Chicago, IL, NCTA — Fuse is partnering with two of the biggest brands in youth culture, GUESS? and JANE magazine, on a national promotion tied to Fuse’s signature daily show, IMX: Interactive Music Xchange. The promotion will offer one lucky winner – selected from local “casting calls” taking place at GUESS? stores across the country – the opportunity to appear as a “guest host for a day” and showcase their musical expertise on the IMX show. In addition to IMX, the winner will also appear in the “Lowdown” column of JANE’s December 2003 issue. The Fuse/GUESS?/JANE Casting Call promotion will kick-off on Saturday, October 4th, with a casting call at the GUESS? retail store at South Street Seaport in New York City. Additional casting calls will take place at GUESS? stores in seven major markets across the country throughout the month.
“GUESS? and JANE are cornerstone brands for Fuse’s target audience, 12-34-year-olds who define themselves with the cutting-edge in music, fashion and interactivity,” states Kim Martin, executive vice president of Fuse Affiliate Sales and Marketing. “This partnership gives IMX and our hosts terrific exposure while giving our affiliates a great way to co-brand an event that will reach the members of their cable households who are most in-demand of high-speed services and digital cable.”
IMX, Fuse’s groundbreaking daily show, is the first to fuse live television and interactive online game play. Like Wall Street meets fantasy football, but with pop stars, IMX is a game that empowers viewers to become real-life music executives – by picking the newest hits or misses – to gain fictional IMX dollars and win prizes. Music-lovers can compete by visiting Fuse’s website (www.fuse.tv) then catch updates on the rising and falling values of their music investments on the live IMX show telecast weekdays, from 6-7 PM (ET), from Fuse’s street-front studio in New York City.
The Fuse/GUESS?/JANE/Casting Call promotion will be supported with a full-page ad in the September 2003 issue of JANE magazine, featuring the four IMX hosts – Juliya, Marianela, Steven and Dennis – photographed in the Fuse studio and outfitted in the latest fashions from GUESS?. Thousands of prospective entrants are expected to attend each casting call event. Potential markets include New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, Scottsdale and Denver.
The promotion also includes a national sweepstakes that allows Fuse viewers, GUESS? shoppers and JANE readers across the country to enter to win prizes including GUESS? wardrobes, free high-speed cable access, computers, and other cool prizes.
Fuse will provide aggressive national support for the Fuse/GUESS?/JANE Casting Call promotion and the national promotion, both on-air and online. On-air, the IMX show will feature footage from the cross-country casting calls, emceed by the IMX hosts. As host of the sweepstakes website, www.fuse.tv will offer details of the Casting Call promotion including entry protocol, rules, and schedules and locations of the in-market events. The Fuse-sponsored site, which entrants can also access from www.janemag.com and www.guess.com, will include information about the Grand Prize winnings, as well. Fuse.tv visitors will also be able to enter the national sweepstakes online and send email alerts to friends about the opportunity.
The In-Market Casting Calls will be promoted with local radio advertising, customized cross-channel spots, direct mail invitations targeted at 5,000 local JANE readers and email invitations to Fuse viewers in each city. IMX hosts will be present at select events to guide the guest host hopefuls through the audition process.
Fuse will extend the impact of this promotion locally with additional casting call events, co-promoted with leading MSOs. Customized cross-channel spots will be created to help drive subscriptions to the respective operator’s high-speed services. Fuse will also create exclusive broadband content from casting calls to air on the systems. The cable operator’s logo and Fuse channel number will be featured on all collateral materials, including direct mail invitations, radio scripts, print advertising slicks, etc.
The Grand Prize winner will be unveiled in the “Lowdown” column of the December 2003 issue of JANE. This will include an article written by the winner about his or her experience and a photo of the new IMX “music expert for a day,” donned in clothing from their new GUESS? wardrobe, part of a Grand Prize package that also includes a subscription to JANE, an Apple iPod and a subscription to Apple Tunes. The festivities will culminate with the winner’s live appearance on IMX, where they will meet the show’s four hosts and play the role of guest music expert.
Fuse is the nation’s only all-music, viewer-influenced television network, featuring music videos, exclusive artist interviews, live concerts and specials — all rooted in music. Fuse reflects the rapidly changing interests and attitudes of its 12-34 year-old audience by uniting the media platforms that are at the center of their communication and entertainment – TV, online, and interactive games – and by incorporating their opinions and suggestions into its on-air and online programming. More information about Fuse is available at www.fuse.tv.
Fuse is a network of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc, the programming subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). A leader in sports, news and entertainment programming, Rainbow owns and manages national and regional networks including AMC, WE: Women’s Entertainment and IFC.
Established in 1981, GUESS? began as a jeans company and has since successfully grown into a global lifestyle brand. Today, GUESS? designs, markets and distributes full collections of women’s, men’s and children’s apparel as well as accessories. Throughout the years, the GUESS? image has been portrayed in unforgettable, innovative campaigns that have made the brand a household name. GUESS? is distributed throughout the United States and Canada in fine department stores, its retail specialty and factory stores, and domestically on its online stores. GUESS? has licensees and distributors in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In addition to shopping online, you can find more information on GUESS? at www.guess.com, www.guesskids.com, and www.babyguess.com .
JANE is the only relevant magazine for modern women today-ages 18 to 34. With a unique sense of humor and a keen pop culture sensibility, JANE takes on the world of celebrity (and brings it down to earth), fashion (couture and Kmart), beauty (advanced placement-never 101), plus music, sex, cars and computers, with our own unique twist for a reader who likes her information straightforward, fun and relatable.