Advertisers to benefit from multi-platform marketing campaign for BET Awards

(June 9, 2006) "It's All In The Stars." That's the slogan at the heart of BET's extensive, multi-million dollar national marketing campaign, designed to draw a record audience to what has annually been the network's biggest night of the year.

Valued at $8 million, the campaign features first-time BET AWARDS host Damon Wayans in a series of comedic spots. National television ads will run on BET and other Viacom-owned networks. Radio buys and print ads will also appear in top African American publications, as well as outdoor and transit advertising.

Additionally the multi-platform strategy includes a grassroots effort utilizing movie theaters, beauty and barber shops and dance clubs and several new innovative initiatives for national advertisers and sponsors.

The ue on June 27th as BET Awards will air live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, on June 27^th beginning at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT (tape delayed to the Pacific and Mountain time zones). Celebrity ppearances include Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, T.I., Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Harry Belafonte, Chaka Khan, and many more. The network produced unprecedented ratings success with last year's program, which was the number one awards show in all of cable television with a 5.1 Nielsen rating and 6.6 million viewers.

"Each year, we've infused our marketing campaign with exciting graphics, infectious energy, engaging themes, and creative in-market approaches," said Kelli Lawson, BET Executive Vice President for Corporate Marketing. "This year's campaign builds off the success of past campaigns by adding more viral and grassroots efforts than ever. We're confident that the multi-platform approach will help the BET AWARDS continue its reign as the #1 awards show on television with our audience."

The television campaign was conceived by BET's own Creative Services team, and is anchored by a series of hilarious spots featuring host Damon Wayans. Directed by Bernard Dixon, the spots were produced by Mocean. In "Back to My Roots," Wayans explains how his decision to host the BET AWARDS was driven by his desire to reconnect with Black culture -- but he's shown doing the exact opposite.

Air travelers can see a full 3-minute segment on American Airlines during the "CBS Eye on American" in- flight video in June. The feature highlights the "Top 10 Awards Show Moments" from the past five years.

Radio spots are running in the top 40 African-American markets and on nationally syndicated shows hosted by Russ Parr, Doug Banks, Wendy Williams, Steve Harvey and BET's Big Tigger.

Full-page, four-color ads featuring BET AWARDS-emblazoned floodlights beaming across a star-studded night sky will appear in national publications including: JET, Essence, Ebony, Vibe and XXL in the June and July issues.

Transit ads will run on buses in 9 major markets, and outdoor billboards will be seen in LA, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Orlando, Tampa and Columbia. Additional out-of-home placements include New York Metro Lights display boards in Manhattan and billboards in Times Square.

The BET Ultimate Fan Sweepstakes kicked off on April 17 and over 3,500 members of the BET.com online community entered the contest. A BET AWARDS '06 blog will run from June 25-27, and with the recent launch of BET's new video broadband channel BET On Blast, the network plans to stream red carpet arrivals during the live 106 & Park pre-show as well as backstage interviews.

Real time voting during the telecast will allow viewers to give opinions on the best dressed celebrities of the evening and other awards that will be featured during BET News' BLACK CARPET LOUNGE live post show.


Myspace.com will feature an interactive BET Awards page. Promo banners and video streams will also appear on AOL Black Voices, Black Planet, EUR Web and other selected sites. Viewer's Choice voting also has a BET Mobile tie-in sponsored by Verizon Wireless and began on June 1.

With grassroots marketing, BET is hitting the streets to generate even more excitement. Barber shops and beauty salons nationwide will showcase BET AWARDS branded capes, aprons and promo reels for their shops beginning June 15. 

Wal-Mart is featuring BET Awards promos on Walmart-TV, banners on WalMart.com, and an insert in newspapers in over 40 million newspapers nationwide. Footlocker, Footaction and Champs stores are running promo spots and showcasing the shows' nominees.


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