UPS will sponsor a segment on small business that will appear weekly beginning Jan. 12 during “NewsNight With Aaron Brown” on CNN.
The sponsorship, recently negotiated as part of UPS’s upfront buy with the news network, includes exposure on CNN Airport Network, CNN.com, CNN/Money.com and CNN Radio. CNN will promote the segments with tune-in spots and on-air billboards and with streaming video and billboards on the Web. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The “On the Rise” segment has been airing monthly on CNN since 2002, but UPS is the first advertiser to sponsor the segment.
“As part of our annual discussion with the various media about what opportunities they have that might fit with our audiences and our objectives, this came up and we thought it was interesting enough to pursue further,” said Larry Bloomenkranz, VP of global brand management and advertising at UPS.
Mr. Bloomenkranz said “On the Rise” was attractive to UPS because of its focus on small business. “It’s an important audience for us, and these are the customers that start small and they grow and we grow, and everybody wins,” he said.
CNN’s ability to deliver extra impressions with its ancillary networks and Web sites was a bonus for UPS, which advertises on other news networks as well. “It isn’t the primary reason we go for it, but those other CNN properties do reach our audience as well,” Mr. Bloomenkranz said.
Greg D’Alba, executive VP of ad sales for CNN, said the deal is an example of how to extend an advertiser’s 30-second spots.
“You can only do these things if you have the capabilities with multiple networks and Web site and radio and out-of-home opportunities,” he said. “This is making it increasingly easier to maintain our competitive edge because advertisers are looking for more than a spot. They want multiple media and multiple technologies with similarity of content based on one idea.”
Mr. D’Alba said running the segment was an editorial decision by CNN’s news staff.
“We’re constantly developing feature and program opportunities or segment opportunities within programs that make sense on air, and certainly for some advertisers, make sense to sponsor,” he said.
Mr. D’Alba said CNN is off to a strong start in 2005 after a strong 2004 fueled by the political campaigns and double-digit increases during the upfront.
“Just when you think the news is calming down post-election, we’re covering the biggest story of the last four years,” he said, referring to the recent tsunami in Asia. “The news marketplace continues to be strong. The first half of this year is pacing ahead of last year.”