Unfurling A Tall Order

Brandweek, April 3, 2000 by T. L. Stanley

It was a strategy Horatio Hornblower himself might have used: it you can't outgun 'em, out-smart 'em. A&E Network and its agency, Promotion Development Group, took a historical, book-based miniseries with no recognizable stars that had failed in its airings on British television, and turned it into one of me most-watched programs in the channel's history. For an investment of about $600,000,they reaped $13 million in media value from partners that included the American Library Association, book retailer Barnes & Noble, publisher Little Brown and software maker Strategy First.

Tall ships sailed in eight markets, staging Horatio Hornblower-style mock sea battles, and winners of several national sweepstakes went on Windjammer Barefoot Cruises.

"In today's marketplace, nobody has enough money to reach the world of potential viewers, and cable networks have less to start with than their broadcast competition," said John Zamoiski, president of Promotion Development Group, whose division, The Alliance Group, marshalled the program. "The entire base of the campaign was built on strategic alliances. In every case, we were trading channels of distribution."

The Horatio Hornblower effort snagged gold Reggies in two categories: multi-channel integrated promotion involving consumer and trade, and national consumer promotion under $1 million. The miniseries itself won an Emmy, beating out heavily hyped fare from NBC (The '60s and The Temptations), CBS' Joan of Arc and PBS' Great Expectations.

A&E execs had decided to air the four two-hour movies, based on C.S. Forester novels, on consecutive Sundays in April, and to back the programming with about $1.5 million in total marketing. By contrast, the Big Four networks regularly spend triple that amount to support their event movies. A&E had been trying for a decade to secure rights to make the movies, and had invested heavily in their production. The net also was looking to translate into TV movies more of the 11 Forester books, which revolve around the fictional Midshipman Horatio Hornblower but are based on historical facts of life on British warships in the late 1700s.

For the network, the promotion had to work on three targets: local and national advertising sales, affiliates and consumers. Execs committed about two thirds of the total marketing heft to promotion and, with their agency searched for the proper partners to create a breadth of off-channel activities.

"We wanted to establish an emotional relationship with the audience and make them feel in touch with the product," said Mike Mohamad, A&E's vp-marketing. "Everything had to be relevant to the viewer. We couldn't just give away trips, but adventure-type vacations on tall ships really spoke to the program. Could you have seen us doing a pizza restaurant tie-in? People do it, but in our minds, it would've demeaned the property."

And it wasn't enough that, in their minds, they had a good promotional lineup. The entire company needed to be energized behind it, Mohamad said. Presentations from the marketing group included Mohamad, Valerie Albanese, Stacy Krusch and Lori Peterzell in period garb.

"You can't just say,'Here's a great promotion, now everybody subscribe to it" Mohamad said. "You have to make it fit with the strategies of the different divisions, and you have to get them excited about it."

To reach information-hungry, educationally-minded consumers, an alliance with the American Library Association put Horatio Hornblower displays in some 8,000 libraries (about half the libraries that were approached decided to participate). The "All Hands on Deck" program used the books as the centerpiece, gathering around them histories, biographies, art books and other materials that allowed libraries to showcase themselves as clearinghouses for information on any topic.

An estimated 9 million consumers saw the displays; the five libraries with the best use of Horatio Hornblower received $1,000 each. The cost to A&E was minimal.

Software maker Strategy First, on the heels of a successful period title called Man of War, partnered with A&E for the release of the sequel, Man of War II, delaying its debut to coincide with the miniseries airing.

The company put a 60-second promotional spot for the miniseries on the front of 200,000 CD-ROM samplers for the title. The sampler went to retailers and targeted gamers. Tune-in stickers were placed on all early packages of the game, about 30,000 copies, and an offer for Horatio Hornblower videos went inside. A "Sail Away" sweepstakes gave three Windjammer cruises, with automatic entry for registering the game product; retail displays also had entry forms. More than 5,000 retailers created special displays for Man of War II, boosting the title to record sales and giving the miniseries extra exposure.

Through the Nautical Heritage Society, mock sea battles were staged in such port cities as San Diego, Miami and Philadelphia. Local radio stations sponsored the events, which were coordinated by Civic Entertainment Group, New York, with live remotes following weeks of pre-promotion. Stations also gave listeners Windjammer cruises. Cable affiliates used access to the tall ships as perks for advertisers and employees, who rode along during the mock battles, which drew an average of 2,000 spectators and attracted local print and TV coverage, all without "one penny in paid media," said Zamoiski.