After scoring with a multifaceted promotion
surrounding Spain’s Super Copa tournament, Time Warner
Cable and ESPN Deportes are preparing to flank that effort
with another futbol-centered campaign this fall.
The nation’s No. 2 cable
operator and ESPN’s Spanish-
language service will
roll out a campaign in October
and November configured
to boost acquisition of
the MSO’s El Paquetazo digital-
TV package and highspeed
Internet services.
According to executives
at the companies, creative is
being formulated for crosschannel
spots touting the
above-mentioned double
play, as well as ESPN Deportes
high-definition and ESPN3.com’s coverage of matches
from Spain’s top soccer circuit La Liga, England’s Barclays
Premier League and Mexican futbol.
‘KICKING UP AWARENESS’
“We’re looking to build on the success of the Super
Copa promotion by kicking up awareness for our services
and tune-in for ESPN Deportes’ soccer presentation,”
Marisol Martinez de Rodriguez, senior director of target
marketing at Time Warner Cable, said.
David Preschlack, ESPN executive vice president of affiliate
sales and marketing, noted: “We think it’s going to be another
win-win-win, where we help Time Warner Cable boost
its double-play through the promotion of our linear and online
soccer coverage.”
The upcoming initiative follows
a multipronged promotion
the companies executed
this past summer around Super
Copa de España that kicked
off the 2011-12 La Liga season
and culminated with two of
the top clubs in the world, FC
Barcelona and Real Madrid,
squaring off on Aug. 17.
Supported by an array of
media and tactics, including
a consumer sweepstakes for
an excursion to Barcelona, the
promotion aimed to score by
driving acquisition/retention of El Paquetazo, augmenting
the operator’s Facebook activity and bolstering ESPN Deportes
HD viewing and loyalty. Time Warner Cable customers
also could watch the tournament live on ESPN3.com and replay
matches via its Lo Mejor on Demand service.
Three sweepstakes winners and their guests, plus Time Warner
Cable staffers, traveled to Spain Aug. 15-18, where they had
VIP tickets and suite access to watch Barcelona top Real Madrid
3-2 at Camp Nou. The two sides had previously tied, 2-2, in Madrid,
thus the Aug. 17 win gave Barcelona the cup.
Trip-goers stayed at the W in Barcelona, dined at exclusive
restaurants and took in the sights, including Sagrada Familia,
Columbus Monument, Park Guell, La Rambla and Montjuic.
The effort was fueled by national cross-channel tune-in
spot, plus a sweepstakes promo in TWC’s markets.
Email blasts and e-newsletters were targeted to subscribers,
and rich media ads appeared online at timewarnercable.com/espanol. Th e Super Copa event was also mentioned in Eclipse
Marketing’s Nexos Latinos quarterly magazine, which is distributed
to some 315,000 TWC Latino customers in New York,
California, Texas, North Carolina and Kansas City, among other
markets.
Preschlack, pointing out that the programmer and the cable
operator co-launched ESPNDeportesla.com in Los Angeles in
May, said Time Warner Cable was “looking to boost El Paquetazo
sales and increase their Facebook friends. Results matter,
and we’d like to think we helped energize things.”
The results were strong for El Paquetazo, the video package
of general-market and Spanish-language channels that sells
for $29.99 to $39.99 per month, depending on the market. In
Los Angeles, El Paquetazo comprises 220 networks, including
80 in Spanish.
SALES, FACEBOOK LIFTS
Rodriguez said the campaign netted a 5% increase in El Paquetazo
sales overall — at regular package pricing — during the
period, including upticks of 6% and 5% in New York City and
Texas, respectively.
TWC’s Hispanic-themed Mi Cultura Facebook page, facebook.com/micultura, added 10,000 friends to lift its total to
some 41,000, according to Rodriguez.
“We’d never done anything with such a 360-degree integration,”
she said. “It gave our regional teams something
to really get behind. It was a very successful effort that was
certainly better than direct-response initiatives.”
