2009 EMMAs—Diversity through Marketing
Few things remain constant with NAMIC’s Excellence in Multi-cultural Marketing Awards, or the EMMAs, as they’re known throughout cable. As the importance of multi-cultural constituencies has risen, operators and programmers have increased investment in and the sophistication of their ethnic marketing, NAMIC’s VP of Marketing and Communications Daphne Leroy notes. The result is that today’s crop of EMMA finalists tower above the fine winners of just a few years ago.
Again winners will be honored during a special session of NAMIC’s 23rd annual conference this month in Denver. The traditional sponsor of that session, ESPN Deportes, again will be joined by presenting partner CableFAX. Below are profiles of the 2009 first-place winners, along with a list of second- and third-place winners.
Case Studies/Campaigns Category
CABLE COMPANIES
— TIME WARNER CABLE LOS ANGELES DTV MARKETING CAMPAIGN
It might be hard to remember, but last year at this time there was a lot of anxiety about the coming digital transition. There was so much information it could be overwhelming. Moreover, much information was conflicting and most of it was in English.
That gave Time Warner Cable Los Angeles the impetus to take an educational role in the Latino community, where the concentration of over-the-air televisions was high.
Time Warner Cable mounted a two-month-long campaign designed to "provide straight answers to consumers’ questions and to make the transition process easier to understand," Time Warner Cable West Region EVP Stephen Pagano said. The result was a multi-step approach, including sponsoring free, bilingual digital transition seminars with electronics retailer Dearden’s in eight different Dearden’s locations. Making the seminars particularly attractive was the participation of Jose Ulloa, the "Latino Cyberguy," who led the seminars and became the campaign’s ambassador.
Beyond the purely educational aspect of the campaign, TW Cable touted its $9.95 cable basic broadcast offer in English and Spanish, aiming to attract Latinos who had not previously paid for television service.
The results were impressive: Latino subs rose 3% and endorsements from Latino radio generated a call volume increase of 350% in one week. The $9.95 spot on TV in English saw an increase of more than 2,000 calls in a one-week period; the spot in Spanish generated and sustained 4,000 calls for some three weeks.
Second Place: (Tie)
— GLOBAL PASSPORT, RCN CORP
— Q3 HISPANIC CAMPAIGN, COMCAST
Third Place: (Tie)
— COMCAST INTRODUCES CAREFREE MINUTES WORLDWIDE 300
— COX ORANGE/PALOS VERDES AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA DISTRIBUTION LAUNCH ETHNIC MARKETING INITIATIVE 2008
Marketing Tactics:
DIRECT MAIL
— TIME WARNER CABLE LOS ANGELES HISPANIC DTV MARKETING
As in the above category, Time Warner Cable Los Angeles took home first place for its direct approach to the digital transition. As explained above, Time Warner Cable Los Angeles combined an educational outreach with a marketing push for a $9.95 basic package. Along with free installation, the direct mail piece for the package assured the public that customers could continue watching their favorite shows, making it a worry-free option. The piece also included a step-by-step approach to make the digital transition convenient. The print component, in English and Spanish, targeted over-the-air viewers, who primarily tend to be Hispanic. It generated a 0.96% response rate among the general market, and a 1.95% response rate among the Hispanic market. A 1% response rate is considered a good result.
Second Place
— CDV CAREFREE MINUTES ASIA 100 (CHINESE, JAPANESE, & KOREAN), COMCAST
GRASSROOTS
— GMA FAMILY BALIKBAYAN BOX, COMCAST
A perennial EMMA winner, Natalie Rouse of Comcast again applied cultural knowledge to mount a winning campaign whose goal was to raise SF Bay-area subscriptions to GMA Pinoy TV, the Filipino channel carried by Comcast. Every year Filipino families in the U.S. gather food and household items in a Balikbayan box, which is shipped to family and friends in the Philippines. Rouse crafted an offer where potential subs could receive $10 off their box shipment via Forex Cargo if they purchased Pinoy TV. The result was a 10% jump in subscriptions to Pinoy. The cost per subscriber acquisition for Comcast was just $15.65.
Marketing Tactics:
— DTV CAMPAIGN (CHINESE, RUSSIAN, SOUTH ASIAN), COMCAST
It is said that businesses abhor uncertainty. So does the public. Despite numerous PSAs, there was plenty of uncertainty regarding the digital transition. Anxiety was a bit higher in San Francisco Bay ethnic areas, which feature heavy use of rooftop antennas. So Comcast marketer Natalie Rouse aimed bilingual pitches at Chinese, Russian and South Asians, offering $10/month cable or free basic cable for 12 months if a subscriber bought Economy Internet or Digital Voice plus add an international premium network. The result: 3.7% of all California DTV customers also subscribed to an international premium net.
RADIO
— COMCAST CALIFORNIA STAR INDIA PLUS LAUNCH RADIO (SOUTH ASIAN)
For the first time on cable in the US, Comcast introduced STAR India PLUS, the #1 Hindi Network in India. For a 30-second radio spot, marketer Natalie Rouse deployed Indian music and a female Indian announcer to anchor an ad that ran on KBIF in California. The spot touted programs, including dramas and Bollywood movies. A radio spot drove awareness of STAR India PLUS as well as exemplifying Comcast’s commitment to international programming, Rouse says. The piece brought Comcast 2,556 units for STAR India Plus within 70 days of launch. South Asian packages grew 11.7% during the six-week campaign. Cost per unit was $24.61.
Second Place
— TIME WARNER CABLE LOS ANGELES HISPANIC DTV CAMPAIGN
TELEVISION
— TIME WARNER CABLE LOS ANGELES HISPANIC DTV MARKETING
It’s interesting to see the different visuals used by Time Warner Cable Los Angeles for its $9.95/month, call-to-action spot for the digital transition. The English spot was heavy on scenes from Desperate Housewives, baseball, football and boxing. The Spanish-language version emphasized soccer, Spanish-language dramas and films. Both were winners. The English spot spurred more than 2K phone calls in one week; the Spanish version generated and sustained at least 4K calls/week for three straight weeks.
Second Place
— COMCAST CALIFORNIA STAR INDIA PLUS LAUNCH (SOUTH ASIAN)
Network Industry Supplier
CASE STUDIES/CAMPAIGNS
— CNN PRESENTS: BLACK IN AMERICA
The two-month campaign CNN mounted to publicize its summer documentary Black in America was a multi-tiered effort. In addition to traditional radio, print and TV spots designed to drive awareness and tune-in primarily among blacks aged 25-54, CNN reached out to religious leaders in 300 black churches, urging them to spread the word to congregants. CNN also staged a tour of black colleges, allowing students to make videos of their impressions of being black in America. A heavy digital push also was part of the effort, with a dedicated Web site that included video clips that could be shared and outreach to bloggers and non-CNN Web sites. The documentary’s first night ranked as CNN’s most-watched doc, with 2.1 million viewers and nearly 1 million 25-54s. Night 2 brought 2.6 million viewers and 1.2 million 25-54s. Some 80% of the 24-54s for the two nights were African-American.
Second Place (Tie)
— ESPN DEPORTES & TIME WARNER CABLE LOS ANGELES WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC RETAIL CAMPAIGN
— MTV TR3S DREAM QUINCEAÑERA LVOD SWEEPSTAKES
Third Place (Tie)
— BET HONORS 2009
— BET INTERNATIONAL RETAIL PARTNERSHIP WITH FREESAT
— OUR HISTORY MONTH PROMOTION 2009, TV ONE
Marketing Tactics:
DIRECT MAIL
— COMCAST SVOD MOTHER’S DAY CAMPAIGN, AMEREDIA INC.
To bolster awareness of Comcast’s SVOD products, Bollywood Hits on Demand for South Asians and Filipino on Demand for Filipinos, the ad agency and marketing firm Ameredia Inc. developed a pitch centered on Mother’s Day, a holiday revered in both cultures. Colors used were softer pastels, designed to appeal to a female audience. The piece, in English, had the same specs for both products and so could be printed together, which led to cost savings. Targeted were South Asian and Filipino households in Philadelphia and NJ. The campaign produced a high call volume (0.88%) and above-target gain in subscribers (0.52%).
— COMCAST HOLIDAY PROMO FOR FILIPINO ON DEMAND AND BOLLYWOOD HITS ON DEMAND, AMEREDIA INC.
As in the entry above, Ameredia Inc. developed creative for Comcast’s SVOD products Filipino on Demand and Bollywood Hits on Demand. Again a holiday theme prevailed, this time it was Christmas. Appropriately the direct mail pieces offered a gift, a movie DVD, to those who subscribed. The results were favorable response rates of 1.4% and more than 300 new subscriptions for the two SVOD channels.
Second Place
— BANDAMAX HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY, TUTV
Marketing Tactics:
GRASSROOTS
— TELEMUNDO MULTI-MARKET TALENT TOUR
There’s nothing like letting fans see their favorite TV personalities in the flesh to boost ratings. To tout its hit telenovela Sin Senos no hay Paraiso (Without Breasts There’s No Paradise) and generate buzz for the premiere of another novela, El Rostro de Analia (Analia’s Face), Telemundo Network launched a 2-week tour with young, attractive talent. The tour began in NY and continued to LA, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Phoenix. In the end 15 consumer events were hosted in six cities and the crowds responded, averaging 3K-10K per event. Then there were the press conferences, parades, autograph sessions and countless radio interviews. And the ratings? Sin Senos broke records after the tour, averaging nearly 1.2 million 18-49s in October, up 161% over the same time period vs. last year. On October 22, 2008, it delivered 1.375 million 18-49s, a record.
Second Place
— TYLER PERRY’S MEET THE BROWNS, TURNER BROADCASTING INC.
Third Place
— BANDAMAX GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE, TUTV
Marketing Tactics:
RADIO
— STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS DJ AMBASSADOR CAMPAIGN, CARTOON NETWORK
The month-long campaign’s objective was to recruit new viewers, specifically Hispanic and African-American boys, aged 6-14, to the Friday evening premieres of the series on Cartoon Network. Cartoon sought radio DJs in multicultural markets who were fans of the iconic franchise to promote that night’s premiere. DJs were told to emphasize the episode as a family event, that it was must-see TV and that the animation was of the highest quality. To get the radio personalities jazzed, the network supplied DJs with DVDs of the episode and interactive sound bytes. The DJ who garnered the best performance won an iPod Touch. Viewing rose 83% vs. last year with children 6-11.
Second Place
— TYLER PERRY’S MEET THE BROWNS, TURNER BROADCASTING INC
Third Place
— DE PELICULA/CHARTER LATINO EMMANUEL CONCERT SWEEPSTAKES, TUTV
Marketing Tactics:
TELEVISION
— EL PERRO Y EL GATO: JUNTO OTRA VEZ, TOGETHER AGAIN, HBO
HBO’s marketing research showed that its Latino audience was hungry for children’s programming and that its English-speaking audience was looking for ways to expand their children’s cultural horizons and Spanish language skills. El Perro Y El Gato (The Dog and the Cat) was created to fulfill both those needs. A cartoon for pre-schoolers, it appeals to older kids, too.
Second Place
— HABLA YA, HBO
Third Place
— TYLER PERRY’S MEET THE BROWNS, TURNER BROADCASTING INC
Meet-Y Marketing
For a 2nd year, TBS grabs multiple EMMAs for a sitcom that extends the network’s reach into the black community.
In television, nothing succeeds like success. So when Tyler Perry’s House of Payne was a ratings hit for TBS last year, Mr Perry was asked for another series. The result, Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, also became a hit. And like House of Payne, it was the beneficiary of excellent marketing. Another similarity, both House and Meet garnered multiple EMMAs from NAMIC, with House of Payne capturing a record 5 EMMAs last year.
Drawing on its experience with House of Payne, TBS mounted a multi-level campaign for the Browns. To introduce the series to black women 25-49, TBS sponsored a comedy tour with local churches in Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta. The comedians performed for 11K faith-based consumers. Clips of the series also were shown during the performances.
A digital component of the campaign featured homepage skins, video players (with clips from the series) and online reminders about the series’ premiere. Of course it helped that Brown, a character from the series, was pictured bursting through online pages. Out of Home marketing literally drove consumers to the series. Public buses were covered with Browns art, inside and out, and lucky consumers were given free rides on May 27, the evening Meet The Browns premiered to 3.5 million viewers, besting expectations.
Marketing Tactics: All Other Media
1st Place
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, TBS
2nd Place
International Networks Ethnic Holiday Calendar
Marketing Tactics: Internet/New Media
1st Place
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, TBS
2nd Place
HBO Latino ALICE Online Banners
3rd Place
Sunday Best 2009 Auditions, BET Network
Marketing Tactics: Out of Home
1st Place
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, TBS
Marketing Tactics: Print
1st Place
Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, TBS
2nd Place
Comcast Hispanic Print Campaign, CableLatino Genres, Ameredia
