Cable Marketing: The Jugular Perspective

Marketing Ingenuity: A Website for Mocking Hit Bravo Shows Brought To You by Bravo.

2009-02-02T22:57:00.033-05:00

Normally you don’t see networks providing a place for fans to publically rant about the channel’s programs (fan forums on most networks’ official websites are, whether they want to admit it or not, heavily monitored and controlled). Nor do most networks have websites devoted to recapping and promoting the hottest shows from their rival stations. But for Bravo, owning a site that lets fans mock Tim Gunn while exalting the talent and dashing good looks of Ryan Seacrest actually works. Even when users are saying things like “I am not yet convinced that she actually has a personality,” and “I want to give the woman a Red Bull or four so she'll talk faster,” in reference to Padma, the host of Bravo’s hit series “Top Chef,” the website surprisingly still fits into their overall marketing plan.

In 2007, Bravo, the home of “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style” and “The Real Housewives of (Insert City Here)” bought the website www.televisionwithoutpity.com, a popular hub for television enthusiasts which features recaps, interviews, articles, and fan forums among other things. Even I, someone who doesn’t have any sort of cable subscription (I guess I’m part of Daisy Whitney’s Cable-Free Army, eh?) really love poking around on it from time to time. It keeps me updated on all those shows I wish I had time to watch and I can stay afloat with the ever-changing relationship of Blair and Nate from the CW’s Gossip Girl.

So why is Bravo is providing me with all this information about shows on rival networks? Aren’t they just driving me to go watch these other shows instead of watching Bravo? Well, in my opinion, what initially seems like a weird move for a cable network owned by General Electric is actually a brilliant marketing move. For one thing, Bravo’s ownership of TWoP proves that Bravo Execs have some serious confidence in their original programming and that it can stand up to all the hits on other networks.

But beyond that, Bravo actually gains a number of things by owning TWoP. Bravo is a network targeted to those 18-45 year olds that love all things pop-culture and what is more a part of pop-culture than popular TV shows? TWoP, above all else, furthers the network’s brand image. Those lovers of all things television come to the website and realize that Bravo understands them. Bravo is giving them a place to air their grievances about all kinds of different shows and a central point to read about every popular show currently running, building brand equity with its core viewers. TWoP also unlocks a world of information for the Execs at Bravo. This is their primary target audience and by having users create a profile (something you have to do to post in the forums) which tells their age, sex, location, interests, and even television viewing habits, their core viewers are essentially providing the network with better market research than they could go out and buy. They get to see what people are posting about, what people aren’t positing about, and who each and every one of those posters are. Television Without Pity is a great addition to Bravo’s online holdings and a great marketing tool for the network (and, a pretty great website if I do say so myself).

Oh yeah, and apparently you get some ad revenues as well when you run and own a popular website... something I’m sure Bravo doesn’t mind either.

Preston Hershorn
University of Pennsylvania

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Who's Heard of Hulu Now?

2009-02-02T22:41:00.007-05:00

One of the most anticipated ads in this year’s SuperBowl was the Hulu spot because it’s a big deal for a new media company to be peddling its services in the most coveted ad time of the year. Sure, Hulu probably got a reduced rate because of its little corporate connection to NBC, which carried the game.

But let’s give it up for Hulu. That was a damn funny ad. Of course, it’s hard to go wrong when Alec Baldwin is the one on screen pitching your TV-on-the-Web proposition. He’s always good for a little diabolical twist and the ad had its share of diabolical twists. After all – no one is really going to turn off BOTH the TV and the computer so Hulu’s kind of got you there.

Anyway, the question now is whether this ad finally tilts Hulu into mainstream adoption. Time will tell, but the ad should give the site a big bump in one fell swoop.

According to Solutions Research Group, awareness of Hulu among online Americans registered at 15% in July 2008 and rose to 24% just four months later. The research firm predicted awareness would jump to 40% after the SuperBowl ad.

Daisy Whitney
California

Photographs/Images of HBO's Big Love New York City 2009 Billboard and Poster Ad Campaign.

2009-01-11T22:51:00.063-05:00

I love the HBO Series, Big Love which has a third season premiere at 9 PM on Sunday January 18th. Like Rome and House of Sadaam (two of many), Big Love is one of the dark horses in the HBO stable that I wish more people would watch. Don't be put off by a show about polygamy...it's a captivating account of the clash between the modern and the fundamentalist traditions of the Mormon church. But we're not here to do plot summaries, but marketing and advertising. To see plot summaries, characters and a terrific family tree, take a look at this Wikipedia entry on Big Love.

From a marketing and advertising perspective, first up is this rock-and-roll 4:30 minute whirlwind summary of the first two seasons produced by HBO. Please do not skip this video. If you can watch this without at least tuning in to give the show a try, I'll be very disappointed in you.

HBO is also putting together a major outdoor campaign in the New York City (and LA) market. This campaign really has two objectives. Reintroduce "Big Love" to past viewers and reignite their enthusiasm. But clearly this is not just an attempt to reintroduce the show after a long hiatus from the writer's strike (the last show was in August of 2007), but also an attempt to entirely relaunch the show to a whole new group of viewers.

HBO's pantheon has changed since Big Love was first launched. The Sopranos franchise no longer rules with an iron hand. Now there are now at least three or four shows to promote (and more new ones coming in the coming months): Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, and Big Love. And then there's HBO's tremendous mini series programming like John Adams, Grey Gardens (coming this spring according to Drew Barrymore at The Golden Globes, and
Manhunt, based on the book by James L. Swanson about John WIlkes' Booth's flight after Lincoln's assasination.

So...HBO and Big Love has stormed Manhattan. Take a look at this Manhattan outdoor. It's hardworking: picturing key cast members and, in some wild postings, identifying the characters by name, something rarely done in television advertising.

Then, there's a unique Times Square campaign, running underground rather than in Times Square above ground where, like gladiators in the Roman Colosseum, outdoor spectaculars duke it out for eyeballs and mind share like this billboard takeover from Pepsi. So, HBO has bought precisely 42 posters running side by side in the tunnel that runs between 42nd Street Times Square and The Port Authority Bus Terminal. Are the 42 posters a subtle tie into the 42nd St and Times Square station? Or am I over-reaching?

The posters are unique because you can plug headphones into the people portrayed on the poster and listen to their secrets, an allusion to the governing story line that HBO is focusing on in positioning Big Love as a show about "secrets." (That association is a bit vague for my taste in this advertising). It's all good fun, provided the technology works, there's room in rush hour to plug in, and the link to the "secrets" in the show is clear.

Beyond all this I was approached this morning by a man wearing a huge thought bubble above his head. It said "I think I'm ugly." He looked ridiculous. But he was impossible to miss. I walked up to him and said "Could I get the Big Love handout?"

Tomorrow's going to be damned cold. Wonder what will be happening in the land of Big Love promotion?

Scott Lackey
New York, New York

All original photos by Jugular Advertising.

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Nip/Tuck Advertising for 2009 Season on FX Networks.

2009-01-07T23:43:00.032-05:00

As you may have seen last night, Nip/Tuck is back big time with a tremendous episode that started fast out of the gate and never slowed down. But...no spoilers here.

Instead...we'd like to focus on the absolutely remarkable Busby Berkeley spot (sorry about the quality...FX please post a higher quality version and we'll replace this one). Adding Kanye West to the kalaidescopic chorus of plastic surgery girls just makes it even more outrageous and attention getting.

Take a look at this shot of typical Busby Berkeley choreography and you'll see the inspiration for the Nip/Tuck spot.

Here's how the imagery was carried out on bus sides in New York. Equally provocative.

It's going to be a great season.

Scott Lackey/New York, NY

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Social Network Etiquette and TV: Twitter Meets 24 & Kiefer Sutherland. As Told by Daisy Whitney.

2008-12-13T01:26:00.040-05:00

Twitter met 24 and Kiefer Sutherland. And Twitter won. A few weeks ago I had just finished watching the movie length version of 24 and then, without much forethought, went to Twitter and asked people what they thought (forgetting that the West Coast feed had yet to begin). I was immediately silenced by Twitter fans who did not want, quite appropriately, me to spoil any element of the broadcast. I sent a tweet to Daisy Whitney, a TVWeek writer and contributor to this blog, and asked for her opinion. She spoke to me (and many others)...and it was all downhill from there.

Scott Lackey
NY, NY

Reproduced from TVWeek 12/7/08.

Column: A Novel Netiquette Solution to Spoilers
By Daisy Whitney

Am I allowed to mention that Izzie is having sex with Denny on “Grey’s Anatomy?”

It’s not the sex part I’m worried about. What I’m wondering is—is it OK to “spoil” that she did it with a dead guy more than two weeks ago?

I’m guessing that “more than two weeks” probably falls outside the spoilers statute of limitations, even in our digital video recorder and time-shifted world.

But what is the acceptable grace period? How long must we sit mute before we blog, Twitter or post Facebook updates on the cliffhanger or resolution in a new episode of a television series? In this hyper-connected social media world where our friends and our followers see our status updates about watching Meredith die—oops, she’s alive again—what is the netiquette for revealing the ending?

(Disclaimer: The Meredith dying episode ran two years ago on “Grey’s Anatomy.”)

I ask because some social media participants have been chided for even inquiring about a show. When advertising executive Scott Lackey posted a Twitter message on Nov. 23 asking only if anyone else had seen the movie version of “24” that ran that night, he was immediately rebuked by Twitter followers, who told him, “Don’t say anything, I am TiVo-ing it.”

As the co-founder and strategic director of Jugular Advertising in New York, Mr. Lackey wants television viewers to talk freely about shows they are watching. “Water-cooler talk is great and this is a living water cooler,” he said.

But at the same time, we should be sensitive to the wide range of viewing habits, shouldn’t we?

I surveyed my Twitter friends last week about when to share spoilers, and the responses ranged from after the West Coast feed ends to 48 hours, one week and maybe not at all. (You can tick off friends in foreign countries who often can’t see United States shows for six months or longer after they air here by talking about plot points.)

Even if you put “spoiler alert” on a Twitter message or a Facebook post, our gaze will see the whole post anyway, meaning we can’t hide from a message, said Barak Kassar, founding director for marketing communications agency Rassak.

For reader survey, click here
TVWeek 12/7/08.

So does common courtesy dictate that pop culture is verboten on social forums? That has its own risks, Mr. Lackey said. “It really hurts the medium if there become unspoken rules of ‘You can’t comment’ because it takes entertainment off the table, it takes premieres off the table, it takes television off the table, it takes sports off the table,” Mr. Lackey said.

On the other hand, maybe we need to accept the consequences of hearing about an ending before we see a show if we choose to engage in social media. If you don’t want to know if Vince gets the role on “Entourage,” or if Pam comes back to Scranton on “The Office” or if Izzie really does have a brain tumor (that is purely speculation at this point and NOT a spoiler) then maybe you should stay off Twitter, Facebook and other blogs.

But there’s another option. Maybe even a better one.

You can find a real person to talk to, said David Wheeler, a psychology professor at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. “Being able to talk to a buddy about TV shows will let you not share spoilers on Twitter.”

A buddy.

I like that idea.

Join Daisy Whitney's Cable-Free Army.

2008-12-09T17:21:00.026-05:00

You know how when you start something new you want to reinforce the purchase by having EVERYONE ELSE YOU POSSIBLY CAN join you? Well, I kind of feel that way about ditching cable. You see, I gave it up two months ago. The reason? To test the untethered lifestyle for my TVWeek.com weekly column. I decided to do this because more consumers are cutting the cord and flying free, going without cable and satellite programming. To live the broadband-powered life, you need a combination of Apple TV, Hulu, maybe a little Boxee, Netflix and, in a perfect world, the Xbox. With this combination, plus a little elbow grease, persistence and rebellious nature, you’ll enjoy the benefits of saving $100, plus or minus, a month. The drawbacks are a little more hunting and pecking, so to speak, when you want to watch something. Oh, and you have to pretend too. For instance, I pretend Grey’s Anatomy premieres new episodes on Fridays now because that’s when the Thursday night episode posts on ABC.com. Anyway, the point is – the water’s nice, won’t you come join me? Because my dream for 2009 is to amass an army of fellow cord-cutters, of daring early adopters who are ready to take the plunge and swim in these cable-free waters with me.

Daisy Whitney
California

Welcome Daisy Whitney. My guess, based on everything I know, is that we could be hearing more about going cable-free, and Grey's Anatomy, in future posts. And much, much more. Scott Lackey, Cable Marketing

And...Here's Daisy Whitney, Noted Television Reporter Joins the Group Blogging Crew.

2008-12-09T17:05:00.017-05:00

We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that noted multimedia authority, Daisy Whitney, has agreed to become a guest blogger for Cable Marketing.

If you’re unfamiliar with Daisy…here’s why you’ll want to sign up for our RSS feed so you don’t miss her incisive commentary on the business. She’s smart and she’s fun; you’ll enjoy reading her.

Take a look at her profile to get to know Daisy a bit better:

About Daisy

Daisy Whitney specializes in covering Internet video, social networking, YouTube, iTunes and other forms of online and new media distribution of content. As a multimedia reporter she is one of the first journalists to launch her own online newscast that covers the business of Internet video. Her work is regularly read and watched by executives across the television, cable, advertising and Internet businesses.

She has written for a number of publications including TelevisionWeek, Advertising Age, Shape, Business 2.0 and The Denver Post.

She is currently TelevisionWeek’s new media reporter, extensively covering broadband video, iTunes, online television, consumer-generated media, interactive television, video-on-demand and mobile programming. She also contributes on-air reports to “Tech Now” a program produced by NBC’s KNTV in San Francisco. Daisy is also the host and creator of the Webcast “New Media Minute,” carried at www.TVWeek.com, on ABCNews.com, and on Jugular Advertising’s The New Advertising blog . She is also the host of the audio podcast “This Week in Media”.

In addition, Daisy writes regularly for Advertising Age, OMMA and Media covering trends in television, online and advertising.

As an expert on new media technology, Daisy has appeared on CNN’s Showbiz Tonight, CNBC’s Closing Bell and G4’s Attack of the Show. She has also been interviewed by NPR and the Wall Street Journal. Daisy consults on new media and is a frequent moderator for industry panels at conferences such as the Consumer Electronics Show, the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Association of Television Programming Executives.

Her freelance articles have appeared in Canada’s The Globe and Mail, Miami Herald, New Media Age, Extra Extra, Multichannel News, Natural Health and Consumers Digest.

Daisy writes commercial women’s fiction with a modern and hip edge to her characters and dialogue.

Daisy graduated from Brown University in 1994 with a degree in art history.

Look for Daisy's first Cable Marketing post later this week. Her "New Media Minute" is distributed weekly on our The New Advertising blog.

Fox Advertising And Marketing for The O'Reilly Factor and The New Fox Business Channel.

2008-11-22T13:43:00.025-05:00

Huge, I mean huge, outdoor posters went up right before Thanksgiving across from the main entrance to Penn Station and Madison Square Garden in the New York City. Although they bookend each other, they couldn't be more different--and they illustrate the dualistic nature of cable advertising in the city. The O'Reilly Factor ad, filled with ratings and stats appeals to the media buyers out there who determine who goes on the schedule and who doesn't. They love numbers. Strangely, Bill O'Reilly does too. About once a week he reviews his ratings successes, always comparing them to NBC (although Keith Olbermann is no longer mentioned by name...why give the competition shout outs?).

The Fox Business Network is introductory (which launched 10/15/08). More consumer-targeted it works to build awareness while taking a swing (without naming names) at CNBC with the positioning that Fox Business is "Information Not Fear." Take that Jim Cramer...the man who has taken all sorts of blame for toppling the financial markets. The entire cast of Fox characters, are Photoshopped together (again at last). The problem I have is that I think, aside from Neil Cavuto, they're not recognizable. Including Dagen MacDowell. It's a tough task to compete for recognition given CNBC's entrenched lineup with Maria Bartiromo, Jim Cramer, Suzie Orman and even Erin Burnett (a smart, big time rising star now being burnished by frequent "Meet the Press" appearances).

More new Fox personalities have arrived...including Alexis Glick from Today and Liz Claman from CNBC (called Fox's anti-Bartiromo). And...we'll definitely see more players to be named later. And whether the all-too-familiar bad blood between MSNB and Fox News cable shows will emerge in the world of business?

Where does this leaves Bloomberg? Should be interesting. We'll see what Andy Lack does now that he's been there about a month.

Returning to marketing and advertising. OK...these posters are big and hard to miss...but I'd love to see a news network do some concept advertising in addition to Photoshopped news personalities. There's opportunity in them thar hills.

Scott Lackey
New York, New York

A&E Advertising "Manhunters" & Bravo Promoting "Top Chef" in New York City Outdoor

2008-11-14T20:56:00.021-05:00

A&E is advertising "Manhunters" and Bravo is promoting "Top Chef" at telephone kiosks. They stand on opposite sides of Broadway and 37th St. (taken today with our i phone)--although the shows couldn't be more different.

The "Manhunters" poster is perfectly located three blocks from the Empire State Building...about the same distance as that Empire-State-looking building in the background. "Manhunters" is a new reality show about agents, mandated after 9/11, to work across federal, state and local agencies to track down the NYC really bad and the ugly. Guns like that look pretty damned serious. Starts Tues Dec. 12th at 10 ET/PT. The poster line "Welcome to the jungle" in that location is, well, ironic?

Love the positioning of the knife in Bravo's poster for "Top Chef", which premiered this Wednesday (10 ET) and focused on the ethnic food found in NY's diverse negthborhoods. The show has now come to New York. If you haven't watched, it looks like a horror cooking show. Or, quite literally, cut throat chefs. That's what I imagine. Fun.

I'll tune in.

We'll be out shooting more ads. Now, LA, you don't even need to come to town to see NYC ads for your shows.

Scott Lackey
New York, New York

Internet TV and College Students: How To Get Your TV Fix Without Leaving the Library

2008-11-09T17:12:00.043-05:00

So, it’s a Sunday night and the computer lab is packed with kids mesmerized by their computer screens, their eyes glazed over from staring at the same document for hours. One would expect that “America’s future” would be plugging away diligently at their term paper, but it’s not the case. As I pass by the line of computers, YouTube, Hulu and other sites that stream online videos are ubiquitous while homework remains minimized.

So why is it that so many students choose to procrastinate by watching videos online? And why the library of all places? After thinking about it for awhile, it came to me: Watching TV on a computer in the library, in an “attempt” to do work allows one to guiltlessly catch up on the TV shows or other videos you have missed all week. Actually getting yourself out of your dorm room and into the library has to count for something, right?

The popularity of watching TV online is growing as students, as well as employees are forced to sit in front of computer screens for hours at a time. People actually spend 50% of their waking hours in front of the computer, and only 10-20% in front of the TV. Therefore, many online video streaming websites have brilliantly combined computer use and TV watching into one dynamic concept: online video streaming that offers the same quality TV content on demand.

Websites such as Hulu and Joost offer on-demand, high quality videos, full episodes of TV shows, and even full length movies all for FREE. How do they do it? Advertising of course. Throughout each segment you watch, the viewer must sit thorough several short commercials that last about 30 seconds. Not a bad deal since traditional TV commercial pods last several minutes. Hulu even has a sidebar on the video screen that allows the viewer to rate the ad by giving it a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down.” Joost also serves additional interactive advertisements via overlays and short pop-ups that are clickable.

Given the nature of this blog, I guess the better question is this: How can these cable TV companies capitalize upon the growing popularity of online TV broadcasting instead of being replaced by it?

A lot of cable TV networks have taken advantage of the popularity of online TV. Hulu is NBC Universal and New Corporation’s online video joint venture, and it features a multitude of other cable programs. Joost is said to be in negotiations with Fox, CBS, and Viacom.

An upcoming online TV streaming service called TidalTV is currently still in beta testing, but could prove to be a force to be reckoned with in the online TV world. It is very similar to Hulu and Joost but it replicates the feeling of TV, especially with its TV broadcasting guide that appears on the home screen. TidalTV, like regular TV, broadcasts different segments at certain times but also allows the viewer to watch TV on demand. Already receiving approximately 555,000 unique monthly visitors, TidalTV allows cable TV networks to broadcast episodes that are featured on cable, as well as individualized segments. One of the features I find interesting about TidalTV is that it offers a variety of instructional channels that cater to one’s specific interests, such as food, travel, fitness and fashion. These interest-specific channels seem to be lost in sites such as Joost and Hulu.

Cable TV companies could use these interest-specific channels to brand themselves in a unique fashion. By uploading different segments on their TidalTV channel, cable companies can target people with specific interests in an effort to create a more dynamic audience.

Well, I just realized I missed the newest episode of The Daily Show last night. I guess it’s time to get to work.

Katie Milot
Lafayette College
Easton, Pennsylvania

Heidi Montag and Pete Wentz Videos for MTV: Music Video Still Exists on FNMTV

2008-10-28T22:00:00.017-04:00

Well I wrote some months ago about MTV’s attempt to return to music television and then, a few days ago, found these promos (which I never actually caught on TV) for FNMTV, MTV’s Friday night music show that sandwiches video premieres between live performances. There's a series of nine spots and instead of trying to subtly steer the MTV brand, they just blatantly point out MTV’s attempt to do what I talked about in my last post, bring the M(usic) back to MTV. More than half of the spots feature Heidi and Spencer from one of MTV’s most successful shows, “The Hills” mocking the networks move to nearly exclusively reality programming. In one of the spots, Pete Wentz (lead singer of Fall Out Boy, hubby of Ashlee Simpson, and host of FNMTV) actually makes direct reference to the program’s attempt to help the network rebrand, stating the show is “bringing MTV back to what it was.”

In another, Heidi wryly comments to Wentz that “I didn’t know music videos still existed.” But the real kicker for me is this: Pete actually refers to the network, not as MTV, but as Music Television, something I haven’t heard from them in a while. Maybe with all this promotion, FNMTV when it returns in November in the post-TRL era, really will be able to bring the cable channel closer to where it started… as the first network for music.

Preston Hershorn
Philadelphia

New John Wilkes Booth HBO History Miniseries Based on 'Manhunt" by James L. Swanson.

2008-09-30T00:29:00.032-04:00

Two weeks ago HBO announced that David Simon (The Wire) and Tom Fontana (Oz) have been signed to write and produce a new historical miniseries. It’s based on James L. Swanson’s non-fiction bestseller about John Wilkes Booth’s flight after Lincoln’s assassination, "Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Abraham Lincoln’s Killer." Now, given the magnetic topic, a perfect vehicle for Simon and Fontana, and HBO’s recent triumph with "John Adams" we have something to really look forward to.

But, ultimately, what will we see? Simon and Fontana have suggested that they’ll tell the story through the minor characters. That proposition was intriguing, so I sat down and read Swanson’s "Manhunt" to see how well the portraits of the peripheral characters were drawn. The resounding verdict is that a "Manhunt" miniseries will be magnificent. Simon and Fontana have had so much experience and success with big casts in complex dramas (especially with lesser know actors who have remarkable real life credibility)--they'll knock this out of the park.

I’ve picked eight of my favorite characters to briefly describe so you can see how this “tell the story through the peripheral characters" might work.

Doctor Charles Leale: An Army surgeon sitting in the dress circle at Ford's Theater, who as the first physician to the scene, by default becomes Lincoln’s physician. The heroic Leale, through a quick diagnosis, CPR and removing blood clots from Lincoln’s brain extends the never-to-return-to-consciousness President’s life by seven unbelievable hours.

Laura Keene: The actress starring in the performance of the mediocre play “An American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater that auspicious night. Keene recognizes the theatrical tableaux emerging in Lincoln’s box, and the opportunity to be immortal. She rushes to President Lincoln to cradle his head and her dress becomes soaked with blood.

Lewis Powell: A rabid Booth co-conspirator. Commissioned by the master planner Booth, Powell is sent to kill Secretary of State William H. Seward. Powell leaves a bloodbath but fails due to the remarkable resistance from Seward’s family and servants. Booth's larger plot is unfulfilled.

David Herold: Another young and naive Booth co-conspirator who follows the Lincoln assassin to the bitter end because of his Booth idolatry and hero-worship. Despite any true involvement in the plot or political interest whatsoever (even though he ultimately hangs for his sins), he just wants to be around Booth around the clock.

William Stanton: Lincoln’s Secretary of War and Director of the manhunt...Stanton witnesses Lincoln’s death in a boarding house and then remains there alone weeping over his corpse before commanding soldiers to wrap the naked Lincoln in an American flag and transport the late President to the White House in a pine box for an completely unnecessary autopsy. Vivid stuff, very vivid.

Thomas Jones: Noted member of the Confederate Secret Service and southward Underground Railroad conductor who hides Booth and Herold in a pine thicket for five days while the entire world searches. Jones rides out from his Huckleberry Hill farm (pictured below) to bring Booth newspapers every morning so he can read what he, as an actor through and through, sees as his dramatic reviews of Lincoln's assassination.

The Garrett Brothers: Sly farmers at the last stop of the chase who, ironically, lock Booth & Herold in the barn behind the house below to prevent them from stealing their horses. This fortuitously imprisons Booth and Herold in a trap from which they can’t escape. Herold surrenders. Booth is burned out and then shot as he attempts his last stand.

That's just the beginning. I could have discussed 20 more minor characters. Just to reemphasize the big picture. This is great screenplay material filled with vivid portraits of the secondary players who will lend remarkable color and interest to the piece.

More on marketing the "Manhunt" miniseries (oh…but for a new name to start with) in my next post, but just consider the above snapshots as a series of 30 second TV promos. And that’s just the beginning. This is an unbelievable marketing opportunity too.

Scott Lackey
New York, New York

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": A Marketing and Advertising Proposal for FX.

2008-09-15T23:06:00.021-04:00

Oh what a difference 90 miles can make. After spending a summer in NYC, I have grown to expect (and love...man what a summer in the industry can do for your taste) advertisements for everything, everywhere. This is especially true in terms of billboards, wallscapes, and other various outdoor installation's for fall TV programming. 90210 in the subway. TruBlood as I leave Manhattan via the Lincoln. Gossip Girl in Times Square. Sons of Anarchy on every bus in the city. Discovery Channel’s Shark Week on every bus stop in the city. The list goes on and on.

But now I’m back in Philly, the birthplace of America and the sixth largest city in the US and how many outdoor displays do I see for these shows...next to none. Aside from a few 90210 boards on the side of buses, there’s not much around here. It really took living in and then leaving NYC just to appreciate the amount of space dedicated to outdoor throughout Manhattan (and Brooklyn). Here in the City of Brotherly Love, for better or for worse, there’s just not that much creative use of free space... a sharp contrast to the ingenuity of advertisers looking to create noise in the Big Apple.

All around Philly there are great blank walls and sites that look like they are just waiting for ads. Sure, by advertising here in Philadelphia, networks aren’t able to target both viewers and advertisers like they can in NYC, but they would still be able to reach a lot of people who watch a lot of television. I bet you a billboard for the FX comedy "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" would be more effective here than anywhere else in the country yet I’ve failed to see one. I was hoping to see tons of promotions and billboards for the show when I got back to campus (which is actually pretty darn good) as it’s essentially set in my backyard, but all that’s happened is one campus PR event. A huge push on the campuses around Philly could get college kids (a lucrative demographic) talking about Sunny and slowly it would start moving to other students in other cities. Stage a guerrilla event in Philly to publicize Sunny across the country? And maybe an ad or two around the city might help out as well? Just check out a few spaces (above & below) that could be filled with ads for it, or anything for that matter, located right on my walk to campus every morning:

Preston Herschorn
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
9/15/08

MTV Promotion: A Return to Music Television

2008-08-26T12:14:00.020-04:00

In recent years, MTV has been taking more and more flack as they turn their programming from music videos to reality TV shows (a programming move that absolutely makes sense given the broad availability of music videos on YouTube). Music programming and artist development have taken a backseat to California “real life” high school drama and rich girls’ extravagant birthday parties.

However, in the past year or so, it seems as though MTV has been trying to move back to the forefront of promoting new artists, creating fresh shows and venues to preview artists on the rise… something that wasn’t necessarily happening on shows like “Next” and “Date My Mom”. Their “Artist of the Week” promos regularly give new artists (Santogold, Kate Nash, Minus the Bear) brief but constant exposure via a set of 30-second clips shown between MTV’s reality based programming (some of my favorites have been this one for Santogold featuring the rip-off band Santosilver as well as the entire series of Cobra Starship “Viva la Cobra!” clips).

These ads work two-fold as they promote artists on the rise while also reinforcing MTV as a music network (notice where the promos suggest you head at the end to check out the artists… ah yes, mtv.com). The way these original clips have been created makes them just as much ads for the network as they are for the artist, subtly reinforcing the witty, irreverent, young, coolness of the MTV brand. Even their current network promos which aren’t part of the “Artist of the Week” series have recently been featuring music from up-and-coming bands, giving the network that “Oh Wow, MTV was using this song long before it was cool…they must be on the forefront of music” factor.

Beyond all these promo spots, MTV has started doing a “songs from the show” segment during the credits of their reality TV programs, further attempting to solidify MTV as a brand based not just around youth culture but also around… dare I say it… music. Add to that the new series FNMTV and maybe, just maybe MTV will become, or at least once again seem like it really is, Music Television.

Preston Hershorn

History Channel Programming: Where Have You Gone Joe Dimaggio?

2008-08-25T17:13:00.026-04:00

As a fanatical American History buff from age 4, I distinctly remember the moment when I could now watch 24 hours of the History Channel.

After each commercial break, my girlfriend would return to find me with the remote flicking back and forth between her Valerie Bertinelli movie and my Civil War weaponry program. (AHEM, we know which one was more interesting!)

When it became obvious that she was not my historical counterpart, I found myself watching late night programming about the landing at Normandy or Hitler’s final days when I should have been sleeping. “I’ll come to bed right after the Russians burn the body, honey!” (not that she understood that) But ahhh, those were great times as a viewer. However, they are history as well.

Sadly, I don’t find myself watching the History Channel as much. My seemingly repetitive WWII programming has been replaced by reality shows about arctic truckers and lumberjacks and dinosaurs. And as if nothing is sacred, they even took away the words “The” and “Channel.” As a marketer, I fully understand why they’re blurring the programming lines and bringing in reality shows which others seem to love (to record ratings, I might add)…but I miss my American Presidents, my tear-jerker veterans’ interviews, and the repeated discussions about General Longstreet’s alleged insubordination.

What about merging the shows? “See the Ice Road Truckers fighting with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy…hosted by Sen. Bob Dole & Big Bear Swenson?” More seriously, can they create a History Channel 2 that still shows neverending war footage and old talkies of Calvin Coolidge? (historical humor there). Can they afford original programming like HBO’s “John Adams?”

There’s an obvious reason my channel has been given a facelift: more viewership. And despite my love for all things Presidential and war-like, driving a cold-weather 16-wheeler is seemingly bringing in more advertising dollars. Which begs the question, what about the diehard history fans? Are we not as powerful a segment as I’d like to believe? And, if so, do we just find our history elsewhere? Do we slink back to our 27-disk DVD sets about Minesweepers of the South Pacific and Shelby Foote novels? For now, History (no “The” and no “Channel”) is evolving. Perhaps I need to as well.

Jeff Griffith

Welcome to Cable Marketing: The Jugular Perspective

2008-08-25T16:15:00.011-04:00

Why a new blog on cable? Because no one out there focuses exclusively on the rapidly evolving world of cable marketing. We will. This is a group blog, written by different authors, offering a range of different perspectives. Who can you look forward to reading?

Jeff Griffith, the Creative Director of Jugular Advertising whose interests range from the Civil War to popular culture.

Preston Hershorn, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, who will bring the soft lens of a college student to the mix.

And me, Scott Lackey, the Strategic Director of Jugular Advertising. I’ll serve as an annoying editor and contributor, pushing for originality and evenhandness.

Guest contributors will come and go...bringing a fresh perspective to our little world here (want to volunteer, email me at slackey@jugularnyc.com).

So take a look at our first two entries…one on History (the cable channel) marketing by Jeff Griffith. And another post by Preston Hershorn (part 1 in a series looking at where MTV marketing has been and where it’s going). I’ll follow with a look at Marshall McLuhan 41 years after the Medium is the Message (yes, yes…for you loyalists out there I’ll reread the book).

Now… ladies and gentlemen…start your engines.

Scott Lackey