Online news Web site MSNBC.com is out with a new branding campaign that highlights the company’s shift to more general news and entertainment.
The campaign, which kicked off yesterday, now pushes the Web site’s versatile offerings in news and entertainment, straying from early focus as a breaking news destination. Print ads in Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, Time and U.S. News and World Report, as well as TV spots support it. Each carries the tagline “A Fuller Spectrum of News.”
Online banners will also run on various sites, ESPN.com, EntertainmentWeekly.com and CNET.com.
The goal behind the campaign is to build brand awareness and drive traffic to the Web site.
“We wanted to make sure we claim a special space in consumers’ mind,” said Catherine Captain, vice president of marketing, MSNBC.com. “Breaking news is an essential for everyone in the category, but it’s not all we have. We have so much more that surprises and delights the user. We really wanted to put our stake in the ground and solidified that.”
In addition, MSNBC.com has launched an interactive screensaver that visitors can download and customize. Fueled by RSS feed, the NewsStream screensaver sends headlines to consumers’ desktops throughout the day.
Also on April 13, MSNBC.com will roll out an online RSS-feed game called NewsBreaker that let players interact with daily headlines. In the game, players accumulate points capturing headlines from the site.
The company plans to bring a larger version of the online game to select theaters in May and June. NewsBreaker will appear in theaters in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and White Plains, NY, as the first branded in-cinema game in which the audience can interact and manipulate the on-screen experience with body movements.
“We wanted to do some unique things that would really appeal to the news explorers segment,” Captain said. “One thing is the game. You can sort of have fun, be a little less serious about news consumption, but still get headlines of the day. It really hits sweet spot.”
The campaign runs through June. SS+K, New York, designed the campaign. Fuel Industries, Ottawa, ON, handles the online game.
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