Myers Media Innovation and Creativity Awards: Media Company Gold Winners

Company: Lifetime Entertainment Services
Title: Amber's Story
Other Companies Engaged in Relationship: General Motors (OnStar Division) via GM Planworks

Description of goals and strategies of program: Celebrate advertiser's support of an important community issue and extend Lifetime's reach to a larger audience:
As the leader in women's television and a top rated cable network, Lifetime is committed to bringing critical issues to its audience via Lifetime Original Movies. These films build on the network's Emmy-winning campaigns to provide invaluable information and support to viewers, while providing a platform for advertisers to extend their brand messaging.

Lifetime Networks Original Movie: Amber's Story (The AMBER Alert Program was created in 1996 as a powerful legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas) presented an opportunity to integrate GM OnStar in a meaningful way beyond the basic media sponsorship. The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases, and GM OnStar is proud to have created a technology that allows vehicle owners to quickly expedite any Missing Childs recovery in partnership with the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCEMC). The project included:

1. Organic product integration
2. Customized in-movie PSA featuring the star of the movie and OnStar President Chet Huber
3. Customized movie tune-in's
4. Customized online mini-site on Lifetimetv.com
5. Dedicated email newsletters
6. Co-branded site wide ads
7. Print piece distributed to related non-profit Lifetime partners (Advocacy groups)
8. Local charity screening event in Los Angeles

Measure product integration effectiveness including brand recall, natural fit and brand likeability:
Lifetime used IAG Research to measure the effectiveness of the OnStar Product Integration, PSA and adjacent commercials. The OnStar placement was a success on several levels:

• Ad & brand recall indices proved higher than all product placements on cable dramas, all automotive placements on cable, and all GM placements on cable (based on P13+, A18-49, & A25-54).
• The OnStar placement was found to be a "seamless & natural" fit within the program, with indices higher than all placements on cable dramas, all automotive placements on cable, and all GM placements on cable (based on P13+).
• Viewer opinion of the brand greatly improved based on their seeing the placement on Lifetime. This was proven with higher "brand opinion" indices versus all placements on cable dramas, all automotive placements on cable, and all GM placements on cable.
• Amber's Story generated the highest brand opinion score versus all other OnStar placements.

In addition, the NCEMC received an enormous surge in calls to their hotline and visitors to their website following the film, assuring that more women and families got the information they needed.

Enhance a products image and continue to support an advocacy platform:
Lifetime created a multi-platform campaign that emphasized GM OnStar's services, technologies and safety initiatives. The campaign was designed to highlight ways that OnStar can be used by subscribers to protect themselves and their families, as well as be a good Samaritan in their communities. OnStar shows how "real people" in real situations rely on OnStar for help and can help change lives for the better.

Description, including what aspects make it worthy of recognition, why it is innovative, how it was developed, presented, approved, and implemented, as well as obstacles confronted during the development, approval and implementation process:
CONCEPT OVERVIEW
Lifetime Networks continues to be a leader in bringing greater awareness of women's issues to the largest possible audience through our TV Networks, our online destinations and our Advocacy department's networks of nonprofit and governmental partners.

When the Lifetime Original Movie Amber's Story was officially 'greenlit' the Lifetime Partnerships team presented GM OnStar an opportunity to be integrated into the movie and sponsor an online channel on LifetimeTV.com.

During those initial discussions it became apparent that OnStar's involvement with NCMEC and the AMBER Alert System warranted a greater partnership. Both teams then worked to create a platform that had multiple touch points that would allow the movie's message to reach a greater audience than it may have on its own.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS
Lifetime Partnerships was aware of OnStar's support of the NCMEC and the AMBER Alert System and brought the movie script for Amber's Story to GM Planworks. The Lifetime Partnerships team then worked with the agency and producers to incorporate OnStar into the second half of the movie where a "Good Samaritan" used their OnStar service to answer a posted AMBER Alert.

After approving script integrations, OnStar was shown rough cuts of the integration before the movie was delivered to air on Lifetime.

Lifetime Networks Advocacy Department (Public Affairs) and Digital Media team collaborated further with OnStar to develop the in-movie PSA, outreach elements and online content to extend the messaging and integration into Amber's Story.

A custom on-air tune-in spot was created to highlight OnStar's involvement and promote tune-in to the movie. The Movie delivered 4.13 HH GRP's and ranked #3 among W18-49 and W25-54 ratings.

All media elements were co-branded ensuring that the sum of the parts was greater than the individual pieces.

ON-AIR ELEMENTS
Product Integration:
Lifetime producers wrote a verbal integration into a key scene of Amber's Story designed to showcase OnStar's participation in the AMBER Alert System

In-Movie Public Service Announcement:
(:15) PSA ran in each airing of Amber's Story. The movie aired two times within a week's window and has since re-aired as part of the Lifetime Archive.

The Custom in-movie PSA featured the movie's star, Elisabeth Rohm, and included a (:10) intro and (:05) tag, featuring Chet Huber, President of OnStar discussing the success of the AMBER Alert System and OnStar's proud support, and directing viewers to NCEMC for more information.

Tune-In Support:
OnStar was tagged on 20 tune-in spots to promote the premiere of Amber's Story on Lifetime. The tune-ins has a safety theme to aid the connection to OnStar's messaging.

OFF-AIR ELEMENTS
Online Mini-site:
Lifetime produced a co-branded Amber's Story mini-site centered on a broadband player which streamed OnStar's AMBER Alert specific TV commercial: named "Lost Child". The site also featured content about:

1. The AMBER Alert System
2. OnStar's Good Samaritan Stories
3. Movie information/airtime
4. On-Star sponsorship logos
5. Fixed branded ads
6. Text links to OnStar.com and NCMEC

Online Promotional Elements:
Lifetime created co-branded ads that were targeted to the homepage as well as run of site

Newsletter Promotional Elements:
Lifetime produced two customized co-branded newsletters promoting the movie and AMBER Alert online content.

Print Promotion:
Lifetime produced and distributed 10,000 co-branded printed pieces that were mailed to the network's Advocacy database of hundreds of nonprofit organizations, experts and advocates. These pieces are then distributed to each group's membership, which extended the reach of the film and the message about AMBER Alert to communities across the country.

Sheriff's County Charity Screening:
The movie produces (Joe and Jack Nasser) hosted a charity screening for the Los Angeles Sheriff's department. OnStar and Lifetime were well represented at the event.