ITV

Tag: Clifford

  • Hallmark says short term ad revenue targets within reach

    MUMBAI: Mediascope Associates, which has been handling the Hallmark ad sales account since March, says the channel is on course to exceed its short term revenue goals for end December by ten per cent.

    While the scene for Hallmark in Asia may not look too healthy – last month, it was reported that the channel was planning to cut 130 jobs across the Asia Pacific region in a bid to curb costs and that it is also planning to reduce the number of feeds. The channel has however picked up from where it was in India a year ago.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com on how effective the channel had been in attracting advertisers to the channel by positioning it as one viewed by both parents and children, Mediascope head Rohinton Maloo said that currently at any point in time, there are eight to 10 premium brands targeting SEC A advertising on the channel.

    Giving a boost to Hallmark’s revenue stream is the virtual product placement which recently kicked in and can be seen on the Saturday night movie on the channel. The technique in question is logo morph. Just before and after each interval the logo of the credit card provider Mastercard which sponsors that block morphs with Hallmarks logo.

    The ads are slotted according to viewership profile. The afternoon band which sees women tuning in a lot will be sponsored by a brand like Whirlpool which caters to that segment. The early evening band when kids shows like Clifford and Callilou air is taken up by a brand like Perfetti. The evening band sees advertisers of apparels targetting the youth segment. Mastercard advertises at night since the whole family tunes in and the product can be used by anyone.

    Maloo also expressed satisfaction at how Hallmark was able to hook advertisers like Whirlpool, TCI by providing a presence on retail Hallmark chains throughout the country. When queried as to why there was just one sponsor Beam Toothpaste for the Friday night premiere Falling from Grace Maloo said: “A hallmark of the channel lies in providing value for clients. Too many sponsors would lead to clutter and it would be difficult for a brand to stand out. Therefore at the most we take two brands for sponsoring a particular programme unlike other channels which take anywhere from five to ten. There are also less ads on the channel as the interval is just five minutes compared to ten minutes on rival channels. The reason for this is to ensure viewers do not indulge in channel surfing. The quality of delivery is important for us.”

    Maloo maintained that the ad rate on the channel was very competitive compared to other channels like Star Movies, Zee MGM. Interestingly, when contacted, a media buyer handling the accounts for prominent FMCGs told indiantelevision.com that Hallmark does not figure in any of his plans. The blockbuster oriented HBO and Star Movies are sufficient at the moment, he said.

  • Hallmark claims higher TV penetration in Asia Pacific

    Hallmark claims higher TV penetration in Asia Pacific

    MUMBAI: When English movie channel Hallmark launched in Asia, not many industry watchers were confident that it would last out the long haul. The Asian viewer had enough of local fare to watch, apart from the mega blockbuster Hollywood movies on leading movie channels Star Movies and HBO. The viewer would not really get swayed by the ‘made for television’ movies on Hallmark, went the view.

    But a global relaunch last year, better programme packaging, better on-air branding has seen Hallmark gradually making a mark. The Crown Media-owned channel has become an option that viewers are increasingly beginning to snack on.

    In a press release, Hallmark claims that the relaunch has also worked in increasing its penetration by 50 per cent in the Asia Pacific region. The channel claims to be available in 18 million homes, up from 12 million last year.

    Crown Media International managing director & chief executive (Asia) Terence Yau says this figure includes viewers from “India to Japan, and from China to Australia and New Zealand — who are currently able to watch the service on seven different feeds and branded blocks.”

    Yau adds that during the course of the year, the channel worked hard at transforming its scope and feel. It identified viewer segments like children and the mature adult and went after them with innovative programming blocks. All this meant that the whole family could stay glued to the channel during primetime.

    Besides subscribers, the Channel is working hard at building on its advertising database through a strong combo of on-air and on-ground packages. To this end, it has taken advantage of its Hallmark Cards chain of retail stores. This is something other C&S channels find hard to match.

    40 per cent of the channel’s product is exclusive and the programming is an interesting mix of family flicks and mini series. People looking to add spice to their lives tuned into the imaginative science fiction themed series Sliders. The dramatic series Touched by an Angel and Brooklyn South kept the thinking viewer engrossed, while kids had their share of Sesame Street, Clifford, and Calliou.

    Hallmark recently bought the seventh season of Touched by an Angel from CBS, a total of 27 new episodes. The channel has also held promotional events in a bid to imprint its unique identity on the viewers’ psyche. In February, Bai Ling and Russell Wong who starred in The Monkey King visited Asia for the film’s premiere. Hallmark also connected with the crucial women’s segment in May by keeping aside a week where films appealing to women were shown. The channel claims that this had an impact in India, Singapore, Philippines and Malalysia.

    Hallmark is also forging stronger relationships with cable operators. It invited some of them to South Australia to see how the mini-series McLeod’s Daughters was being made. The series is expected to debut on the channel in March 2002.