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Courting Special Interests

Scripps helps an MSN broadband promotion reach a passionate demographic.

When MSN's butterfly first fluttered its broadband-optimized wings this year, the company saw a unique opportunity to let the word take flight via cable. Having created a richer, more TV-like experience on the Web, it now needed to get the message out to its target demographic of 18-54 year-olds, which it saw clustered around cable.

"We knew we wanted to go out and talk to the broadband enthusiast," says Karen Redetzki, a product manager at MSN in Redmond, Wash. "And when we looked at TV, print, online and even billboard efforts, the cable channels, and Scripps in particular, really showed a very solid presence of those enthusiasts."

Specifically, MSN was eying viewers passionate about the core categories addressed in four of Scripps' five networks: Fine Living, the DIY Network, HGTV and the Food Network. "The challenge that we were given by MSN was that they wanted to create portals for people who were passionate about special interests, and they wanted to promote the fact that MSN is the broadband network for people who are information seekers in those passions," says Jon Steinlauf, senior vice president of advertising and sales at Scripps in New York.

Scripps Networks created a TV and online campaign to help MSN reach broadband enthusiasts who are passionate about food, gardening, travel and other pastimes

Scripps' solution was a complex, integrated rollout across four networks and four Web sites, complete with custom content and promotion unique to each of the four participating networks. Having launched in fourth quarter 2003, the campaign will continue on Scripps through third quarter 2004.

For Scripps, there was only one caveat: "(MSN) told us that although the campaign is primarily for their broadband service, they didn't want to alienate narrowband users, so it had to be adapted for both applications," Steinlauf says.

The MSN presence ultimately took on a different, though related, face across Fine Living, DIY, HGTV and Food Network, incorporating microsites on each of the networks' Web sites that were geared to drive traffic toward creating new MSN user groups.

Fine Living integrated a presence for MSN into "The Great Adventure," a half-hour show in which couples take a dream vacation. A branded short-form segment called "Fine Ideas," which runs daily in 60-second installments, features past "Great Adventure" participants who talk about their vacation experiences. The vignettes close with by driving viewers to an MSN-sponsored microsite on FineLiving.com which offers destination guides, examples of previous vacations covered on the show and travel tips and information.

MSN's "Fine Ideas" sponsorship sends a message that "if you're passionate about great travel, MSN can be a platform for you to keep connected with your friends and family when you're traveling," Steinlauf says.

In addition to being branded within the "Fine Ideas" segment itself, MSN receives logo identification, billboarding and the adjacent commercial to the segment. Three individual "Fine Ideas" segments sponsored by MSN are also available on the microsite in their entirety.

On the DIY Network, MSN's presence has centered around two short-form segments of original programming, "DIY People" and "DIY Kits." "DIY People," a two-minute segment, focuses on individuals with great stories to tell of their passion in a particular do-it-yourself area, from metalworking to papier-mache to mosaic tiles. MSN became the segment's first commercial sponsor, using a Web driver at the end to another MSN sponsored microsite at DIY's online "Best Ideas Center" offering more information on the topic.

"DIY Kits," another two-minute segment, showcases a specific project demonstration, giving viewers a general taste of the network in a short form. After watching the project come together step-by-step on-air, viewers can go online to an MSN-sponsored "Best Ideas Center" microsite, where the company is also sponsoring a contest for users to submit six new "DIY Kits" ideas for eventual airing.

On HGTV, MSN's platform centers on gardening. Scripps produced three original 30-second vignettes billboarded by MSN, which also runs the adjacent commercial, while a Web driver sends viewers to an HGTV.com microsite. There, a community gardening sweepstakes encourages the formation of MSN groups.

"If you look at DIY and HGTV, we're actually looking for a bit of work on the part of our users to join groups and submit best ideas," says Jeff Meyer, senior vice president of Internet sales for Scripps. "But part of the appeal [for MSN] is getting these groups in a structured environment where they can talk to each other."

MSN's platform on HGTV centers on gardening and features three 30-second spots, each of which drives viewers to an HGTV microsite online

Finally, the Food Network, too, induces viewers to a Web microsite via four custom vignettes created for MSN and a contest, "Take a Bite Out of the Big Apple," in which the winner receives a trip to New York and dinner at a Food Network chef's restaurant.

The vignettes, which offer food tips, have been designed to highlight the MSN broadband experience, as the on-air segments feature a camera which pulls back to reveal that the video is actually being watched by a Web user via a computer screen, a nod to MSN's TV-like capabilities and interface.

Ultimately, Steinlauf says, Scripps' short-form programming provided a unique landscape for driving viewers to Web sites that would further emphasize MSN's new broadband strengths. "We create branded opportunities that allow advertisers to be able to get closer to our brands and a little bit closer to the passion that people have for the information," he says. "We've been able to create a halo effect of the brand in these short-form segments."

For MSN, whose overall media buy also included VH1, The Travel Channel, The National Geographic Channel and The Discovery Channel, in addition to space on online portals such as CNET.com, About.com, WashingtonPost.com and Wired, this was an ideal way to reach its target.

"The Scripps audience really fits that demographic and enjoys that content," Redetzki says. "And this year it's all about reaching a more targeted audience."

"When we looked at TV, print, online and even billboard efforts, the cable channels, and Scripps in particular, really showed a very solid presence of those enthusiasts."

— Karen Redetzki, product manager, MSN

Reprinted with the permission of Adweek Magazines.

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