CableFAXIES Awards 2009 & The Players: Leading Women in Cable
Cable operators might not be thrilled with the current state of programming distribution. TV isn’t just on the TV anymore. It’s on the laptop screen, the iPod screen, the game console screen and, yes, the standard, non-computer TV screen. Programming is everywhere, all the time. Cable operators are sort of in the same spot the Big Three networks were in when coaxial cable really began stretching across the nation — their claim on the viewing audience is being challenged by new technology and new generations of viewers with entirely new expectations and needs. And while these new channels of distribution would seem to be a boon to content creation companies — formerly known as cable programmers — their sense of entitlement is also in danger of being a target of mockery for young consumers who may simply decide cable content brands have zero relevance in their lives. Consumers have so many choices of delivery and content, and also have the expectation that everything should be free, or nearly free. Operators and programmers are learning the hard way that good products and content, reasonably priced, are not enough to get by. Enter the communications professionals.
For the second-straight year we dedicate our CableFAXIES Awards to the communications initiatives and programs that have gone the furthest toward keeping cable operators and programmers at the top of the consumer’s entertainment universe. The professionals behind the winning marketing and PR campaigns are working with tighter budgets and facing tougher challenges, perhaps, but that just means one thing to them — an opportunity to be more creative. That’s what drew them to PR and marketing in the first place. We commend in these pages and at our March 30th awards luncheon the behind-the-scenes fortitude and imagination of the CableFAXIES winners and honorable mentions, which were selected by the CableFAX staff and a panel of outside judges. And we salute the patriotic theme underlying all their marketing and PR efforts: The U.S. may no longer be the best at making cars, but it’s still tops in the showbiz department.
Also in this issue, our "The Players: Leading Women in Cable" section, coinciding with WICT’s 30 anniversary, presents some of the powers that be and the powers to come in cable.
This special section begins with a look at men who mentor women and concludes with a roundtable on WICT’s history and future. After that we preview WICT’s leadership conference via a Q&A with several panelists. The quality and breadth of the conference is evident in that we have influential women like Food chief Brooke Johnson on career politics; jobs guru Ann Carlsen and Cox HR maven Mae Douglas discussing career management; and Hallmark distribution dynamo Janice Arouh offering her tips for sartorial splendor.
Next is a profile of 15 Betsy Magness graduates, followed by 15 women in their 30s, in keeping with WICT’s 30th. The majority of these 30 highly accomplished women are rarely found on the pages of cable trade magazines. We’re glad we’ve changed that and we trust you’ll find them interesting.
And finally, we mark the 20th anniversary of CableFAX Daily with a look at the founding of cable’s daily news source and a tribute to CableFAX founder Paul Maxwell, whom we honor with our first annual Paul Maxwell Quick Draw Award for innovation in cable.
View the electronic edition of 2009 CableFAXIES Awards issue.
Marketer of the Year
Winner – Guy Slattery, SVP, Marketing, A&E Network and BIO
Honorable Mentions:
• Katie Lacey, SVP, Marketing, ESPN
• Bill Bergofin, SVP, Marketing, Versus
• Kenetta Bailey, SVP, Marketing, WE tv
• Denise Conroy-Galley, SVP, Marketing & Research, Outdoor Channel
PR Team of the Year
Winner – Showtime Networks
PR Execs of the Year
Winner – Russell Howard, SVP, Communications, National Geographic Channel
Winner – Annie Howell, SVP, Communications & Public Affairs, Planet Green, Discovery Communications
Honorable Mentions:
• Jim Weiss, VP, Public Relations & Public Affairs, Gospel Music Channel
• Katina Arnold, VP, Communications, Sales & Marketing, International & New Technologies, ESPN
• Theano Apostolou, SVP, Publicity, Talent Relations & Promotional Events, AMC
• Richard Licata, EVP, Corporate Communications, Showtime Networks
• Richard Ramlall, SVP, Strategic External Affairs & Programming, RCN
Marketing Team of the Year
Winner – NBC Universal for ‘An Unbelievable Year at NBC Universal’ Affiliate Marketing Team for the TV Networks Distribution
Advertising Campaign for a Network
Winner – Big Ten Network/Tom, Dick & Harry Advertising for the 2008 Football and Basketball Campaign
Honorable Mentions:
• ABC Family for A New Kind of …ABC Family Branding Campaign
• Fuse for Music Is…
Advertising Campaign for a Single Program
Winner – A&E Network for Gene Simmons Family Jewels Season 3
Honorable Mentions:
• ABC Family for The Secret Life of the American Teenager
• Cablevision S.A. de C.V./Mediamates/Pico Adworks Mexico for Mujeres Asesinas (Assassin Women Mexico)
• Discovery Communications/Animal Planet for Whale Wars Series Launch Campaign
• ESPN for ESPN’s SportsCenter AM Live Campaign
• Gospel Music Channel for Gospel Dream Bus Tour Presented by Comcast
• IFC for Z Rock
• A&E Network for The Andromeda Strain
Direct Response Marketing
Winner – Charter Communications for Membership Acquisition Campaign
Honorable Mention:
• Charter Communications for Charter Price Guarantee 2009
Integrated Marketing Campaign
Winner – The Weather Channel for When Weather Changed History Season 2
Honorable Mentions:
• Big Ten Network/Tom, Dick & Harry Advertising for the 2008 Football and Basketball Campaign
• Cox Communications for 2008 Wave 3 Cox Business Acquisition Campaign
• Charter Communications for Charter Digital Transition 2009
Marketing Campaign
Winner – A&E Network for A&E Brand Repositioning Campaign
Honorable Mentions:
• BBC America for BBC World News America
• Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Region for Time Warner Cable L.A. Hispanic Video Launch
• Spike TV for Star Wars on Spike TV
• Cartoon Network/Turner Broadcasting for Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall Launch
• A&E Network for Gene Simmons Family Jewels Season 3
Marketing of a New Series or Show
Winner – Discovery Communications/Animal Planet for Whale Wars Series Launch Campaign
Honorable Mentions:
• ABC Family for The Secret Life of the American Teenager Series Launch
• BBC America for Primeval
• Cartoon Network/Turner Broadcasting for Star Wars: The Clone Wars Series Launch
• IFC for Z Rock
• Big Ten Network for Big Ten Network Illinois Football: The Journey Begins
Marketing of a Continuing Series
Winner – BBC America for Robin Hood Season 2
Winner – Oxygen for Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood
Honorable Mentions:
• AMC and NMA Entertainment & Marketing for Mad Men Season 2
• Sundance Channel for Iconoclasts Season 4
• World Wrestling Entertainment for WWE McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania Promotion
• ABC Family for The Secret Life of the American Teenager Season 2 Launch
Multicultural Marketing
Winner – Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Region for Time Warner Cable L.A. Hispanic Video Package Launch
Honorable Mentions:
• CNN for CNN Presents: Black in America
• TuTV for Noches Clasicas De Pelicula
Marketing of a Documentary or Special Series
Winner – A&E Network for The Andromeda Strain
Honorable Mentions:
• Big Ten Network for Big Ten Network Illinois Football: The Journey Begins
• Cartoon Network/Turner Broadcasting for Turkey, Stuffing and “RickRolls” for all our “Friends” at Thanksgiving
• CNN for CNN Heroes
Trade Show Marketing and PR
Winner – Fuse for Fuse Upfront Bash ’08
Honorable Mentions:
• Comcast Entertainment Group for G4’s CES Best of the Best
• Gospel Music Channel for Gospel Music Channel—NCTA 2008
• Outdoor Channel for Are You Ready for the Big Time? CTAM Stunt
• Qubo for Qubo Channel Playground
Video: Use of Video or Moving Image
Winner – WWE for Presidential Candidate Videos on WWE Monday Night Raw
Honorable Mentions:
• Visible World for Household Addressability
• Outdoor Channel for Outdoor Channel Ad Sales Sizzle Reel
• Qubo for Qubo Channel Spot
• Charter Communications Wisconsin for Ribbon of Promise Wisconsin Campaign to Prevent School Violence
• ABC Family for ABC Family Upfront Sizzle
Viral Marketing Campaign
Winner – The Sportsman Channel for Cable Best Friends Forever
Honorable Mentions:
• BBC America for Skins
• CMT for Gone Country 3
• Discovery Communications/Animal Planet for Groomer Has It Series Launch
• A&E Network for What Happened in Piedmont
Community Relations
Winner – Big Ten Network for Support Local Flood Relief: Make a Difference with Mediacom, Big Ten Network, Fox Cable Networks and University of Iowa
Honorable Mentions:
• Discovery Communications for Science Matters!
• Retirement Living TV for Countdown to Conversion: Digital Transition Education Initiative
• WWE for WWE Smackdown Your Vote!
• Cox Communications Las Vegas for Violence in our Schools—A Prescription for Our Community
• Time Warner Cable for Time Warner Cable Trivia Thursdays
Annual Report
Winner – Liberty Global for Liberty Global’s Summary Annual Report
Honorable Mention:
• The Cable Center for Cable Center Annual Report
Corporate Social Responsibility/Green Campaign
Winner – Big Ten Network for Big Ten Network Iowa Flood Relief Fundraiser
Honorable Mentions:
• A&E Network for The Recovery Project
• Outdoor Channel for Get Out and Vote PSAs
• The Sportsman Channel for Hunt. Fish. Feed
Media Event
Winner – CNN for CNN Grill
Honorable Mentions:
• ABC Family for Winter Wonderland
• Discovery for Planet Green Launch Media Event in Los Angeles
• ESPN for ESPN’s 2008 Upfront Event
• Hallmark Channel for Hallmark Movie Channel HD Launch in Peoria
• National Geographic Channel for Dog Whisperer 100th Episode Celebration
Media Relations Campaign
Winner – Discovery Communications for Planet Green Launch
Honorable Mentions:
• ESPN for NASCAR on ESPN
• National Geographic Channel for Expedition Week
• Bravo for Real Housewives of Atlanta
• History for 102 Minutes That Changed America
• IFC for The IFC Media Project
• ABC Family for Secret Life of the America Teenager
Press Kit
Winner – ESPN for NASCAR on ESPN
Honorable Mentions:
• Showtime Networks for United States of Tara
• Showtime Networks for Dexter Season 3
• National Geographic Channel for Human Footprint
Programming Stunt
Winner – Comcast Entertainment Group for FEARnet’s Halloween Campaign
Honorable Mentions:
• Starz Entertainment for I Know Who Killed Me
• ABC Family for 25 Days of Christmas
• Discovery for Science Channel’s ‘Punkin’ Chunkin 2008’
• Retirement Living TV for Daily Café from the AARP Convention Floor
• Comcast Entertainment Group for Style Network’s Raise Your Hand and Make a Difference in Support of Breast Cancer Awareness
PR Stunt
Winner – A&E and NMA Entertainment & Marketing for The Andromeda Strain Decontamination Chamber
Honorable Mentions:
• BBC America Robin Hood Season 2
• Cartoon Network/Turner Broadcasting for Turkey, Stuffing and “RickRolls” for all our “Friends” at Thanksgiving
• Outdoor Channel for Are You Ready for the Big Time? CTAM Stunt
• Starz Entertainment for I Know Who Killed Me
• Oxygen for Welcome Home! Tori & Dean
Public Affairs Campaign
Winner – IFC for The IFC Media Project
Honorable Mentions:
• Discovery, Science Channel and Comcast for Science Matters!
• Insight for Digital Transition Awareness Campaign
• Lifetime Television for Every Woman Counts
• The Sportsman Channel for Hunt. Fish. Feed.
• WE tv for WE Vote 2008
• Retirement Living TV for Countdown to Conversion: Digital Transition Education Initiative
Best Tchotchke
Winner – ABC Family for 25 Days of Christmas Office Decorating Kit
Honorable Mentions:
• Big Ten Network for Election Buttons
• Discovery Communications for Science Channel’s Punkin’ Chunkin 2008
• International Networks for Bridging Cultures 2009 Calendar
• Vozzcom for Guerilla Tactics for Trade Show Branding Success
