Promotion to Run Six Months in National Parenting and Lifestyle Magazines
ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 22, 2002 - PBS KIDS®, the premiere source of educational children's media, has launched its most extensive branding campaign to date. Targeting parents and featuring renowned PBS educational series for young viewers, the nine executions created by One And All will run in leading lifestyle and parenting magazines between October 2002 and March 2003. The campaign expands the "Be More" positioning that debuted in summer 2002.
"The trust that parents place in our brand is tremendously important to us at PBS and it's something that we want to continue to build," said Lesli Rotenberg, PBS Senior Vice President of Brand Management and Strategic Positioning. "This campaign demonstrates, in a compelling and visually appealing way, our commitment to helping kids live up to their full potential."
One And All creative director Mike Lescarbeau believes the new campaign, which was photographed by Catherine Ledner, will continue to differentiate PBS KIDS from other media brands. "There is more choice in children's television today than ever before," he commented. "Our goal was to capture the spirit of curiosity and imagination that makes PBS KIDS programming unique."
The creative executions highlight the acclaimed series Arthur, Barney & Friends, Between the Lions, Caillou, Clifford The Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat and Teletubbies and will appear in such publications as Child, Essence, Family Fun, Martha Stewart Kids, Nick Jr., Oprah, Parenting, Parents, People and Redbook.
One execution that focuses on the literacy-based Between the Lions features a photograph of a little girl who has ingeniously used the books she's been reading to reach for a piece of cake. The headline declares: "We'll help her fall in love with books. How she uses them is up to her." The body copy explains: "At PBS KIDS, programs like Between the Lions not only teach kids to read, they create a lifelong love of learning. And once your child loves to learn, she'll find it a lot easier to get the things she really wants in life. Even if she has to reach for them." The tagline reads: "PBS KIDS. Be More Inspired."
A separate two-page spread illustrates helping a child's imagination take flight. Pictured is a young boy being held high in the air with his arms outstretched like the wings of an airplane. The headline begins: "You can tell him he can't fly but he'll never hear you over the roar of the engines." The body copy continues: "At PBS KIDS, shows like Dragon Tales spark your child's imagination, encouraging him to believe in all kinds of things, especially himself. And once kids believe in themselves they can rise above just about anything." The tag line concludes: "PBS KIDS. Be More Empowered."
The "Be More" campaign premiered in July 2002 with four on-air image spots that currently run during primetime on PBS member stations across the country. "Be More" captures public television's unique position in the media world. Unlike commercial broadcasters and cable networks, PBS's bottom line is public service. The PBS mission is to inspire people to engage in deeper, more meaningful ways with the world around them with their families, their communities, and through individual growth.
PBS KIDS is unmatched in brand resonance with the American public. Its dedication to children's intellectual and social development echoes the "Be More" theme. According to PBS' most recent Image Tracking Study, PBS KIDS is the #1 children's media brand among mothers and fathers of children age 2-11.* Three generations of parents have raised their children with pro-social, entertainingly educational PBS programs like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
In May 2002, PBS KIDS won 9 Daytime Emmy awards, making this the fifth consecutive year that PBS has earned more Emmys for its children's series than any other broadcast network. PBS KIDS boasts six of the top ten programs among kids age 2-5, two of the most-watched series for kids age 2-11,** and the seven leading shows for mothers of young children. The pbskids.org Web site averages more than 130 million pageviews each month.***
Late last month PBS launched another important initiative to directly support families - PBS Parents (www.pbsparents.org). The PBS Parents Web site combines the significant resources of PBS and local public television stations across the country, to offer features, advice and thousands of educational activities dedicated to helping both parents and caregivers raise children who are ready to learn. The site has received approximately 350,000 pageviews since its September 26 debut.
Opened in January of 2001 by partners Mike Lescarbeau, Tom Nowak and Marcus Fischer, One And All is located in Minneapolis, MN. One And All's clients include PBS KIDS, The HoneyBaked Ham Company, Culver's Frozen Custard, Life Time Fitness and Summit Brewing.
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.
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* PBS Image Tracking Study, Wave Eight, Feb/March 2002, Harris Interactive-Total Research
** For PBS, NTI Pocketpieces for July 2002. For broadcast, cable, and syndication, Nielsen Galaxy Explorer, July 1-31, 2002.
*** PBS Server Logs (September 2002) Public Broadcasting Service
Contact:
Jan McNamara, PBS
703-739-5028
Tom Nowak, One And All
612-332-4444