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myABC.tv
Broadcasting a Unified Message
ABC Television Network and Brandopoly
Like many companies with dispersed sales and marketing teams,
the ABC Television Network needed to ensure a unified brand message
while drastically reducing its marketing and sales-related expenses.
At the same time, it needed to provide its network of more than
200 affiliates with the ability to quickly create sales and promotion
materials relevant to their local markets. To meet this challenge,
ABC deployed a system that accelerated the process of producing
brand-compliant materials, reduced the costs associated with
the design and production of those materials and helped it realize
a significant return on its initial investment in less than one
year.
Sales and promotional staff at ABC's affiliates use advertisements,
sell sheets, presentations and stationery to facilitate sales
in their local markets. The creation of these materials previously
involved frequent requests for assets—photograph, ad
copy and graphics—from ABC headquarters. With design,
approvals and other related processes, the timeline for the creation
of a simple ad or sell sheet could stretch out to two weeks or
more, adding additional costs to the process. And as a distributed
network of corporate and independently operated affiliates, ABC
often found its brand investments compromised by local interpretation.
ABC introduced Brandopoly's Brand Management System to its sales
and marketing teams in May 2002. The ABC Brand Management System,
myABC.tv, enables sales and marketing teams to instantly produce
customized sales materials and deliver on-demand, brand-compliant
resources whenever and wherever they are needed. ABC's brand
resources are stored on secure, ultra-reliable servers managed
by Brandopoly. Authorized users access the system through a Web-based
interface that gives them a variety of design templates, news
and the latest marketing information.
“Before myABC.tv, local markets had to contact corporate marketing
to get approved artwork and copy, then send the completed work
back to them for approval. Often this process took two weeks
or more,” said Vice President of Affiliate Marketing and
Promotion John Nuzzi. “Even when we provided access to artwork
and ad copy, the materials often required customization, at additional
cost, for use in their local market.”
The myABC system got its first real test during the introduction
of the network's fall 2003 line-up. Each spring the networks
present their affiliates not only with the new programming line-up
but also with a new brand package or 'look and feel' to support
the new programs. With myABC, the affiliates already had all
of the programming images and marketing assets available through
the Internet immediately following the announcement of the new
season. The affiliates' promotional staffs were able to start
working immediately with pre-approved sales, marketing and promotional
resources available to them on myABC that they could tailor to
their local markets.
Now, the myABC system gives sales, marketing and promotion staff
at each of ABC's affiliates secure access to the company's brand
resources via the Internet. Design templates accessed through
a Web-based interface allow them to create customized ads, brochures,
sell sheets, stationery and presentations at any time, from any
Internet connection. Easy-to-use administrative functions allow
ABC's marketing staff to instantly update assets and resources
across the company so users have the most current marketing and
sales materials. Real-time statistics give administrators information
and control over who is using the system and how it is being
used.
myABC has had an additional benefit for ABC's network of affiliates.
Before myABC, benchmarks and best practices in sales and marketing
were limited. Now the marketing and promotions resources of the
entire network of ABC affiliates are contributing to a marketplace
of opportunity. Sales sheets conceived in Spokane yesterday are
being used in Chicago today. Last minute promotional items given
the green light by the network today can be in front of the promotional
director of every ABC affiliate tomorrow morning. In this way
both ABC and its affiliates can easily and immediately create
and distribute success stories via myABC.
“Because we had no system prior to myABC, each market was left
to their own devices,” said John Nuzzi, vice president of
Affiliate Marketing & Promotion, ABC Television Network. “As
a result, we found little consistency in advertising, marketing
and sales output.”
“Now, myABC lets us draw on the resources and experiences of the
entire ABC network. We have an open marketplace of ideas with
affiliates sharing success stories and ABC providing the local
sales and promotional teams with the marketing and promotional
resources they need in a fast, easy-to-use format,” Nuzzi
said. Since introducing Brandopoly into its sales and marketing
organizations, ABC Television reduced the expense of having to
prepare, package and distribute resources to affiliates. They
receive fewer requests for support from affiliates, meaning that
corporate marketing staff spends less time dealing with those
requests. Affiliates also spend less time and money planning
and producing their promotional materials.
“Brandopoly has eliminated much of the cost and time involved
in creating and disseminating marketing communications and sales
support materials to our more than 200 affiliate stations,” said
Nuzzi. “In terms of costs avoided and time saved, Brandopoly
has delivered dramatic results to ABC and its affiliates.”
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More Success Stories
:: ABC Television
:: myABC.tv
:: myhbomax.com
“Brandopoly is a godsend! It's so simple; in four clicks I have an ad.”
—Linda Tracy,
Promotions Manager,
Max Media
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