Week 9 - Chapter 18 Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

MTV's “Choose or Lose” campaign was designed to inform and empower young voters on the political issues that matter to them most, and to provide a platform for airing their views.

In  1992, MTV started a pro-democracy to encourage up to 20 million people to register to vote, in recent years, other politically diverse programs on MTV have included True Life, which documents people's lives and problems, and MTV News specials, which center on very current events in both the music industry and the world. One special show covered the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, airing programs focused on the issues and opinions of young people. MTV worked with P. Ditty’s "Vote or Die" campaign, designed to encourage young people to vote.

The channel also began showing presidential campaign commercials for the first time during the 2008 US presidential election. This has led to criticism that "MTV serves as the Democrats' main youth outreach program."

Week 8 (Chapter 17) Advertising and Public Relations of MTV

 MTV 44 1/2 offers the biggest HD video screen available to advertisers in Times Square, with a worldwide on-air audience of up to 67 million viewers.

MTV 44½ captures the eyes of viewers with unique MTV programming, live tapings, special events, concerts, and MTV-branded creative that breaks through the clutter in Times Square. MTV 44½'s screen dimensions are compatible with those of standard broadcast specifications, which means that MTV 44½ is able to accommodate creative identical to what is already on air. There's no need to resize or produce special creative to run on MTV 44½.  

MTV is the world's most widely distributed television network, the channel's achievements are considerable . MTV reaching almost 600m households in over 150 countries around the globe.  It completely transformed the nature of popular music during the 1980s and 1990s, arguably even more influential on that medium than the introduction of the compact disc. It is also one of only a handful of media properties of recent years which has transcended its original format to become something close to a lifestyle brand and is also the world's most valuable individual media brand. Yet MTV began as simply a cheap way of filling a dead slot in a regional US cable system. 

Week 6 -Retailing Of MTV

Last saturday I went to MTV studios in the New York city. I didn't get inside due to an incovinience in the entrace. I was supposed to has a prior invitation and only authorized personnal was allowed to enter the place . However, a guy calling Kelvin who works as a security , told me that I could get information from www.Mtvstudios.com about what they do. So, I decided to do my own search. 

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In 1997, MTV made its rising success more palpable by inhabiting the building at 1515 Broadway in Times Square. The bulk of the network's live programming took place against the backdrop of Times Square. MTV Live featured celebrity interviews, musical performances, and regular news updates. Though producers downplay the similarities, MTV Live shared several signature elements with Much On Demand, a live show on MuchMusic, a Canadian competitor's channel, including its Good Morning America-styled format of windows displaying onlookers on a metropolitan street. For ten years, screaming fans lined the sidewalk underneath the huge plate-glass windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite artist appearing on Total Request Live, and MTV also started throwing Times Square bashes in the studio, filming MTV News segments, and even holding concerts in Times Square itself.

Week 6- Consumer Decision Making of MTV

MTV has been very successful in its almost 30 years on the air. By identifying trends we can distinguish consumer profile and behavior.

 MTV has seen the need for innovative material throughout time due to rapid changing trends not only in music but also in fashion, culture, values and global issues like poverty, starvation, HIV and war.

MTV is a company faced with the need for consumer information in order to innovate and stay up-to-date with new teen-trends.

There are four key factors that influence viewing patters, which define what young people look for when watching TV. .

• The first key factor is that young people are attracted to new programs. Due to this, MTV creates new shows often, usually in the fall. Young people are 20 also attracted to shows that refresh or restart constantly like The Real World, which changes location and participants every season.

• The second factor is that viewers watch MTV mostly at night and this gets later and later due to the introduction of DVDs and the internet. MTV’s prime time starts at 10pm creating a smaller window of viewing time. MTV had to adapt to this new tendency and push back programming schedules.
• The third factor is the fact that the line between reality and TV is increasingly blurred due to communication and digital technology. Now-a-days MTV brings regular people to a celebrity status with shows like Dismissed, while bringing celebrities down to earth in shows like Punk’d. Viewers also want information that they can relate to their lives in a kind of ‘educational entertainment’ with shows like CSI.

• Finally the last key factor is the search for diversity which is key due to the fact that young people drive program trends while the parents follow right behind. Therefore there is a need to satisfy teen wants and try to appeal to the parents. This is the idea that everyone chooses what they want to watch throughout a programming spectrum. Thank to this, the need for diversification arises to meet as many wants/needs as possible.

Week 5- Developing a Global Vision of MTV

Global Vision is one of the most powerful tools that many companies try to succeed. 

 MTV has expanded internationally as well, reaching more than 340 million households in 140 countries via 31 local TV channels and 17 websites (Viacom.com). Launched in 1987, MTV Europe is a 24-hour English language network aimed at viewers aged 16-34; it reaches more than 100 million households. In 1996, MTV Europe divided into four separate services according to region, including MTV UK&Ireland, MTV Central, MTV European and MTV Southern. Other regional MTV networks include MTV Brazil (1990), MTV Asia and Japan (1991), MTV Latin (three separate channels: North South and Central in 1993) and MTV Russia, which was launched in September of 1998 and reaches more than 18 million homes. This channel marked the first time a western television network has been customized specifically for Russian youth ages 14-34. MTV can justifiably claim to be a truly global phenomenon. This must in part be attributed to the transnational appeal of its product - pop music.