FremantleMedia Appoints BD&A as Their Agency of Record Through 2008
BD&A Continues to Sing with American Idol For Another Two Years
Woodinville, Wash., – January 30, 2006 – The nation's Merchandise AgencySM, BD&A, has been FremantleMedia's promotional agency for their #1 show, American Idol since 2002. Through continued successes, FremantleMedia inked another two year contract which continues BD&A's relationship through 2008. BD&A has been managing the American Idol online store and supplying branded merchandise since the inception of the show. In addition, BD&A works with the show's licensees as well as their on and off-air sponsors such as Cingular, Ford and Coke by providing promotional goods and services.
“BD&A's relationship with both FremantleMedia and American Idol continues to grow through the triumphant success of the online web store merchandising efforts and continued dedication and innovation towards our marketing campaigns and objectives”, states David Luner, Vice President of Licensing. “BD&A has been with us every step of the way and continues to be pivotal to the success of licensing initiatives season after season.”
American Idol , which just wrapped up its fifth season, continues to dominate television ratings averaging more than 31 million viewers per week. The number one and two television series in the 18-49 demographic, American Idol has experienced year over year growth for five consecutive seasons and was the most searched show on Yahoo! in 2005.
BD&A has a strong reputation as a brand expert in a wide variety of fields from technology and medicine to sports and entertainment. They leverage extensive vendor relationships and huge buying power to provide their clients with strategic merchandise that acts as an extension of their clients' brand identity. BD&A approaches merchandise marketing with a unique philosophy that views promotional products as an integral part of the marketing mix.
ABOUT FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas
FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide, Americas (FLW, Americas) is the licensing arm of FremantleMedia for North and South America. FremantleMedia one of the largest international creators and producers of program brands in the world, with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 territories. FLW, Americas exploits FremantleMedia's many strong brands, including the award winning, American Idol , the world's longest running gameshow The Price Is Right, the ever-popular Family Feud, and other classic gameshows, across multiple off-screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, live events, sponsorship, interactive and wireless support, home entertainment and music publishing. FLW, Americas is also responsible for additional business diversification initiatives including ‘Thumbdance', a pioneering wireless channel delivering original made-for-mobile video content on demand.
FLW, Americas is part of FremantleMedia North America (FMNA). FMNA is on the leading edge of global broadcast production, developing some of television's most innovative and watched new programming. Based in Santa Monica and with offices in New York, FMNA has produced such genre-bending shows as the musical/reality phenomenon American Idol . In 2005, FremantleMedia programs garnered 16 Emmy nominations, including six for American Idol . Other credits include The Price Is Right (CBS), the longest-running gameshow in television history, the daily syndicated gameshow Family Feud , the hotly debated reality series The Swan (Fox), the breakout hit lifestyle show How Clean Is Your House? (Lifetime), Distraction (Comedy Central), Property Ladder (TLC), American Inventor (ABC), the upcoming The Gameshow Marathon (CBS) and America 's Got Talen t (NBC).
FremantleMedia is the production arm of the RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company. With interests in 34 television channels and 30 radio stations in 10 countries, RTL Group is a division of leading integrated media and entertainment company Bertelsmann AG. For further information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com .
ABOUT American Idol
Fourteen-time Emmy-nominated AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment, Ltd.; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.
ABOUT BD&A
Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc. (BD&A), the nation's first and only Merchandise AgencySM, provides marketing services and customized branded merchandise to Fortune 500 enterprises, major sports leagues and global entertainment holding companies. Clients come to BD&A to extend their reach through custom branded-merchandise campaigns, integrated e-commerce marketing, and sports and entertainment sponsorship activation. With revenues reaching more than $256 million, the Seattle-area company is the leading promotional merchandise provider in the United States and a principal player in licensed consumer products worldwide, employing more than 500 people in 25 locations. Global brands such as Bank of America, Dell, GlaxoSmithKline, ExxonMobil, and FedEx are but a few of the household names that rely on BD&A to bring their marketing campaigns to life through merchandise. Additionally, BD&A is the Preferred Premium Agency of Major League Baseball and the official branded merchandise agency of FremantleMedia North America (owner of American Idol and other well-known shows). BD&A is the number one in-stadium sports promotion agency, providing merchandise and promotions for the NFL, NBA and NHL. For more information on the power of merchandise, visit www.bdainc.com
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BD&A Media Contact:
Kelly Mickelson
Barokas PR for BDA
206.264.8220
bda@barokas.com