Promo - September 2008 - (Page 6)

www.promomagazine.com A Penton Media publication EDITORIAL PROMO Executive Editor Patricia Odell Senior Editor Amy Johannes Reporter Richard Tedesco Patricia Odell / E xe cutive Editor Editor’s note Editor-at-Large, Promo and Direct Brian Quinton DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Jed Davis ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Bryan Benjamin bryan.benjamin@penton.com Dir. of Mktg. Services/Classiﬁed Alan Steen alan.steen@penton.com Selling Out Resource Sales Associate Cynthia Foristel cynthia.foristel@penton.com Resource Sales Associate Karen Putrimas karen.putrimas@penton.com News program exchanges integrity for cup of coffee Online Sales Development Director Rob Shore rob.shore@penton.com Production Manager Brenda Wiley brenda.wiley@penton.com Classiﬁed Production Coordinator Lindsey Sutton lindsey.sutton@penton.com P E N TO N M A R K E T I N G M E D I A S T R AT E G I E S For McDonald’s, it was a true breakthrough: a deal to place its product—cups of (fake) iced coffee—in a place that had been strictly off limits: front and center on the anchor desks of a live daily morning news program. It’s “innovative” and “really creative,” McDonald’s spokesperson Danya Proud says. For KVVU, the Las Vegas TV station, a Fox affiliate owned by Meredith Corp., it was a deathblow to its journalistic integrity and raised the very real specter that such agreements could spread to other serious news gathering enterprises. If Meredith had been flush with cash when approached about the placement, McDonald’s and its agency, Karsh and Hagen, would likely have been laughed out of the newsroom. But it was not. Meredith, like many other ad-supported businesses, has seen its sales plummet. Revenue for the year dropped 10%, to $385.2 million from $428.5 million one year ago. Broadcasting revenue was down 8.6% and magazine pages declined 20%. Fourth-quarter profit plunged 63%. To right this listing ship, Meredith is executing a plan that includes—here’s where the product placement deal comes in—diversifying its revenue streams, many of which are not dependent on traditional advertising. When asked if the placement deal, reportedly the first on a news program, was driven by the company’s financial state, Paul Karpowicz, the president of the Meredith Broadcast Group, says, “Not completely.” “It’s not as if we said, ‘Oh, gosh, the economy is bad; we’re going to open up different platforms,’ ” he says. “It’s our responsibility to continue to look for creative ways to serve our advertisers without jeopardizing or diminishing the high standards we have always had as it relates to our news content. In this case, I believe we have not crossed the line.” Karpowicz reasoned that the broadcast, “Fox Five News: Live in Las Vegas,” which airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., wasn’t really a news program, but rather “more of a lifestyle show with more features.” But the word “news” appears in the name of the show, which might lead regular-thinking people to believe it’s a news program. “That’s true,” he says. Over the years, marketers have worked hard to seek out creative, innovative product placement deals that have delivered enormous exposure and success for some brands. But news desks should be off limits. The McDonald’s arrangement has exposed a vulnerability that led at least one news outlet to lower its standards. That means these enterprises have to take an P even stiffer stance to protect the honor of both their journalists and journalism. l 6 Senior Vice President, Penton Media Financial Services and Marketing Group Warren N. Bimblick Publisher Leslie Bacon Group Editorial Director Ray Schultz Group Copy Chief Charles Vietri Group Research Editor Richard H. Levey Audience Marketing Manager Seth Olson Show Director Angela Eastin READER INFO Editorial e-mailbox: promo.mag@penton.com Subscriber Service: (866)505-7173 (toll-free in the U.S.); (847)763-9504 (for calls originating outside the U.S.) Reprints: reprints@pentonreprints.com or (888)858-8851 List Rental: Marie.Briganti@walterkarl.infousa.com or (845)732-7054 EDITORIAL OFFICES 11 Riverbend Drive South Stamford, CT 06907-0225 Phone (203) 358-9900 Fax (203) 358-5834 ADVERTISING 249 West 17th Street New York, NY 10011-5300 Phone (212) 462-3580 Fax: (212) 683-4572 Chief Executive Oﬃcer John French john.french@penton.com Chief Revenue Oﬃcer Darrell Denny darrell.denny@penton.com Vice President, General Counsel Elise Zealand elise.zealand@penton.com Reprints: Contact Penton Reprints (www.pentonreprints .com) to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in PROMO at (888) 858-8851 or reprints@pentonreprints.com. Instant reprints and permissions may be purchased directly from our Web site; look for the iCopyright tag appended to the end of each online article. Portions of our magazine subscriber lists are available to carefully screened companies that oﬀer products and services directly related to the industries we cover. Any subscriber who does not want to receive mailings from third-party companies should contact the subscriber service department at (800) 441-0294 (USA), or (913) 967-1707 (outside USA). ©2008 Penton Media. All Rights Reserved September 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com http://www.promomagazine.com http://www.penton.com http://www.pentonreprints http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - September 2008

Promo - September 2008 Contents Editor's Note Consumer Driven Magic Makeover Free Flight Legal Checkup Lasting Impressions Pop A Shop Commentary Squeezed Q&A: Eco-Friendly Champagne Tastes Safety First Resource Center The Agency Center Web Marketing 101 Index of Advertisers

Promo - September 2008

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