DIC Ent. has created an in-house division to oversee all broadcast and new media advertising sales initiatives for the launch of the new childrens programming block, CBSs Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party, premiering Sept. 16, 2006. This team of industry veterans and new media experts will implement the broad-line advertising strategy for the block, which integrates television, online and new media, offering advertisers the opportunity to effectively reach kids across all three platforms.
Karl Kuechenmeister has been named svp of advertising sales & marketing and will be based in New York City. Eric Greenwald has been appointed svp, new media sales & marketing and will be based in DICs Burbank, California, headquarters. Kuechenmeister and Greenwald will report to Andy Heyward, DIC chairman/ceo and DICs president, Brad Brooks. David Danowski has been also been named vp of advertising sales & marketing, reporting to Kuechenmeister.
Kuechenmeister will be responsible for overseeing the national broadcast strategy. His ad sales career spans 30 years with key exec studio positions at Time Warner-Turner Broadcasting (svp, Cartoon Network), Viacom-MTV Networks (svp, One World Ent.), Time Warner Cable (vp, Time Warner Interactive Group) and Warner Bros. (svp, media sales, Television Distribution), as well as NBC and CBS television networks.
Greenwald will be the lead advertising sales exec for DICs online and new media activities, as well as overseeing the operating budget. He will be involved in branding, marketing and promotions for the online and new media initiatives. Greenwald was vp of immersive advertising & business development for Neopets Inc. where he focused on the establishment and development of a client base for the successful virtual online community targeting the global youth audience. Greenwald conceived and executed a long-term, multi-tiered advertising sales strategy for Neopets content.
For nearly 20 years, he worked in key advertising positions at Paramount Pictures, including exec director of national advertising and was responsible for the conception, development and execution of non-traditional media opportunities for movie releases within the motion pictures division.
Danowski will manage the national ad sales operation to maximize ad sales revenues for the block. Prior to DIC, Danowski was an account exec at Disney-ABC Kids Networks (ABC Kids Saturday Morning, Jetix, Toon Disney and Disney Channel) and was dedicated to sales for the Disney Kids television properties. Previously, he was director/marketplace analyst for Grey Global Groups Mediacom, where he managed both internal and external agency marketplace intelligence for national broadcast. At Mediacom, he also served as group director for national broadcast, managing multimillion-dollar accounts, such as Dairy Queen, Hasbro, Masterfoods and Kraft. He also spent six years at Mediavest Worldwide, serving in various positions, including vp, for national broadcast.
We are thrilled to have a team of respected industry professionals onboard to lead our advertising initiatives," said Heyward. "Karl, Eric and David have extensive experience in broadcast and online advertising and marketing, and we look forward to a successful premiere season for 'CBSs Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party. We have created a unique opportunity with the new programming block for advertisers to reach children through broadcast and new media in a responsible environment.
CBSs Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party, a three-hour, E/I-compliant branded programming block exclusive to broadcast television, premieres Sept. 16, with six series comprised of globally recognized animated properties and two new live-action shows. The slate includes three new series: HORSELAND, KOOKY KITCHEN and LITTLEST PET SHOP, as well as SABRINA: THE ANIMATED SERIES, TROLLZ and MADELINE. DIC is also in pre-production on two new, live-action, reality-based series, CAKE and DANCE, DANCE, DANCE! (working title). The programming block is targeted to children 6-12.
The block will also feature unique animated and live-action interstitials threaded throughout the morning block to promote healthy eating and balanced, active lifestyles for kids. The messages will be created in consultation with Baylor College of Medicines Childrens Nutrition Research Center (CNRC), an internationally renowned institute devoted to pediatric nutrition studies.
DIC Ent., a fully-integrated global brand management company, creates, develop, produces, distributes, markets and merchandises family-based intellectual properties. DIC has the largest libraries of western-style animation with approximately 2,800 half-hours of renowned programming. In 2003, the company launched the DIC Kids Network, a unique syndicated programming block designed to meet core FCC requirements and the only network for kids that reaches effectively 98% of U.S. households on more than 300 stations. As a pre-eminent supplier of kids programming worldwide, DIC has developed strategic partnerships with key domestic and international broadcast partners throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia. DIC is headquartered in Burbank, California, with international offices in Paris, London and Cologne.
CBS Television is comprised of the CBS Television Network with more than 200 owned and affiliated stations reaching virtually every television home in the U.S.; the Network's programming arms include CBS Ent., CBS News and CBS Sports.
