CMT targets media buyers with integrated effort

Country music cable network CMT launched a campaign targeting media buyers and planners on April 12 called “140 million Americans get country. Do you?” Digital and branding agency Barker/DZP created the awareness push.

The effort, which contains e-mail, digital, outdoor and sweepstakes elements, was designed to raise awareness of CMT's consumer reach to professionals who may not be familiar with it, or country music as an industry.

“CMT and country music in general tend to be a little stereotyped, especially in urban areas, so the New York market is particularly difficult for us,” said Dee McLaughlin, SVP of brand marketing at CMT, adding that New York does not have a country music radio station. “However, artists like Kenny Chesney sell out Madison Square Garden all the time.”

To register for a sweepstakes on the campaign's microsite, doyougetcountry.com, visitors must enter their names, e-mail addresses and ZIP codes to be eligible to win $500. The site also has information about the network and its viewers.

CMT will remarket to participants on a quarterly basis with new information about the network, said John Barker, president of Barker/DZP.

“There will absolutely be some retargeting,” he said. “We have a healthy respect for [participants'] time and we are not interested in bombarding them, but we will e-mail them to the extent that we have good and interesting updates.”

The network is also running outdoor ads at 15 kiosks in front of the offices of key New York media agencies and at nearby walking routes and subway entrances. The campaign also includes print and banner ads in marketing trade publications and on media and marketing Web sites.

CMT works with Barker/DZP on a project basis, McLaughlin said. She declined to provide a campaign budget.