This is what the media world has come to: A magazine company and a TVnetwork launch an annual extreme sports tournament because the signatureextreme sports tournament, which was created by a cable TV network, is “toocommercial” for core athletes and fans.
Is anyone else thinking, “Irony”?
Los Angeles-based EMAP Petersen, Inc. and NBC SportsVentures, New YorkCity, this fall launch the Gravity Games, four days worth of skating,biking, and boarding in Providence, RI, targeting hardcore enthusiasts whofind ESPN’s X-Games to be all hype and marketing hoopla.
The fifth-annual X-Games were held in San Francisco last month withassistance from a boatload of sponsors including AT&T, Heineken, Sony, TacoBell, Pontiac, Pepsi-Cola Co.’s Mountain Dew, the U.S. Marines, and LeeJeans. The first Gravity Games have signed Toyota, Union Bay, Swatch – andMountain Dew and the Marines.
Repeat after us: Irony.
Of course, there’s nothing ironic about the goals behind either event,because developing additional marketing opportunities for advertisers is abig part of what TV networks and magazines are about these days. They don’twant to be solely an advertising vehicle anymore; they want to provide thewhole package – promotions, sponsorships, events. These days, no one wantsto be a one-media horse. And some want to become promotions ponies.
With the extreme games tourneys, NBC and ESPN get additional programmingthat appeals to much-coveted teens and young adults, as well as another wayto strengthen their relationships with existing advertisers and lure a fewothers into the buy.
Petersen, meanwhile, gets a chance to extend the reach of its Raw SportsGroup, a magazine stable featuring Slam, Surfer, Box, Powder, andSkateboarder. The event’s name was taken from Gravity Magazine, althoughPetersen has ceased regular publication of that title. (Irony abounds.)
More than just the ad buyPetersen plainly states that the event is designed to provide an additionalrevenue stream for the company, which two years ago established a distinctPetersen Enterprises division to leverage the brand equity of its magazinesin order to expand beyond magazines.
“We’re set up to be a revenue-generator, not just an exposure mechanism forthe magazines,” says Petersen Enterprises president Justin McCormack, whocame over from Marvel Entertainment to help Petersen become “more of amarketing solutions and branding company” than a straight publisher.
Petersen Enterprises works closely with representatives from the company’spublications to find revenue-producing brand extensions including licenses,broadcast programming deals, events, or just about anything else. “Many ofour titles have extensive affinity in their markets. We can bring[partners] content and the best marketing tool in a category,” saysMcCormack.
Hot Rod and Teen have proved to be the low-hanging fruit in the Petersenportfolio, although Petersen Enterprises has worked deals for more than 15titles, McCormack says. “We have to get a little more creative with some ofthe others.”
Teen is an old hand at providing advertising value-adds: It teamed withMaybelline last month on the 18th annual Great Model Search, which awards$5,000 and the magazine’s October cover shot to a model-in-the-making. Thisyear’s event added live music and an anti-smoking overlay with the AmericanCancer Society, and offered tickets to the magazine’s two-million plussubscribers.
Petersen Enterprises, meanwhile, has helped the magazine add Teen-brandedjewelry and hair accessories with Buy-Rite Costume Jewelry; a Teen DigitalDiva CD-ROM game with Activision, Inc.; and a Diary of a Junior Year bookseries with Scholastic Corp. launching in September. Programs for Hot Rodinclude “alternative” sodas from Generation Foods, hot sauce from Dave’sGourmet, toys from Mattel, Inc., and automotive batteries from InterstateBatteries.
“There is great awareness for some of their magazines, and you can build abrand around that,” says Jennifer Strauss, director of marketing forMalibu, CA-based toy maker Jakks Pacific, which has a line of Car andDriver die-cast cars and is developing products through a license withPetersen’s Mopar Muscle as well. “I don’t read Car and Driver, but I knowthe name. Someone looking for a die-cast collectible would recognize it asa quality name.”
There’s more: Petersen operates three affinity clubs offering discountedgoods and services: Hot Rod Power Club, Motor Trend Driver’s Association,and Petersen Sportsman’s Society. The company is currently working on adeal to create a 4 Wheel & Off-Road-branded theme park in Arizona with anunnamed partner, according to McCormack.
Agencies in media clothingPetersen Enterprises has its own charter, but works closely withrepresentatives from the company’s magazines to make sure it’s not steppingon anyone’s toes – especially advertisers.” “We’re not going to licenseproducts that wouldcompete with advertisers,” McCormack says.
That caveat hasn’t ruled out much. With licensing opportunities, eventsponsorships, loyalty programs, and media advertising, Petersen sounds lesslike a media company than it does a full-service promo shop – with thetie-in partners built right in.
Other media outlets are heading in that direction. The boldest of all havebeen large radio networks such as Chancellor Media and CBS/Infinity, whichhave created full-blown ancillary promotion agencies (June 1999 PROMO). Theshops use the media exposure they can provide as the lure to attract actualpromotions work – sweepstakes, events, gift-with-purchase offers – to anybrands that want them.
Simply put, media have extended their marketing capabilities because theycan. Consolidation in the industry has spawned conglomerates: EMAP Petersenhas more than 160 magazines in the U.S. alone; Chancellor will have 465radio stations if a planned merger with Capstar Broadcasting is approvedthis month (see Deals).
That kind of scale gives media companies the resources to look for otherpieces of the marketing-budget pie. And with many brand manufacturerslooking to consolidate out-sourced services in one place, a partner thatcan offer media and promotions is attractive.
Most media outlets haven’t been as blatant as Chancellor and CBS.
“We’re not a promotion agency,” says Gary Armstrong, creative director forConde Nast’s Mademoiselle, which offers events, sampling, retail programs,and Web-based promotional opportunities – but only for advertisers. “Wedon’t negotiate ad rates, so we need to offer other incentives toadvertisers.”
The incentive list keeps growing. Next month, the magazine launches a newprogram through which it will work with entertainment companies to providean “in-book promotional section.” Entertainment partners will serve up”talent,” be it an actress from an upcoming film or a singer with asoon-to-be-released CD, to be featured in an advertising section along withproducts from a sponsoring brand or two. Mademoiselle’s Web-based overlayswill tailor a program to include a sweepstakes or other promo tactics.
Advertising may still be king in the media world. But there seems to bemore and more advisors to the throne.
“My charge is to work with partners in developing revenue streams thataren’t just selling 30 seconds of air time,” says Keith Ritter, seniorvp-marketing for TV network unit CBS Sports, New York City, which lastmonth helped programming partner NASCAR launch a 30-city rock music tour(see Hot Properties). The ultimate goal is a bigger fan base for stock-carracing (and thus more viewers for CBS). In the process, NASCAR gains a fewCBS advertisers as sponsors, and CBS gets a few NASCAR sponsors asadvertisers.
“It’s still not the way the business is run,” Ritter says of networksdeveloping other marketing initiatives. “But the economics today aredifferent. Sponsors want something that’s more turn-key and moremeaningful. The network is a good focal point, because we deal witheverybody.”
They soon may be promoting with everybody, too.
Discovery Communications’ branding efforts have reached a destination ofsorts. The Bethesda, MD-based cable network this month joined with SunInternational Hotels Ltd. to launch Discovery Channel Camp at Atlantis, aneducational program for kids at Sun’s Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas.
The camp’s format, which features technology, science, history,exploration, and nature tracks, was developed by experts in children’scurricula; the physical layout was designed by the same designers who madeThe Biosphere 2 project in Arizona. The resort’s existing attractions,which include the world’s largest aquarium, are incorporated into theprogram.
The partners first got together in late 1997 after Discovery’s “brandfoundation” study found that viewers supported the idea of the networkbranching out into live educational programs. Discovery was also swayed bya Yankelovich & Partners study that found 63 percent of consumers wantedlife-enriching experiences – and were willing to pay more to get them. “Weknew we had permission in this area,” says Robin Sayetta, Discovery’svp-merchandising and promotion licensing. The network is actively pursuinglicensing deals, but is meticulous about not sullying its brand equity, shesays.
The multi-year agreement with Sun extends well beyond licensing fees. “Wewill view this as part of our promotional tool kit,” by offering camp tripsas prizes for contests and sweeps, says Sayetta. “This is our version ofDisney World.” Discovery is already speaking with other partners aboutdeveloping programs around the camp, and will use the site as a base forprogramming as well, she says.
The network didn’t run any promotions to herald the camp’s July 1 opening.”We need to get it opened, and find out what works and what doesn’t work,before we shout about it from the treetops,” Sayetta says.
Besides, the resort is already booked this summer.
Nickelodeon logs a lot of road time. But the kids’ network usually doesn’tinvite strangers along like it did this summer for “Nickelodeon’s All ThatMusic and More” concert tour.
The 35-venue June through August tour features headliners Monica and 98Degrees and other rotating kid-fave acts such as B’Witched and Tatyana Ali.A festival village offers interactive games, talent searches for Nick’s AllThat live-action comedy series and Figure It Out game show, and booths fromassociate sponsors Reebok, Perrier, and KB Interactive.
Johnson’s Kids Hair Care, a unit of New Brunswick, NJ-based Johnson &Johnson Consumer Products, is presenting sponsor. The brand will sample atthe shows and offer an All That magnet and key chain on-pack at retail. Asweepstakes will give away tickets.
It’s the first music festival for New York City-based Nickelodeon, whosetypical live-event strategy is to put its animated characters on stage a laRugrats and Blue’s Clues tours. Cast members from All That will perform,but the program is dominated by non-Nick acts.
Nick was looking for a way to reach All That’s target audience, kids eightto 14, and “music was the obvious way,” says Stuart Rosenstein, director oftheatrical development. “Kids in that demo love music, they buy music, butthey can’t really go to concerts. We wanted to give them one that theycould go to.”
The network likes to keep promotional partnerships all in the family whenit’s out stumping for viewers. “The first place we go is advertisers,” hesays, adding that J&J is a major one.
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