Baby skin-care products manufacturer Johnson’s is set to unveil the results of a new marketing partnership with Canwest, a multifaceted deal that includes sponsorship, content integration and traditional advertising on several of the media company’s specialty TV stations.
Central to the partnership is the creation of the Johnson’s Baby Block, a two-hour lineup of baby-related programming on Canwest’s Slice channel. Canwest rearranged its schedule to run The Mom Show, Birth Stories and Birth Days consecutively between 2-4 p.m. on weekdays. In addition to being the title sponsor of the programming block, Johnson’s will present short vignettes about real-life mothers and babies during broadcasts of The Mom Show and use the show’s co-hosts as spokespeople in its traditional TV spots.
Johnson’s will also serve as a presenting sponsor of The Mom Show, House of Babies, John & Kate Plus 8, Maternity Ward and Desperate Midwives on the Discovery Health Channel, and will air television spots on Slice, Discovery Health Channel, HGTV and Food Network during the 2008-09 season.
“It really gives us a nice surround-sound feel,” said Nancy Murphy, senior brand manager, Johnson’s.
The agreement, which significantly boosts television presence in Canada for Johnson’s, was finalized late last year after J3, Johnson’s media agency and a division of M2 Universal, met with several broadcast companies and returned with a recommendation for the specialty channels, which at the time were owned by Alliance Atlantis. Murphy pointed to the variety of executions and ability to show off a diverse range of products as keys to the partnership.
“It’s important for moms to understand the breadth of products that we have available, and by having that flexibility and being able to have five campaigns on-air this year—whereas last year we only had two—that’s quite a radical departure from what we’ve been able to do with the same dollars the past couple of years,” said Murphy.
Anna Wells, Canwest’s national sales account executive, marketing ventures, said the shows’ subject matter also allows Johnson’s to ensure its messages are reaching its core consumer target.
“They were looking to really hyper-target moms, and The Mom Show is really perfect for the kind of targeting they wanted to do,” she said.
Other elements of the partnership include online advertising on Johnson’s website BabyCenter.ca and exclusive sponsorship of a special television event. Toronto agency Lowe Roche is handling creative duties for the campaign.
