues of the Escalade to his buddies. "It's incredible...it came with everything, it came with a V10...," he says. Although the Escalade brand integration includes several product-placement staples--plugs for the vehicle's alluring features, shots of it in action as it handles beautifully on the streets--the principal benefit for Cadillac is its link with Gavin, who's hard to distinguish from Leary. Male viewers don't struggle with whether they want to be like him. That emulation may start with a new Escalade.
Show ProductQ-Ratio Rescue Me Cadillac Escalade 3.366 So You Think You Can Dance "Step Up" 3.360 Project Runway TRESemme 2.507 Treasure Hunters VISA 1.446 Design Star Natural Choice 0.858 Click here to view these placements. Data and analysis provided by iTVX.