March 30, 2009

CableFAXIES Awards—Marketing Team of the Year: NBC Universal for 'An Unbelievable Year at Universal' Affiliate Marketing Team for TV Networks Distribution

How did NBCU’s affiliate marketing team impress us in 2008? Let us count the ways. USA Network remained the No. 1 cable network. MSNBC became the fastest-growing cable network. Bravo had its best-ever year. Oxygen had its best-ever year. CNBC had its best year since 2000. Sci Fi became the No. 5 network in cable. The inspired team dominated the breadth and depth of their work on 10 different promotions with cable affiliates, giving us the perfect fodder for a top 10 countdown:

Back Row (l-r): Peter Schneider, Sr. Marketing Director; Lynette Pinto, VP, Marketing; Melissa Tolchin, VP, Marketing; Fred Haug, Project Director; Yvonne Davis, Associate Marketing Manager; Brian Hunt, SVP, Marketing and Sales Strategy; Carly Greenberg, Associate Marketing Manager; Erin Breen, VP, Marketing; Michelle Vanna, Director, Marketing. Front Row (l-r):Rohanie Somar, Associate Marketing Manager; Molly McCaskill, Marketing Manager; Dana Reyngoudt, Director, Affiliate Marketing; Jennifer Sanchez, Marketing Manager; Jayne Koo, Associate Marketing Manager; Robert Laing, Marketing Coordinator

10. Oxygen’s Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood: Cable affiliates received customizable spots for a nationwide promotion/viewer sweepstakes. In the top 50 markets, the promo was for a Los Angeles getaway. Markets 51-plus gave away a $1,000 housewarming prize pack.

9. USA’s Starter Wife: Exclusive designer packages were the prize for an ad sales promotion with affiliates in the top 24 markets that delivered more than $1 million in cross-media value.

8. CNBC’s Tax Tips: Affiliates received eight vignettes featuring senior correspondent Sharon Epperson’s tax tips on learning disability, mortgage and home office deductions and retirement savings; they delivered a $4 million media value.

7. Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club: Thirty cable affiliates delivered $1 million in media value by participating in this promotion that offered those in the top 25 markets a prize pack worth $3,000, and those in markets 26-plus a Nintendo Wii and merchandise bundle.

6. Bravo’s Make Me a Supermodel: A trip to supermodel haven NYC was the top draw for this promo that attracted 52 cable affiliates and delivered $1.5 million in value.

5. USA’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show: It was K9 craziness as the team provided dog-show-themed prize packs to 57 affiliates, which delivered $1 million in cross-channel value for USA series Psych.

4. USA’s In Plain Sight: Operation Relocation: The NBCU team drummed up a cross-channel media value of $5 million with this local ad sales promo in conjunction with Comcast’s mall kiosk program.

3. Bravo’s Top Chef – the Tour: The affiliate team generated $1.3 million in value and an estimated 1,000 consumer impressions per day from this different take on meals on wheels that sent a branded 18-wheeler to 20 key markets and presented cooking demonstrations for cable affiliates and consumers.

2. Sci Fi’s Ghost Hunters: Real Scary Promotion: This local ad sales promo — for a grand-prize trip to the Stanley Hotel and dinner with the series’ stars — included taggable vignettes, Comcast mall kiosk promos, Time Warner Cable ad sales spots and a DirecTV retail sweepstakes that delivered a combined cross-channel media value of $7 million.

1. And the No. 1 reason NBCU’s affiliate team takes the gold this year...The 2008 Beijing Olympics campaign: NBCU provided 3,600 hours of multiplatform coverage and notched commitments from 230 cable affiliates to run a minimum of 350 cross-channel spots in support of the Games. Promotional support received was valued at $30 million, leaving the company pumped about its exclusive U.S. media rights to the Olympics through 2012.

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