• by Wayne Friedman , March 16, 2006

Burbank, Calif.--The CW and its executives, in their first major public appearance on the Warner Bros. lot, unveiled to national advertisers yesterday some possible new shows as well as their strong intent on targeting the 18-34 audience.

Another big decision involves fleshing out the network's brand and on-air marketing strategy. To do that, MediaPost has learned, the CW is hiring two branding agencies--Imaginary Forces and Troika Design Group--two veteran West Coast entertainment marketing boutiques that have done work for a variety of cable networks, syndicated shows, and network shows.

Rick Haskins, the executive vice president of marketing for the CW, said the two agencies were hired to come up with numerous branding approaches for the network that will launch this September. Haskins had employed both agencies while working for Lifetime.

The big question on everyone's mind is the network name--which has gotten some negative reviews. Would it change?

"Maybe," he said.

Specifically, the event was to reveal CW's plan for new programming. Typical "program development meetings" are places where a network typically tosses around show ideas for its advertisers. For a new network, this would seem even more important. But given the fact that CW is taking the best programming assets of WB and UPN--which will end their runs this September--the CW has a different plan of attack. Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment for the CW, said not to expect much.

"There aren't that many holes on the schedule to fill," she told executives.

Videotape of top WB and UPN shows showed advertisers what they would be most likely to see on the new CW: "Gilmore Girls," "Everybody Hates Chris," "America's Next Top Model," "Supernatural," and "One Tree Hill," to name a few.

Ostroff then got down to the business at hand, revealing new programming efforts in the works. There are a bunch of dramas such as "Split Decision," which follows the travails of a high school girl and the decisions she makes--and almost makes. The show follows both scenarios. "It's kind of like 'Sliding Doors' meets 'Mean Girls,'" said Ostroff.

The CW has also enlisted big-time producers who have had success with younger viewers. Kevin Williamson, who created "Dawson's Creek," will try his luck with "Palm Springs," about a boy and his family who are new to the California high-end resort city. "Runaways," comes from Darren Star ("90210," "Melrose Place," and "Sex in the City."), about a man and his wife and child, who are running from a crime they didn't commit.

There is also "Aquaman," a spinoff of WB's "Smallville." The episode that featured Aquaman was one of the highest-rated episodes of the season for the series.

Two comedies include "She Said He Said," starring singer and ex-Jessica Simpson hubby Nick Lachey, a dating/relationship program, and "The Game," about the women who fall for NFL players.

Bill Morningstar, the executive vice president of advertising sales for CW, expressed to executives that the new CW is in a much better position than the networks it replaces--thus an even better place for their brands. "All our shows are either number one or number two in their target demo 18-34," he said.

CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. co-own the CW, and Les Moonves, chairman of CBS Corp., said this was a homecoming for him. Moonves ran Warner Bros. television for years, starting up "ER" and "Friends" before coming to CBS. His continuing close relations with Warner executives made "the deal one of best-kept secrets in America."

Barry Meyer, chairman/CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, noted that the CW creates a much better platform for national advertisers, so much so that "I should be sitting out there with you." As a major studio that spends millions on advertising 20 to 25 movies a year, he says, Warner Bros. is a major advertiser on networks that target young adult viewers.