V I D E O • A G E Se p t e m b e r/ Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 9 4 VH1 Wants Ur Txt Msgs AU.S. cable TV network is casting a wider net for audiences through new digital media convergence strategies. Taking this approach to a new level, VH1 recently hatched a scheme fusing inhome and out-of-home interactivity with The Great Debate, a program meant to reach its existing audience and other audiences in new environments (such as nightclubs), while promoting the network. VH1 is the Viacom-owned adult music channel. The program, which first aired last July, centered on irreverent discussions of pop culture topics like Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Rocky vs. Rambo, and Ginger vs. Mary Ann. The Great Debate allowed the audience to express their views on those topics via text messaging through Zoom Media & Marketing’s digital billboards in over 500 nightclub locations in the U.S., Viacom’s 13.56 meter digital screen in New York City’s Times Square, and through such social networking sites as Facebook and Twitter. LocaModa, which specializes in “powering the Web outside,” developed an interactive platform that fused The Great Debate broadcast with social networking features and digital billboards. According to Wendy Weatherford, VH1’s v.p. of Consumer Marketing and Promotion, one of VH1’s principal aims with the multifaceted interactive strategy was to “reach and engage” VH1’s active audience “wherever they’re located,” in light of the multitasking habits of its audience. She noted that the nature of the show lent itself to this kind of interactivity. As such, the multiplatform element “made strategic sense,” and helped satisfy the audience’s strong desire to get involved. Thus, the show’s interactive effort was also designed for brand building purposes. Audience participation for the show was impressive, with over 350,000 total messages generated, according to Steve King, v.p. of Sales for LocaModa. In addition, one percent of the overall messages were mobile, which King deemed “extraordinary.” VH1 devised a special promotion strategy that matched the distinctiveness of the show’s design in order to broaden its audience. A key phase of that campaign involved placing program ads on digital screens at 380 gas stations around the country. VH1 also ran a promotion with Moviefone, an online and phone-based movie guide and ticketing service, inviting callers to watch the program, as well as promoting the program in 20 minor league ballparks. Company officials declined to reveal cost for the project, which include renting the billboards and TV screens and development of the interactive platform. It is also unclear as to whether the project can generate revenue stream on its own, beyond the brand promotion value. (Michael Mascioni) CP Could Be Saved Los Angeles’ city councilmen have voted to approve the motion that would designate the Century Plaza hotel in Century City a historic landmark. For over 40 years, the Century Plaza (CP) has been one of the favorite hotels for international distributors in town to exhibit at the L.A. Screenings. Early this year, the hotel’s owner revealed plans to tear down the curved structure and replace it with two highrise towers. The vote by two councilmen (who make up two-thirds of the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee) is the first step in a monthslong process that is hoped to result in the hotel’s designation as a city historiccultural monument. The city’s planning staff has been directed to compile a list of the hotel’s significant features and present it to the full council. The hotel is owned by Next Century Associates, a partnership between Los Angeles-based real estate investor Michael Rosenfeld and the D.E. Shaw Group. Ken Bernstein, director of the city’s Office of Historic Resources, said his staff would be backing the recommendation that the hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki and opened in 1966, receive the protective designation. (Continued on Page 6)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5