mtvU, Cisco Kick Off College Games Sponsorship

In a highly original sponsorship deal, MTV's 24-hour college network mtvU and Cisco have set out to engage young consumers through their computers and mobile devices. The pair this week began offering students at several universities Web- and mobile-based games developed by fellow students that go far beyond your typical tic-tac-toe casual gaming experience.

"College students are the pioneers of tomorrow's digital landscape and this program was designed to both galvanize and tap their creative spirit," said Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU.

Students at New York University, for example, have their choice of two branded games: RapHappy, which allows hip-hop fans to record, collaborate on, search and listen to raps without software or file uploading; and Casablanca, a text-based party game in which two teams use network-building and intelligence-gathering skills to determine the fate of a virtual city while they mingle in real life.

In its second year, mtvU and Cisco's Digital Incubator program encourages students to develop extremely interactive programs with up to $250,000 in grants. (While neither mtvU or Cisco would discuss financial terms of the sponsorship, the costs of the deal must necessarily exceed the quarter million dollars in grant money.)

Similarly, mtvU has sought to lure advertisers with interactive sponsorship programs which have the potential to leave a more lasting impact than, say, static banner advertising.

HP, for one, recently signed on to sponsor another year of MTV's multi-platform global reality series, "Meet or Delete." Last year, the two partnered for the show's pilot, which included a branded entertainment component and a global multi-platform buy. This time around, HP said it will double its total spend, allowing MTV to drill ever deeper into local markets spanning some 36 countries.

Season two, slated to run from September to the end of the year, will consist of two 30-minute prime-time specials on MTV in the U.S., a full season of eight new 30-minute episodes in India, six new 30-minute episodes in Korea, a new WAP site with 16 short-form episodes in Europe, four more short-form episodes on mtvU, user-generated promo spots, and other programming initiatives.

Last month, impressive growth and content grabs spurred several upper-management changes at mtvU. Most notably, Andrew Federici was named vice president of online properties, where he is now responsible for the development and growth of the network's online portfolio, including College Media Network and RateMyProfessors.com. Federici had previously served as director of proprietary portals, at IAC Consumer Applications and Portals.

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