• Showtime Finding Broadband Marketing Groove

    The premium cable channel Showtime is coming up with some solid examples of how to creatively use broadband video to promote its programs.

    To support Dexter's episode last night, Showtime is developing a parallel story line around the "Dark Defender" with a series of short animated webisodes. Episode 1 is now up at MySpace and Sho.com. Ken Tod, Showtime's VP of Content/Digital Media explained that creating this kind of ancillary content allows the company to target specific audiences more directly. So for example, Dexter has a following among comic/sci-fi fans and Dark Defender has specific appeal to them.



    And for Brotherhood, a program set in Providence, Rhode Island, they landed a cardstacker to create the state's capitol building out of 22,000 cards. Posted on YouTube 3 weeks ago, it's generated 350,000+ views.

    For Showtime, and for any other premium content providers, broadband's ability to expose potential viewers to their shows is huge. Doing so with novel approaches like the ones above continue to demonstrate how broadband opens up a whole new creative palette for marketing and programming teams. More evidence that traditional marketing equations are changing.