OMD and MTV Networks Strike First Convergent Advertising Deal in the '06/'07 Upfront

OMD and MTV Networks Strike First Convergent Advertising Deal in the '06/'07 Upfront

OMD Clients Receive Unprecedented Access to MTV Networks' Linear and Digital Properties

NEW YORK, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- OMD and MTV Networks (MTVN) have closed a multi-network, multi-platform deal, the first of its kind in this 2006/2007 Upfront season. Under the terms of the agreement, OMD's clients will be the first to receive advertising opportunities across MTVN's diverse portfolio of premier television and online properties. The deal also lays the framework for a joint research partnership.

The expansive deal is the first in the Upfront to encompass all of MTVN's digital assets, as well as the first to comprise the company's many screens, including TV, online broadband, VOD, podcasting and wireless. The deal heralds the next generation in online media planning, enabling OMD to provide custom end-to-end digital marketing opportunities with MTVN's diverse stable of ubiquitous brands. OMD clients will have unprecedented access to MTVN's highly sought-after digital verticals as well as its newly acquired digital brands IFILM, GameTrailers.com, Neopets and Xfire.

In a strategic move, OMD combined linear and digital spending to enable its clients to move into a higher level of digital coverage that is a result of being able to tie new platform spending to television content.

"Our ability to strategically combine resources across platforms and the scope of our relationship with MTV Networks have allowed us to do something that creates a new value proposition for our clients," said Joe Uva, President and CEO, OMD Worldwide. "Through this collaboration, we are able to provide our clients with even greater reach to a broad, yet targeted and highly engaged audience of consumers. Our joint research project will help our clients better understand how the different media platforms work together to deliver better consumer experiences."

"Over the last year, we have positioned our creative groups and sales teams to fully mine the opportunities that the digital space offers, and this deal builds on that strategy," said Michael Wolf, President and COO, MTV Networks. "MTV Networks holds a unique position in the marketplace today because of our ability to make relevant content that connects our trendsetting consumers to advertisers across multiple touchpoints, on all available screens."

"We are excited to be expanding our relationship with OMD and its clients to the multi-platform space in a way we could not have imagined even a year ago," said Hank Close, Executive Vice President, Ad Sales, MTV Networks. "Our audiences are leading the charge toward new media technologies and we look forward to partnering with OMD in understanding these emerging screens and behaviors."

Also in conjunction with the multi-platform deal, MTV Networks and OMD will partner on a joint research project to further study the concepts of engagement and transference, both introduced in an innovative MTVN study released earlier this year. The project will have a particular focus on transference across platforms. Transference refers to the notion that consumers extend the positive feelings they have for media brands to the advertisers that appear in the context of these brands.

The study will have real-world applications for OMD and its clients. OMD will leverage the findings to identify specific transference levels for target customers and measure the impact of a cross-platform media presence. The study can also be used to gauge other brand and category measures for specific campaigns.

"By moving early with us, OMD has secured premium multi-platform opportunities for its clients in a market where viable digital assets are scarce," said Sue Danaher, Executive Vice President, Ad Sales, MTV Networks. "We are thrilled to be working with OMD in this groundbreaking deal where we intend to learn together on behalf of our clients."

"Integration is one of the key aspects that gives OMD more power and flexibility to do interesting things in new areas," said Debbie Richman, Managing Director of National Broadcast, OMD. "By bringing the combined expertise of our TV and Digital investors to this negotiation, we are able to provide clients with unprecedented access to MTVN content that effectively transcends platforms and serves as a dynamic environment for their messages. We were prepared, our clients were receptive, MTVN was the right partner and the timing was right to move into the world of convergence."

Included in the agreement are MTVN channels MTV, MTV2, mtvU, VH1, VH1 Classic, CMT, The N, Comedy Central, Spike TV, Nickelodeon, Nick-at-Nite, TV Land and Logo, as well as online sites mtv.com, vh1.com, cmt.com, comedycentral.com, nick.com, nickjr.com, the-n.com, tvland.com, nickatnite.com, logoonline.com, spiketv.com and the soon-to-launch website, parentsconnect.com. The deal also includes MTVN's newly acquired IFILM, GameTrailers.com, Neopets and Xfire.

OMD (http://www.omd.com/) is the largest and most innovative media communications specialist in the world, with more than 140 offices in 80 countries. Named 2005 Global Media Agency of the Year by Adweek and 2005 Media Agency of the Year in the U.S. by Advertising Age, OMD also had the distinction of winning the most EFFIES in 2006 and more Media Lions than any other media agency at the 2005 Cannes International Advertising Festival. The agency network is a unit of Omnicom Group Inc.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 120 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, with all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 100 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Source: MTV Networks

CONTACT: David Bittler of MTV Networks, +1-212-846-5263,
david.bittler@mtvstaff.com; or Tara Clark of OMD, +1-212-590-7333,
tara.clark@omd.com

Web site: http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.omd.com/

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