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Nick Dials in Wireless With iCarly Buy
Anthony
Crupi
MediaWeek
August 25,
2008
Nickelodeon has signed its first wireless client, AT&T,
to a multiplatform deal that coincides with the brand’s
foray into the tween space.
AT&T is buying time on Nick’s hybrid hit, iCarly, the
show within a show that incorporates user-generated
content into its linear narrative. Speaking to Nick
viewers in their own voice, custom-branded spots
demonstrate how smartphones let kids be a part of the
media mix while they connect with friends. The first
spot will run on Nick next week.
In courting nonendemic advertisers, Nick over the last
three years has redefined the kids market, expanding its
roster of usual suspects to accommodate more than $100
million in automotive, consumer electronics and travel
business. This summer, the net took its game up a notch
with the AT&T/iCarly pact
Building off one of iCarly’s popular interactive
segments, young actors in the ad use their Samsung Palm
Centro phones to watch, shoot and share “Random Dancing”
snippets. A call-out then directs viewers to an AT&T
microsite hosted by Nick.com.
AT&T will highlight other smartphone models in the
campaign, with plans to incorporate Sony Ericsson’s W350
Walkman into the creative later this fall.
According to AT&T’s youth marketing expert, Mimi Chan,
tweens represent a vast untapped market for carriers, as
usage rates among the iCarly set skyrocket. Of the 20
million in the 8-12 demo, nearly one-third own mobile
devices.
While kids increasingly drive demand for wireless
products, Chan said, they won’t accept just any phone
model. “They see what their older siblings have, and
they want that same functionality, the texting and the
video,” said Chan, director of national marketing at
AT&T.
“That’s why Nickelodeon is such a good fit for us. Kids
are early adopters, and iCarly really connects with them
on that level.” While iCarly delivers reliable reach,
drawing 3 million viewers per episode, it also ranks as
cable’s No. 2 live-action series among tweens.
“We’ve had our share of nonendemics before, but those
were adult-facing campaigns,” said Jim Perry, executive
vp of 360 brand sales for Nickelodeon and the MTVN Kids
and Family Group. “This is big because they’re targeting
the tween market directly.” The deal, representing a
“seven-digit commitment,” Perry said, was set up by the
$300 million upfront pact Nick closed with GroupM in
May.
Season two of iCarly bows on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8
p.m. Each week throughout the fall, Nickelodeon will
premiere a new episode of the show in that time slot,
leading up to the first-ever iCarly TV movie, iGo to
Japan. AT&T will also sponsor the 90-minute iGo special,
which debuts in November. |
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