Contract Extension with Nation's Premier Merchandise Agency Ensures More Years of Increased Brand Exposure for AMERICAN IDOL Sponsors
Woodinville , Wash. , – April 9, 2007 – Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BD&A), the nation's premier Merchandise AgencySM , today announced that its relationship with FremantleMedia, co-producer and licensor of AMERICAN IDOL, as the official promotional merchandise partner for the AMERICAN IDOL brand, has been extended through the year 2010. Premium international brands including Coca Cola, Cingular (AT&T), Ford and select others have spent millions securing sponsorship rights to be associated with the AMERICAN IDOL franchise, the most successful television series of all time. To ensure that these companies derive the greatest possible value, BD&A collaborates with sponsors to design, execute, and deliver customized branded merchandise campaigns that succeed in connecting consumers to their brands in a meaningful and lasting way.
“Sponsorship activation is critical to the success of our promotional partners and BD&A is working behind the scenes making these campaigns come to life through creatively inspired branded merchandise that succeeds in connecting sponsors with AMERICAN IDOL fans,” said FremantleMedia's David Luner, Senior Vice President Interactive and Consumer Products, North America. “Over the course of the past six AMERICAN IDOL seasons, BD&A has helped conceive and deliver a broad variety of highly innovative promotional merchandise campaigns that have helped Idol sponsors close the sponsorship loop and fully maximize their investment.”
In an increasingly fragmented media market, brand marketers must fiercely compete for the attention of consumers. Sponsorship activation has emerged as a critical component of the modern experiential marketing movement, where consumers can engage with a sponsor's product across the marketing spectrum. For example, BD&A worked with Coca Cola to develop a customized AMERICAN IDOL director's chair that Safeway food stores' shoppers would receive upon mail-in of three Coca Cola fridge pack proofs of purchase. Just a few months into the season, this campaign has been hailed as the most successful promotion ever for the supermarket giant.
As the official promotional merchandise partner to FremantleMedia, BD&A is responsible for all facets of merchandise activation on behalf of AMERICAN IDOL sponsors – from the creative definition of a campaign to distribution and fulfillment – BD&A provides companies with a one-stop sponsorship activation resource.
“Most companies leave money on the table when it comes to sponsorships and fail to recognize that activation programs are critical to fully realizing their campaigns,” said Jay Deutsch, CEO and co-founder of BD&A. “FremantleMedia is truly an entertainment vanguard and to have its confidence and trust in managing sponsorship activation is a testament to our long-standing partnership and the value BD&A delivers with each new season of AMERICAN IDOL.”
ABOUT FREMANTLEMEDIA
FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) is the commercial arm of FremantleMedia and comprises of Fremantle International Distribution (FID), FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) and Fremantle Home Entertainment (FHE). FID has a network of international sales offices and licenses over 19,000 hours of programmes to 150 countries worldwide. FID's programming comes from in-house UK producer, talkbackTHAMES and from an increasing number of independent producers in the UK and internationally. Recent international successes include US ratings-toppers The Apprentice: Donald Trump and The Apprentice: Martha Stewar t, hugely successful fashion reality series, Project Runway starring Heidi Klum, exquisite Brook Lapping production Catherine the Great and the music event special, Britney Spears: In the Zone.
FLW is the licensing division of FremantleMedia and exploits the company's many strong brands including the award winning international format, Idols and the cult children's classics, Rainbow and DangerMouse , across multiple off-screen platforms including merchandising campaigns, interactive and wireless support and music publishing. FHE is the home entertainment arm of FremantleMedia and includes the company's archive sales and clips division.
FremantleMedia is one of the largest international creators and producers of programme brands in the world, with leading prime time entertainment, drama, serial drama and factual entertainment programming produced in over 25 territories. International drama programmes include Germany's top rated serial drama, Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten(Good Times Bad Times), the UK's most successful police drama, The Bill, and Australia's top serial drama, Neighbours. The company's entertainment and factual entertainment hits range from the award winning international format, Idols, broadcast as the prime time show, American Idol, on FOX in the US, to the grime-busting format, How Clean is Your House? and factual entertainment series starring celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, Jamie's Kitchen, as well as long-running gameshows like The Price Is Right. FremantleMedia is the production business of the RTL Group, Europe 's largest television and radio broadcast company.
www.fremantlemedia.com
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 $200 million, the Seattle-area company is the leading promotional merchandise agency in the United States and a principal player in licensed consumer products worldwide, employing more than 400 people in 20 locations. Global brands such as AOL, Bank of America, Dell, Eli Lilly and Company, 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 official branded merchandise agency of Major League Baseball Properties and 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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Media contacts:
Kelly Mickelson
Barokas PR for BD&A
206.264.8220
bda@barokas.com