MAM
Kids’ WB!, Cartoon Network’s ad sales units to combine
NEW YORK: This is an alliance that AOL Time Warner is hoping will bring two of its leading assets even closer together for the US kids buying marketplace.
The US advertising sales efforts of AOL Time Warner’s Kids’ WB! which claims to be the number one kids’ broadcast network and the top-rated service in all television among boys, and Cartoon Network, the 24/7 animation network will be combined at the end of the broadcast season in September.
The unified Kids’ WB! and Cartoon Network advertising sales group will report to executive VP ad sales and marketing Cartoon Network Kim McQuilken. McQuilken reports to president group sales and marketing Turner Entertainment Mark Lazarus.
While the sales units will be combined, programming and marketing for each network will remain independent, yet collaborative. Lazarus said, “There’s no stronger combination in kids television than Kids’ WB! and Cartoon Network. Combining the sales efforts of these two powerhouses will result in new growth opportunities for our marketing partners. Our customer-focussed approach will create unprecedented options for the kids television marketplace.”
An official release informs that the combined strength of Kids’ WB! and Cartoon Network is evident. In January 2003, the four-week combined reach of Kids’ WB! and Cartoon Network in the key demographics of Kids 2-11 (72.5 per cent) and Kids 6-11 (72.2 per cent) puts the partnership head-to-head with the Nickelodeon and CBS combo.
President and COO The WB Jed Petrick said, “The sharing of programmes such as Pokémon, The Powerpuff Girls, Scooby-Doo between Kids’ WB! and Cartoon Network began when Jamie Kellner moved to Atlanta, and since then we have greatly increased our collaboration. Combining the AOL Time Warner kids television sales efforts into one specialised unit was a natural progression. I would be surprised if the company’s joint kids efforts end here, and I believe that the combined AOLTW kids properties are on the verge of leading this space. The WB sales head Bill Morningstar and his staff have done a terrific job growing our Kids’ WB! revenue these past years.”
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
