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Tag: William Hsu

  • CNN launches new Executive Innovator business segment sponsored by panasonic

    CNN launches new Executive Innovator business segment sponsored by panasonic

    MUMBAI :  CNN International has launched ‘Executive Innovator’, a new on air and online segment which profiles inspiring business leaders who are challenging perceptions, pushing the boundaries and creating fresh ideas. The segment is sponsored by leading electronics manufacturer Panasonic.

    ‘Executive Innovator’ airs fortnightly during ‘World Business Today’, a round-up of the day’s global business news, marketing trends and economic developments. The launch segment featured Lexus International’s President Kiyotaka Ise explaining why his new luxury stores sell everything but cars.

    As well as being seen in millions of home around the globe, ‘Executive Innovator’ will also feature on CNN.com at http://business.blogs.cnn.com.
    Vice President of News Advertising Sales for CNN Asia Pacific, William Hsu, commented: “CNN’s core audience are some of the most influential business decision-makers around, so we are delighted to partner with Panasonic to deliver these genuinely inspiring stories to our viewers around the world.”

    Groupwide Brand Communication Division General Manager for Panasonic, Senju Kobayashi, commented: “We are pleased to present innovative ideas and thoughts from leading business executives through this partnership with CNN. Panasonic provides business solutions across various fields, and we look forward to learning from the stories that these innovators will share in this series.”

    ‘Executive Innovator’ airs every second Monday during ‘World Business Today’ at 1830 IST
    ‘World Business Today’ brings viewers around the world the day’s global business news with a particular focus on international market trends, economic developments, stock market trading, bids and take-overs. It is anchored from the key financial centers of Hong Kong, London and New York

  • CNN Intl unveils product integration concept with Samsung Mobile

    CNN Intl unveils product integration concept with Samsung Mobile

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN International has created a series of integrated sponsorship billboards for Samsung Mobile that showcases its new Galaxy Note 8.0 around the network‘s ‘News Stream‘ programme, which is sponsored in Asia by the long-time CNN client Samsung Mobile.

    The new product integration concept, a first for the network, debuted on 27 May 2013 in the hour-long news programme broadcast every weekday to millions of households around the world. ‘News Stream‘ with anchor Kristie Lu Stout airs on weekdays at 5.30 pm.

    Anchored from Hong Kong by the show is powered by the smart use of technology to give viewers a better understanding of the world. The Samsung-sponsored billboards are approximately 10 seconds in length and bookend the programme. In collaboration with Samsung Mobile, they were conceptualised and executed by CNN Ad Sales‘ in-house creative production unit, Turner Commercial Productions.

    CNN International Asia Pacific News Advertising Sales VP William Hsu said, “This new campaign delivers Samsung Mobile a significant branded presence alongside CNN‘s award-winning content. Samsung Mobile has partnered with us for more than a decade and we‘re delighted to further extend our relationship with them through this exciting and innovative new campaign.”

    Samsung Electronics executive VP of the mobile communication division Young Hee Lee said, “This campaign really strengthens our on-going relationship with CNN and, as the leading news network across the globe, it is the perfect brand with which to align our message. ‘News Stream‘ is the place where news and technology meet, and its billboards provide the ideal packaging to present Samsung‘s cutting-edge Galaxy Note 8.0 to an audience of tech-savvy viewers.”

  • Nikon to continue sponsorship of CNN’s ‘Human to Hero’ series

    Nikon to continue sponsorship of CNN’s ‘Human to Hero’ series

    MUMBAI: Nikon has renewed multi-platform sponsorship deal with CNN International for its special series ‘Human to Hero‘ thereby building on the long standing partnership between CNN and Nikon involving TV, digital and on the ground events.

    ‘Human to Hero‘ was originally launched in January 2012 in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games, and featured top athletes and the challenges they had to overcome to become champions. The series featured widely known athletes such as Tyson Gay, Nadia Comaneci and Veronica Campbell Brown.

    Under the renewed multiplatform partnership with Nikon, ‘Human to Hero‘ will feature inspiring heroes from a wide variety of fields including sport, music, film, culture, arts and more.

    The series will air as a weekly segment in ‘News Stream‘ and ‘Connect the World‘, beginning September 6th with a feature on Benjamin Grosvenor, the youngest British musician ever to be signed up by Decca Records and the first British pianist to sign to the label in almost 60 years.

    The sponsorship includes regular digital coverage, with the series featured online at CNN.com Entertainment. A special Nikon Facebook fan page ‘Beautiful Dreamers‘ has also been launched, where the ‘Human to Hero‘ series will be featured along with a photo contest calling on people to submit photos of themselves striving to achieve their dreams.

    “This renewal underscores the success of the series and our partnership with Nikon. We are delighted to be working with Nikon to now extend this quality series beyond the sports arena and share the stories of inspiring heroes from a range of fields,” said CNN APAC VP of News Advertising Sales William Hsu.

    “We believe that everyone who pursues the challenge of chasing their dream is beautiful. CNN‘s ‘Human to Hero‘ also promotes this idea. We are very pleased to be continuing our partnership with CNN as it features a wider variety of heroes chasing their dreams,” said Nikon GM Corporate Branding Department, Corporate Planning Headquarters Maki Yoshida.

  • ‘India is among CNN’s top 3 markets in Asia Pacific’ : CNN International VP ad sales news William Hsu

    ‘India is among CNN’s top 3 markets in Asia Pacific’ : CNN International VP ad sales news William Hsu

    CNN is banking on India to boost its ad revenue this year as the international news outfit hunts for fast-growing economies in a downturn environment.

     

    CNN expects a 10 per cent growth from the Asia Pacific region. India, away from recession, will grow the fastest this year as the news network plans to tap into more clients. .The target is to keep posting 20 per cent growth over the next couple of years as Indian companies go global.

     

    The recession has affected CNN the least as it tweaked its strategy. The news network built a 360 degree solution around TV and the Internet. The focus on digital, which makes up 20 per cent of CNN‘s revenues, also helped CNN to combat the global downturn.

     

    CNN is growing its India content. Eye On India is ready for launch and CNN is dedicating a lot of its daily news output towards Indian business, which will be aired across the world.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Ashwin Pinto, CNN International VP ad sales news William Hsu talks about how the global news network has insulated itself from recession and how it plans to grow its business in India.

     

     

    Excerpts:

    Which are the key markets for CNN and how has the Asia Pacific region been faring for the global news network?
    CNN has grown in the region and 30 per cent of its revenue is coming from the Asia Pacific region, up from 25 per cent three years back.

     

    The top three markets are Korea, Southeast Asia and India. Over the past decade, CNN has been growing at about 11 per cent compounded a year.

     

    The recession has affected us the least. We had a good digital product; and we deal with government entities – whether it is investment or tourism. Governments actually spend more money during a recession to stimulate growth.

    So what targets have been set for the year?
    We expect 10 per cent growth from the Asia Pacific region. India will grow the fastest this year in terms of revenue and getting in more clients. We expect 20 per cent growth from India over the next couple of years, up from 17 per cent.

     

    North Asia‘s contribution in terms of Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong will still be the most.

    CNN International has seen profit growth for the past seven quarters. What factors have contributed towards this?
    We have a strong distribution revenue stream. This insulates us in terms of a recession. Another driver has been new media. Internet advertising has grown quite a lot.

     

    One of the biggest opportunities is our CNN branded portfolio. You might think of us as a TV channel; I think of CNN as being a news provider. We have a TV channel. And we have the largest news site in the world. We have just launched a series of mobile products starting with the iphone, ipad and Android 3.0 in the US. There is an opportunity to build the 360 degree solution. The challenge is how fast advertisers will embrace this.

    But did you have to tweak your strategy during the downturn?
    One of the things we did was that we anticipated the recession before it happened. Throughout 2007, we expected something to happen without knowing when. This allowed us to tweak our strategy. We approached more governments. We built up a 360 degree solution around TV and the Internet.

    How has CNN been able to broad base its revenue stream as it is key for any broadcaster to survive in a difficult global economy?
    From a product base, I just mentioned three of them – and they are all growing. Internet and mobile are experiencing fast growth, which is good. Incidentally, new media contributes 20 per cent of CNN‘s revenues.
    ‘The Asia Pacific region accounts for 30 per cent of CNN’s revenues, up from 25 per cent three years back. CNN expects to post a 10 per cent growth from the region, with India growing the fastest‘

    Does that give you an advantage in India?
    In terms of an advertiser base, we are focusing on Asian companies that are expanding internationally. Suzlon is an example. We are also looking to work with Just Dial which has just launched in the US. Essar is another company that is expanding its global footprint. We are tapping a wave of Indian companies that are going overseas.

    Even global clients are increasingly preferring local news channels. Does this pose a challenge to CNN?
    No! We deal with corporate branding; our clients are high end corporates.

     

    If you look at the type of advertising on news channels here, I don‘t think that a company like Rolex would want to advertise in that environment. The quality is dodgy. A Rolex watch will cost as much as a car here. Would they be in an exclusive group with CNN International or would they rather be with the mass targeted brands?

     

    There is a certain purity that CNN International offers. My TG is that top three per cent of India‘s population. They are internationally focused; they are very well traveled; they do business overseas frequently. I tell clients that this is my profile. Which channel do you think this TG is watching in India?

    News channels in India are struggling as the ad pie is not growing against the backdrop of Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) and sports. How do you see things shaping up here?
    I don‘t look at the general news channels as competitors. The market is totally saturated; there should be consolidation. In any case, sport is the most attractive genre on cable TV anywhere in the world.

     

    Our focus rests on international advertising. I bring a platform to an Indian company which is looking to promote itself overseas. We have around 20 Indian advertisers with us. And we aim to grow this.

    Have the ad categories grown for CNN over the last couple of years beyond just tourism?
    Travel covers airlines and hotels, but we have gone much beyond that. We have clients like Rolex, Nokia and Longines. We have quite a few companies from the Middle East. Banks also advertise on CNN.

     

    Our USP is that we are pervasive. We are on Internet devices, television homes and hotels. Many news channels may have a strong distribution. But how many of them also have a strong website? How many can rank No. 1 on ipad downloads? We are in a good position.

    So you approach advertisers across platforms?
    Yes! One of the benefits is that it allows an advertiser to constantly engage with the consumer. In the morning, the consumers drive to office. In the office, they use the Internet. During the tea break, they use their mobile phones. Then when they go back home and watch us on TV. We follow the consumers everywhere.

    Could you give me examples of integrated solutions?
    Cartier advertises with us on the net and the TV. They were the first advertisers on the ipad.

    What work has CNN done online?
    We have invested in social media. For any story, you have five different social media links which you can send to a friend. You can also follow a report on Twitter. We push citizen journalism through i-report. This has been integrated into television news.

     

    A great example of that is Iran. The student protests happened six months ago. The government sealed all access to Iran for journalists. What we did was have citizens do filming and reporting for us.

     

    On a platform basis, we invest heavily on the mobile. We have CNN mobile Web which allows you to surf a mobile version of CNN. Then we have iphone, ipad apps and Android. That is where our consumers are digitally. The itunes interface is its own marketing platform.

    What is the strategy in terms of lifestyle content?
    A typical news consumption pattern is that you watch half an hour to an hour of news and then you are done for the day. The lifestyle content is designed to keep you watching for up to an extra hour by having content that is designed for an international businessperson. He/she would be interested in Golf, sport, design. I categorise this as news and information.

     

    Eco Solutions, which is about environment, has done well. CNN Go is a travel lifestyle programme sponsored by Korean Airlines. We, in fact, have diversified our news programmes. We have a show called Backstory in the morning. What we have found out is that people do not only want news headlines; they want to understand what is happening behind the scenes.

     

    On I-report we have found a way to take content that people send and create a news show around it. It is a different way of portraying the news. This is not just feature programmes.

    How did the idea of CNNGo come about?
    One thing that is common about upscale business people is that they are well traveled. They have a desire to know unique things about countries. Travel is one of the most interesting things for them. This is what CNN Go is about. It offers you insights on things to see, do and buy. There isn‘t a travel programme quite like it. There is a site as well that is quirky and interesting.

     

    The site is about six countries being featured including India. On television, one country and a different city is featured every month. Online, we have Citibank as a sponsor. For television, it is Korean Airlines.
    How are you growing your India content?
    Eye On India is coming up and we are promoting it. We are dedicating a lot of our daily news output towards Indian business, which will be aired across the world. We have, for instance, filmed the Birla Group.
    What role has Eye on India played to boost your perception here?
    It does generate a lot of interest. We are promoting it through the press. We are using outdoor hoardings – we have a big presence in the international Airports of Mumbai and Delhi. We are also using social media.
    Al Jazeera is looking at India with content focused here. Your views on this in terms of the impact it will have on the existing global players?
    We welcome competition; it keeps us on our toes. They have a good product, which is undeniable. But we are the No. 1 news network across the region. We aim to keep it that way.
    You recently announced sponsorship of the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship. How many events does CN sponsor and what role does it play in building brand awareness?
    Sports content is popular on CNN. We have Living Golf. Sports is an important platform. We sponsor five to 10 events a year.
    Organisations trimmed costs in the global recessionary environment. What did CNN do?
    We did not have any salary freeze and we did not layoff anybody. Being a part of Time Warner, we are always cost conscious. During the downturn, we actually invested more in our newsgathering operations. We boosted our staff and added more bureaus.
  • Advertising sets heart racing: CNN Study

    Advertising sets heart racing: CNN Study

    MUMBAI: Brands who choose multimedia campaigns to communicate their advertising messages are more memorable to consumers and are likely to enhance perception of their brands, reveals a case study conducted by CNN International.

    The results carry weight for brands that place their advertising in an engaging environment, prompting an emotional response from the audience.

    The case study (Cross-platform Advertising Study on Effectiveness and Engagement) consisted of a two-stage approach. Stage one involved a multinational online study of cross-platform effectiveness in which consumers were exposed to diverse media experiences. Stage two measured attention and engagement through a variety of techniques including biometrics, eye tracking and in-depth interviews.

    Turner International Asia Pacific VP reserach Duncan Morris says, “We wanted to show that by complementing advertising on CNN TV with ads on CNN.com and CNN mobile, an advertiser can markedly increase campaign recall leading to positive shifts in brand attitudes. The fact that these respondents were not primed for an advertising study makes these results even more poignant.”

    Engagement and Biometrics : Body responses such as heart rate, motion, respiratory rate and galvanic skin response (sweating) were translated into measures of “attention” and “engagement” – the Holy Grail for advertisers. These were collected by using a lightweight ‘smart vest’ which respondents wore while watching CNN programming and advertising.

    Contrary to popular belief that viewers disengage once scheduled programming ends, the study results showed that engagement actually can increase during ad breaks, as much as 10 per cent.

    CNN International VP ad sales Asia Pacific William Hsu says, “This study shows it is content that provides the springboard for advertisers to secure meaningful connections with audiences. In conjunction with our recent PWC study, it provides valuable industry insight to help brands market smarter.”

    The level of attention an advertisement receives impacts the ability of respondents to remember the brand. When respondents viewed advertising online and on mobile, they were more attentive, increasing the likelihood of advertising being noticed and adding to the re-call of the overall campaign.

    The research also showed that despite the high cross-over between the audiences of all the CNN properties, the audience is in a different state of mind when online or using a mobile phone versus watching television. Generally audiences were more attentive (though not necessarily more engaged) when online or mobile than when watching television.

  • NEC to sponsor CNN’s ‘Impact Your World’

    NEC to sponsor CNN’s ‘Impact Your World’

    MUMBAI: CNN International has announced that IT and network technology company NEC will sponsor its viewer response initiative, ‘Impact Your World.’ The sponsorship takes effect from September 2008 and encompasses new weekly on-air segments and vignettes across CNN International’s global network, reaching more than 230 million households and hotel rooms, in addition to the initiative’s web site at www.cnn.com/impact. 

    Impact Your World is CNN’s audience empowerment initiative, which allows CNN viewers and users to take action on and respond to the news they consume. With Impact Your World, news is no longer passive; ‘Impact’ buttons on selected CNN.com stories link people directly to resource pages showing how they can help charitable organizations in categories including Refugees & Homelessness, Poverty, Health and Natural Disasters.

    In addition, new weekly on-air vignettes highlight stories that empower CNN’s global audience to effect real change. Natural disasters including Cyclone Nargis which hammered Myanmar and the devastating Sichuan earthquake have brought about immediate responses and donations. ‘Impact Your World’ also allows viewers to support individual causes.

    CNN Asia Pacific VP ad sales William Hsu says, “We’re delighted to partner with NEC in this bespoke, cross-platform sponsorship that allows our viewers to enact positive change in the world. We look forward to delivering a powerful brand solution for them across this most worthwhile of initiatives.”

    NEC GM advertising division Mikio Yamada says, “Throughout its history, NEC has continuously sought ways to contribute to society through technological innovation and advanced solutions. NEC is proud to sponsor CNN’s Impact Your World, which is an innovative way to empower individuals and societies around the world by connecting people and organizations”.

  • CNN ties up with Suzuki for online football campaign

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN is teaming up with Suzuki to launch ‘Football Fanzone’. This is an interactive online special where supporters worldwide can come together to share their love of the game at www.cnn.com/footballfanzone.

    The Football Fanzone allows users to check out the latest results, tables and other statistics. Features include ‘player of the week’ and ‘team of the week’, while CNN sports anchor Pedro Pinto’s exclusive ‘Goal Mouth’ blog will bring insights from behind the scenes – the scoops, the big interviews and all the gossip.

    In addition, fans can submit their pictures and videos as well as commentary which, if selected, will be posted on the site to be shared with millions of fellow fans around the world. Users can also cast their votes in polls and forums designed to gauge global reaction to hotly debated football issues.

    CNN ad sales Asia Pacific VP William Hsu says, “Football is without question the world’s most popular sport and we are delighted to launch this interactive forum in association with Suzuki Motor Corporation for millions of fans around the globe. CNN.com continues to lead the field in global online news sites and this new initiative allows Suzuki Motor Corporation perfect reach to our audience who enjoy high disposable incomes and are proven regular purchasers.”

  • CNN clicks with Konica Minolta in online campaign

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN International has launched Digital Biz. This is an online initiative in association with Konica Minolta looking at the impact of cutting edge technology on business. Digital Biz appears on CNN’s international website, http://edition.cnn.com/specials/2006/digitalbiz and provides a look at the world of digital business with news, analysis and features on areas including blogging, personal and business technology and gadgets and even gaming.

    Within the Digital Biz section, Konica Minolta’s six-month ad campaign features branding and sponsorship exposure that drives traffic to their own website, The Future is Here, as part of the company’s drive to draw attention to their digital business.

    CNN ad sales Asia Pacific VP William Hsu says, “This partnership allows Konica Minolta to reach an upscale audience across one of the world’s most successful and popular online platforms. CNN has consistently offered the audience of well-travelled business decision-makers that advertisers seek and we are delighted to work alongside Konica Minolta to this end”.