Integration: NBC Thinks 'Beyond the :30'

To buttress NBC's pitch during Monday's upfront presentation--outside the merits of its programming--the network launched a trade campaign. It wants to persuade buyers that it's prepared for the New (Media) World Order. The thrust: in the coming deal-making, the broader NBC Universal is thinking "Beyond the :30" and pushing more interconnected multiplatform and new media opportunities for advertisers.

"Beyond the :30" was an overarching theme of the presentation at Radio City Music Hall, and appeared front-and-center in a high-energy montage highlighting NBC programs. The catchphrase is an intriguing choice. It arguably raises the issue of whether the :30 is moribund. Although nets have steadfastly said no, they are eagerly looking for ways to experiment with new types of on-air creative and employ complementary messages on other platforms as part of integrated campaigns.

NBC's first trade campaign in many years employs phone kiosks in New York--strategically placed to target media executives traveling to and from their offices. (A Second Avenue location is near Magna Global; a Herald Square posting is near Publicis.) The creative includes the "Beyond" tagline preceded by a rundown of industry buzzwords--"innovate, target, lead, measure, engagement"--that NBC is prepared to work with buyers to activate.

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Those buzzwords also appeared on-screen during the opening montage in the upfront presentation and as a backdrop when NBCU's new ad sales chief Mike Pilot spoke. "Those are the things on most marketers' minds right now," said Beth Comstock, president of integrated media at NBCU, who oversees TV and other ad sales. She spoke after a morning meeting to announce the NBC new fall schedule.

The campaign is somewhat unusual in that networks, unlike their arguably more aggressive cable counterparts, recently have opted not to run large-scale trade campaigns. Comstock said the campaign sends the message NBCU is ready to "do things differently." (It also has print and online distribution, including the NBCUMarkeplace.com site designed for buyers, where the upfront presentation was streamed live yesterday.)

That mantra comes on the heels of NBCU's decision last week to establish a new standard for online pre-roll ads for short-form content, where the spots would only run for 15 seconds or less. Comstock said it's a reaction to the marketplace and viewer preferences; NBC has said viewers are deterred by ads that are about as long as the content itself.

This fall, NBC will launch a new online spinoff for "The Office," a Web-only "Coastal Dreams" series and minisodes with Jerry Seinfeld, among other initiatives. And a headline on NBC.com yesterday read "Social Networking - Coming Soon." NBC's upfront presentation had a lengthy video plugging its "Digital Universe" umbrella and its opportunities for advertisers.

"We have a uniquely diverse and scaled set of media properties that touch virtually everyone in America," NBCU's Pilot said. "When you combine our TV broadcast, cable and new media assets, along with our DVD sales, our theme parks and our movie attendance, we reach more than 9 out of 10 Americans every month."

Pilot added: "You're looking for a media partner who is also a marketing partner."

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