Campaigns to remember.
Established in 1997, the CTAM Hall of Fame honors only the finest and most influential marketing campaigns which are more than five years old and have had a powerful impact on their companies and the cable industry. The honoree is selected for outstanding achievement by a panel of 25 senior cable marketing and agency executives.
2009 Inductee
Turner Broadcasting System: Brand Marketing for TNT (We Know Drama) and TBS (Very Funny) is the 2009 inductee into the CTAM Hall of Fame.
Turner Broadcasting System is being honored for the successful branding and marketing campaigns of its sister networks TNT and TBS. In response to the growing competition from the hundreds of channels that viewers have available to them, Turner set to define their brands clearly and distinctly. The result was the immensely successful TNT “We Know Drama,” and TBS “Very Funny” campaigns. The two brands created focused messaging for consumers and enabled branded sponsorship platforms that made both networks “must buys” among advertisers. The campaigns successfully created two distinct brands that helped Turner build a powerful portfolio with reach that rivals broadcast.
2009 Hall of Fame Nominees
- Comedy Central: Marketing of South Park
- Fox News Channel: “We Report. You Decide.” Campaign
- Time Warner Cable: Marketing of Road Runner
- Turner Broadcasting System: Brand Marketing for TNT (We Know Drama) and TBS (Very Funny)
- World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.: PPV Events Marketing
Hall of Fame Screening Committee:
- Eric Kessler – HBO – Chair
- Jennifer Ball – Univision
- Wonya Lucas – Discovery
- Sam Howe – TWC
- John Zamoiski – NMA
- Jon Hargis – Cablevision
Hall of Fame Past Inductees
MTV – I Want MY MTV! (1997)
The inaugural inductee into the CTAM Hall of Fame is perhaps the single most memorable campaign in cable, and television, history – I Want My MTV! Through the years, few marketing campaigns ever achieved such mass popularity that they became ingrained in our collective consciousness. Those special few, like Wendy’s Where’s the Beef?, Nike’s Just Do It and I Want My MTV! transcended mere marketing and took on lives of their own. In a sense, they became self-contained time capsules; small yet significant pieces of the eras they reflected, and ultimately helped shape.
HBO – The Integrated Marketer (1998)
The successful branding of HBO over the past 25 years was the result of hundreds of individual campaigns, programs and innovations, as well as integrated efforts of over a dozen separate marketing and support teams. This commitment to marketing played a key role in the development of the network’s powerful brand name. In essence, HBO taught the rest of the cable and television industries how it should be done.
CNN – Gulf War Coverage (1998)
CNN's coverage of the Gulf War was a seminal point in the history of cable programming and the marketing effort that accompanied it was guerilla marketing at its finest. Just as the news people in Iraq were reporting a fast-breaking situation, the marketers in Atlanta were marketing it as it happened. The programming brought the world to CNN and the marketing kept them there.
A&E Network - The Marketing of Biography (1999)
In today’s culture of personality, Biography® stands as one of the era’s most popular icons. Acclaimed and often imitated, Biography has earned the single honor of being television’s longest-running, single-topic documentary series. Time magazine calls Biography "cable’s must-see TV". By any measure, ratings or longevity, Biography demonstrates that you can do quality programming—and win a loyal, loving audience along the way.
Discovery Channel - The Marketing of Shark Week (1999)
Shark Week, the cable industry’s first-ever programming theme week, began over a decade ago as the brainchild of a programming executive, seeking to pull in new viewers to the then fledgling Network. Now heading into its 12th year, Shark Week has not only contributed heartily to Network ratings goals, but has also helped make Discovery Channel the number one media brand in overall quality, as voted by consumers (EquiTrend 1998, Total Research Corp.).
Lifetime Television - Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign (2000)
As the cable network for women, Lifetime's commitment to women extends well beyond the world of television. Lifetime's Breast Cancer Awareness initiative serves as powerful proof of that commitment, as do the numerous women whose lives have been touched by the campaign. Since Lifetime's inception, they have been involved in putting the medium of television to use for women at every given opportunity to raise awareness and unite women to fight this overwhelming disease.
MTV - Choose or Lose Campaign (2001)
Over the last decade, MTV's "Choose or Lose," along with its non-profit partners and affiliates, has registered more than two million new voters. Through expanded programming, interviews, concerts, news specials, online activities, affiliate partnerships and a printed guide designed to provide young voters with information about the elections, MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaigns helped connect young people and give them a strong voice in the political process. At the same time, "Choose or Lose" has become a unique new voice in the political-news media, championing the opinions of young people across the country.
CNN Headline News - Around the World in 30 Minutes (Special 25th Anniversary Inductee, 2001)
The essence of this tagline has been the underpinning of CNN Headline News for almost 20 years and continues to guide the network as it undergoes the most sweeping transformation in its history. "Around the World in 30 Minutes" let viewers know CNN Headline News would deliver comprehensive, fast-paced news suited to their busy lives. Because viewers are busier today and their schedules more demanding and varied than ever before, CNN Headline News is changing to keep pace with their changing needs.
ESPN - This is SportsCenter (2002)
In 1995, ESPN recruited Wieden & Kennedy, fresh off the success of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, to promote its popular sports news show, SportsCenter. ESPN knew what its fans knew – that SportsCenter had become destination viewing for millions of sports fans, while re-defining the concept of sports coverage. In its five year history “This is SportsCenter” has won numerous accolades from both the advertising community and the consumer and trade press – including being named the 22nd greatest television commercial of all time by TV Guide.
Home Box Office: It's Not TV. It's HBO (2003)
This memorable and ground-breaking campaign showcases the HBO brand as providing viewers with a form of entertainment that is emotionally involving and fulfilling. At the same time, it has successfully driven HBO’s entertainment value by elevating HBO above the “ordinary.”
VH1 Save The Music Foundation (2004)
Since its inception in 1997, VH1 Save The Music Foundation has been on the national forefront of restoring music education programs in schools across America. VH1 created a comprehensive music education advocacy campaign focused on restoring music programs at the local level, and raised awareness about the changing environment for music education on a national level. VH1 Save the Music Foundation has donated more than $25 million worth of musical instruments to 1,000 public schools in 80 cities, improving the lives of more than 500,000 children.
Nickelodeon's THE BIG HELP (2005)
Since its inception in 1994, Nickelodeon's on-going public service campaign to connect kids to their world through volunteering has left a lasting impression on a generation of kids by instilling in them the understanding that they were empowered to make a difference and change their world for the better. The campaign took full advantage of all Nickelodeon's resources, including Nick online (nick.com, nickjr.com, teachers.nick.com) and Nickelodeon Magazine. In addition, the channel devoted more than 10% of its non-programmed airtime, and dedicated approximately $30 million of on-air, off-air and press support to the campaign.
Cox Communications - Your Friend in the Digital Age (2006)
Cox was honored for its successful marketing campaign that focused on the consumer, advanced new products, raised customer satisfaction and grew its customer base. In the early 1990’s, Cox delivered analog cable to 1.7 million customers and had a bold vision for the future – to harness the power of their network to deliver multiple digital services. While the exact services were unclear at that time, they wanted to respond quickly to future customer demands. Cox knew that building customer trust, loyalty and satisfaction would be critical in order to convert cable-only customers into multiple-service customers and initiated a long-term strategy to deliver high-tech services with a human touch.
Cablevision Systems: Interactive Optimum (iO) Brand Campaign (2007)
Cablevision was honored for its successful marketing campaign surrounding its iO Digital Cable brand. Introduced in 2001, iO expanded its TV offering to more than 200 cable and interactive channels, including 45 multiplex movie services, and more than 700 new On Demand choices. With iO, Cablevision reintroduced cable television as a virtually limitless range of viewing possibilities that jumped ahead of the linear channel roster of satellite TV
HBO: Marketing of The Sopranos (2008)
The marketing of The Sopranos was a key driver of the series’ success. For each of the six seasons the show aired, extensive multi-tiered campaigns were launched. The cumulative effect of seasons of marketing and publicity support generated unprecedented gains in consumer awareness (92% among subscribers, 86% among the total population) and subscriber growth, and The Sopranos became the most watched original series on HBO every year that it aired.