MediaBuyerPlanner: The City of New Orleans has announced advertiser enhancements for the 2007 New Orleans Mardi Gras Sponsorship & Support Program.
Building on the 2006 program, new packages include an original TV special with a celebrity lineup, increased media exposure and a host of local event and hospitality incentives. Proceeds from the program will be directed to the city to be used for police and fire protection, emergency services and sanitation. MediaBuys LLC, the city?s agency-of-record, will once again coordinate the effort, the agency announced.
In 2006, MediaBuys signed The Glad Products Company (a subsidiary of The Clorox Company and Procter & Gamble) as the first major corporate sponsor in the event?s 150+ year history. In addition to its monetary pledge, Glad donated 150,000 Force Flex trash bags and worked with the Department of Sanitation for clean-up efforts.
Another milestone in the carnival’s legacy will happen when behind-the-scenes footage of the entire 2007 festival, taped over its two-week duration, will be wrapped around a live concert and televised nationally as a whole by early March. The two-hour special, a focus on the history, music, food and parades and starring a number of celebrities, will be the first broadcast of New Orleans Mardi Gras ever to a nationwide audience on a major television network.
The sponsorship program includes new opportunities for in-market presence including access to the Mayor’s Ball and Krewe celebrations and rider positions on Krewe floats during their respective parades. Hospitality-focused accommodations, such as tickets to parade review stands, the use of landmark venues for the purpose of private functions and VIP access to local cultural institutions, are also among the newly added program elements.Sponsors will also be able to choose local advertising packages which, depending on level of commitment, may include placements in the event’s program, ad runs in The Times-Picayune and, through partners Clear Channel, Entercom and Cox Media, spots on local radio and cable television.
Placements in the websites NOLA.com and MardiGras.com will offer specialized online content and web-cam integration, and a menu of out-of-home properties – including billboards from CBS and Marco Outdoor, mobile video, and parade route branding – will round out media opportunities.
Related stories:
- Glad Named Mardi Gras’ First Corporate Sponsor
- Mardi Gras Sponsors to Help Hurricane Victims in ‘Recovery Room’
- MediaBuys to Handle Search for Mardi Gras Sponsors
- Mardi Gras Seeks Sponsor
