Turner's upfront to move beyond 30s

As Turner Broadcasting seeks to dominate the upfront again this year, commanding about one-quarter of what could be a $6.6 billion cable market, the network group is making rounds at ad agencies, promising to promote clients’ brands beyond the 30-second spot.

Technology-based enhancements are “a great need of our clients this year, so this is where we will dig deep and aim to accommodate buyers, planners and clients in this increasingly complex market,” said David Levy, president of Turner ad sales.

“With VOD, broadband, TV and radio, there are so many more consumer options. How do you reach them?” Each presentation is customized to the client, so Levy declined to elaborate on just how Turner sales executives would be incorporating new technology platforms into upfront ad packages.

However, one can see what is possible by looking at how Turner enhanced the 30-second spot on some of its past reality comedy series on TBS. For example, for last summer’s reality dating contest series, Outback Jack, viewers had live interaction with the show via the Web and could accrue points toward winning a trip to Australia. For The Real Gilligan’s Island in December ’04, Turner provided free episodes of the series on VOD.

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