Encore Media Group is spending $20 million to update the
image of premium-movie network Starz!.
Mike Hale, Encore's senior vice president of marketing
and business development, said the goal was to capitalize on the network's successful
positioning as a reliable destination for top hit movies.
The campaign brings back the "Movies, Movies,
Movies" jingle that Starz! launched last year -- a take on Beethoven's "Ode
to Joy" with a boisterous, anthem feel. The updated version introduces gospel-music
overtones. Hale said the two versions would run in 50-50 rotation.
"We wanted to keep it consistent, keep it simple and
have it resonate with the subscriber," Hale said, adding that he expects Starz! to
keep the same overall theme for years to come.
The company may introduce new musical elements, such as big
band or country-Western, to update the campaign over time, Hale suggested.
Starz will spend $20 million for media buys on national
cable networks and radio. Last year, the company spent $23 million to introduce its
branding efforts. According to Encore research, consumer awareness of the Starz! brand
rose from 56 percent in November 1997 to 77 percent in October 1998.
VH1 also launched a new image campaign late last year, with
one-dozen black-and-white television spots featuring musical legends such as Keith
Richards, Mick Jagger and John Mellencamp, as well as newer stars such as Jewel and Shania
Twain.
The new ads were introduced to reinforce the network's
theme of going "behind the music," with intimate portraits of its performers.
The campaign runs through January on national cable, along
with broadcast-television spots in the country's 23 top markets. Outtakes of the new
image spots are available at the network's Web site, www.vh1.com.
