Kohl's Inks Ad Deal With OWN's ‘Search For The Next TV Star'

Kohl's Department Stores wants to help Oprah Winfrey and Mark Burnett discover the next TV star.
The mass retailer has signed an advertising partnership pact with OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network to help launch and promote the original competitions series Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star.
Presented by Kohl's and executive-produced by Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice), the series will provide the winner with his or her own studio talk show on OWN, which will bow in January.
Online auditions to participate in the series begin May 14 at Oprah.com, as announced today on the daytime queen's syndicated The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The multifaceted partnership, terms of which were not disclosed, will give Kohl's a "presenting sponsorship" position on the competition series, paid media, integrations, online and on-air exposure, tagged tune-ins and publicity. Moreover, the integrated buy will manifest in a series of short, co-branded vignettes, specially created for the series, will air both within and outside of the reality series.
"Kohl's is the perfect partner for OWN and Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star," said Kathleen Kayse, executive vice president, sales at OWN in a statement. "We're really looking for strategic partnerships that bring something special to our audience and Kohl's can do that."
"We are incredibly excited to partner with OWN for this debut television series, Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star, said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Kohl's Department Stores. "This multi-faceted integration will span across several mediums and is designed to reach our shared consumer in a way that is fresh, fun and relevant."
To audition online from May 14 to June 26, contestants, who must be 21 to participate, can make a three-minute audition video and upload it to Oprah.com. An editing toolkit, as well as tips and techniques from celebrities will.i.am, Lisa Ling and Peter Walsh, can help contestants enhance their audition video. Online submissions will be voted on by the public and the five individuals who get the most online votes will be flown to Los Angeles to audition before Mark Burnett Productions. Audience voting takes place at Oprah.com, where the public can watch contestants' videos and vote for their favorite.
To audition in person, open casting calls will be held at four select Kohl's outlets in New York on June 5, Dallas on June 12, Los Angeles on June 19 and Atlanta on June 26.