Mtv, Sponsors Plan Potent Vma Push

MTV is turning up the promotional heat on the Video Music Awards as the network's annual flagship event moves to a new city (Miami), switches to a new night (Sunday) and faces new, high-profile ratings competitors (the Olympic Games).

The Viacom-owned channel is looking for the VMAs to rebound from a 10% ratings dip last year, when the show had 10.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

However, MTV has its work cut out for itself in a so-called "quadrennial" year, where it must share the stage with the Olympics and the Republican National Convention.

The show will be held in Miami rather than New York, its usual home, partly because the Republican National Convention will be taking place in Manhattan the same week.

The VMAs also are going up against the final night of the Summer Olympics. MTV switched from a Thursday night—the night the show had aired in recent years—to Sunday.

"There's definitely a little bit more noise out there than there was last year from a competitive point of view," MTV executive VP of marketing Tina Exarhos says.

MTV hopes to counter the added competition with an extensive mix of on-air promotion, special events and advertising buys. The network also is working with 20-plus radio stations, targeting select retail partners like Virgin Megastores and teaming with a range of sponsors, including the Gap and Saturn, to help drive awareness for the show.

"Everything we've done to get that word out, we've stepped up an additional notch this year," Exarhos says.

The VMAs, which air Aug. 29 on the cable outlet, are still viewed as a marketing bonanza for companies looking to reach the all-important youth demographic.

Official sponsors of the 2004 VMAs include Pepsi, Taco Bell, Pantene, GM, Dodge, Revlon, Gap, HP and Virgin Mobile USA. According to published reports, each sponsor is shelling out in excess of $1 million dollars for its deal.

Advertisers spent $29 million on the VMAs last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, a division of Taylor Nelson Sofres that tracks ad spending. That's a 61.1% increase from the $18 million ad spend on the 2002 VMAs. How ratings for last year's show will impact the overall ad spend on this year's event is unclear.

"I don't look at the down tick last year as much as this year's challenge of getting people to a new night," Exarhos says. "Our hope is that our audience is going to be interested in the show more than anything else that is happening that night."

The show is getting an added boost from its sponsors. Gap is using the event to roll out a series of ads featuring Sarah Jessica Parker and Lenny Kravitz.

Meanwhile, sponsor Saturn is sending a convoy of specially designed cars from Detroit to Miami in honor of the event. Saturn had cars designed by MTV-centric celebrities, including Usher, Xzibit, Ludacris, Good Charlotte, Chingy and G-Unit.

MTV is also teaming with the city of Miami to sponsor a Restaurant Week, in which local restaurants will offer $8.29 special meals.

As part of the promotional effort, the Virgin Megastore in Miami will host a special VMA in-store Aug. 27 with Miami hip-hop artist Pitbull and VMA performers the Ying Yang Twins. And the city of Miami, MTV and Comcast will sponsor a concert featuring Mario Winans and Carl Thomas.

For the week preceding the awards, the network has taken over Miami Beach clubs for special DJ nights featuring prizes and the chance to win tickets to VMA-related parties.

MTV is also throwing a special outdoor party in Coconut Grove, Fla., just south of Miami, in conjunction with outposts of several Miami clubs. Additionally, MTV is hosting a series of "block parties" that will feature performances and appearances by a range of hip-hop and R&B acts.

Plus, MTV2 is sponsoring the annual benefit concert for LIFEbeat, a national nonprofit dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention. The concert takes place Aug. 28 at Crowbar.