(25 March 2006 7:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Mediaedge:cia (MEC) has launched two specialist divisions in the US called MEC Entertainment and MEC Retail.

MEC Entertainment will handle original entertainment content creation for agency clients and will be headed by Chet Fenster as managing partner, director of content creation.

On the other hand, MEC Retail will be a specialised offering dedicated to in-store and other retail communications channels. MEC has acquired the retail marketing company Retail Media Link (RML), whose proprietary RML technology will be the cornerstone of the new offering. RML founder David Sommer has been named managing partner, director of MEC Retail.

At MEC Entertainment, Fenster will be responsible for identifying creative opportunities for clients across all content platforms. Fenster will report to GroupM Entertainment president Peter Tortorici and will be based in MEC’s New York and Los Angeles offices.

"Chet's background and skills as both a producer and network executive, as well as his experience in multi-platform program development and production, will be a tremendous asset to MEC Entertainment and GroupM," said Tortorici.

“With the fragmentation of media seemingly endless, it is more important than ever that brands extend consumer engagement with their products through powerful creative properties and original creative content. With the launch of MEC Entertainment, our clients will be better able to reach consumers through seamlessly integrated product content,” said MEC executive chairman Charles Courtier.

In this new role at MEC Retail, Sommer will oversee the development and application of MEC Retail’s proprietary in-store marketing tools. These will allow marketers to search for specific in-store opportunities, as well as plan and measure highly targeted in-store campaigns across retail stores nationwide.

"Retail is the most important communications channel that brand marketers and their agencies have to size up and measure. Understanding the consumer and understanding the purchase pathway is vital to our business. By introducing this dedicated retail practice, MEC is recognising retail as a core part of communications planning, and developing strategies to fit the needs of today’s brands and marketers," added Courtier.

"Marketers are overwhelmed by the hundreds of diverse opportunities for reaching consumers within each individual store environment. Our clients need answers to basic questions: ‘What are all of the retail channel marketing options? How are these options measured? What marketing objectives can actually be achieved in-store? And how will you measure the ROI?" said Sommer.

"Each of the approximately 250,000 individual stores in the US offers specific and measurable opportunities to build brands and sell products. MEC Retail will enable marketers and their agencies to analyze, plan, implement and measure ROI for these in-store opportunities. This new capability will help enable MEC clients to effectively and efficiently leverage retail as part of a communications planning solution," he added.