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cross-media synergies
TV show, then a CD, now a Cartoonnetwork video
By Kevin Downey
When AOL Time Warner came together in a $106 billion media merger in January, perhaps the last thing media buyers were thinking about was the made-for-TV singing group Eden’s Crush.
But the teen-oriented girl group is the latest example of the media giant’s potential to promote an advertiser’s brand across a wide array of media types.
Cartoonnetwork.com, one AOL Time Warner property, will premiere an animated music video for the group’s single, "Love This Way," next week. The video follows the release of the group’s CD in May on Warner Music Group’s London-Sire/143, another AOL Time Warner property.
The group itself was created for "Popstars" last season on the WB network, also owned by AOL Time Warner.
"It’s been very clear to us, when we do our online surveys and talk to our users, that people who love animation love music," says Jim Samples, general manager of Cartoonnetwork.com.
"We’ve proven that with the Sugar Ray video that we did. That was the most popular original animation that we put on our site since we launched."
The question is whether media buyers will be equally as entranced.
The merger of media giants always brings up concerns among buyers of stifled competition; fewer players always generate fears of higher prices.
But there is always at least a promise of new synergies for advertisers as well, through cross-platform deals that allow them to place clients across a slew of different media outlets through a single deal.
"Cross-platform deals" was the buzz phrase during this summer’s TV upfront market.
In theory, this sort of one-stop shopping ought to bring prices down for advertisers with enough money to put ads in everything from print to television to outdoor to online.
But that is in theory.
"Many of the media conglomerates have been trying to crack this code for a while," observes Jill Otto, vice president and group media director at GSD&M. "If you can crack it, there are definite benefits.
"Anytime that you can craft something that leverages a variety of resources to create something of greater impact, you are winning in the end. And hopefully, that’s creating efficiencies as well."
In the case of the Eden’s Crush multimedia push, media buyers say the concept of reaching kids and teens through a variety of media is right on target.
"Popstars" was the No. 1 show among teens in its time slot last season. And the show is coming back in early October with the formation of a new group.
But the internet is increasingly considered by media buyers to be just as important for reaching young people.
"Teens today have grown up online, so it is critical," says Otto.
"They are using online not only for entertainment but also to communicate, much more so than adults in some cases."
The number of teens online grew by 11 percent in the past year, according to Jupiter Media Metrix, to nine million. And teens spend over 260 minutes online every month.
Cartoonnetwork.com had over 3.1 million visitors in the month of June. It is visited by just under 10 percent of kids 2-11 and by over 5 percent of teens who go online.
That audience is comparable to some TV shows. "Popstars," in fact, had an audience of about 3.8 million around the time it premiered as a mid-season replacement in January.
Outside of setting the stage for advertising opportunities, the Eden’s Crush video on Cartoonnetwork.com is also likely to be an attempt to jump-start sluggish sales for the group’s CD.
And it's not the first attempt of its kind.
The online site’s first animated video was for Sugar Ray’s "When It’s Over," which was downloaded roughly 1.5 million times, according to estimates by Cartoonnetwork.com.
The videos, Eden’s Crush’s especially, came about from the merging of AOL Time Warner’s WB unit with its cable division in March, under the leadership of Jamie Kellner.
August 10, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Kevin
Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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