hong kong-based senior vice president marketing Sonia Jackson makes for a convenient comparison with some of the brands she oversees: cosmopolitan and well-travelled, she has been with the Fox family longer than many of the channel brands have existed. Born of Latin American parents, educated in the UK, Jackson has worked in many different regions at offices in London, Brazil, Spain, Portugal; including a stint in Tokyo. While some markets carry the maximum channel bouquet, Portugal now boasts 11 channels, Italy has 18, Asia currently has 7 channel brands: National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Adventure, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic Channel HD, BabyTV, FX and FoxCrime. Nat Geo Music is the only channel from that stable yet to launch in the Asia Pacific region, and other Fox brands include FoxLife, FoxHorror, FoxNext, FoxMovies, Cult, Next and Utilisima. Jackson says that Nat Geo Music is planned for Asia Pacific, as well as a revamp of erstwhile ‘lads’ brand’ FX – which will air David Duchovny-starrer Californication – and new programming on FoxCrime. Dexter 2 On the marketing front, FoxCrime’s campaign for the second season of forensic scientist cum serial killer thriller Dexter certainly caused quite a stir across the region. Apart from some above-the-line advertising in Hong Kong and Singapore, guerilla tactics were employed in both cities as blood-spattered men in white coats took to the streets in busy urban areas carrying placards for the show. In Singapore, press attention was caught by wanted notices akin to those for escaped prisoner Mas Selamat Kastari posted around high-traffic areas. Trade press received small gift-wrapped boxes from an anonymous admirer – that transpired to contain a worryingly life-like severed finger-tip. And journalists were e-mailed the hyperlink to a (fake) news website where a breaking news story alerted viewers to a US serial killer’s latest murder and his next intended victim’s name painted in blood on a wall. The clever part being that the name in the news story’s headline and daubed on the wall – was the name of the e-mail’s recipient. It was also possible to forward the e-mail to one’s unsuspecting friends, whereby their name would be inserted into the news story. Living with Big Cats To promote National Geographic Channel’s Living with Big Cats, the channel partnered with Samsung Asia to bring in the show’s producers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, from Southern Africa to talk about their life’s work – filming, seeking to protect, and raising awareness of the endangerment of, the region’s big cats. National Geographic Explorers-in Residence and Award-Winning Film-makers, the Jouberts addressed invited audiences in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as making public appearances at much larger on the ground events. Living with Big Cats, shot in high-definition, tells the intimate story of the relationship between the Jouberts and a leopard they found when she was only 8 days old. They followed Legadema at first with her mother, and then alone as she began to mature. How she learns her hunting instincts from her mother and whether she will survive on her own become key concerns for the viewer. In Malaysia, an exclusive cinema screening, held at GSC Signature, attracted more attendees than available seats, and over 200 people turned up for a launch event at The Gardens Mall. Samsung umbrellas were given to attendees, the screening venue was sponsored by GSC Signature and the exhibition venue was sponsored by The Gardens Mall. In Malaysia, the total PR was valued at over US$300,000. In Singapore, over 140 people attended an exclusive presentation, hosted and partly sponsored by the Night Safari. A week-long exhibition was held at mammoth mall VivoCity, launched at the Central Court, with a reception at the Samsung flagship store, followed by a cinema screening at Golden Village. National Geographic Channel was showcased in HD and 5.1 surround sound on Samsung screens in the mall’s central court. In Singapore total PR was valued at over US$66,000. Be Inspired – Igniting the Special Olympics Spirit Three cities, Singapore, New Delhi and Shanghai, were venues for the screening of ‘Making of 2007 Special Olympics Opening Ceremony’ and a photo exhibition of specially-selected photographs taken by Jeff Hutchens. The campaign objectives: to inspire and educate the public about Special Olympics and its athletes; to create awareness of the DHL-NGC partnership and that DHL is the official logistic sponsor for Special Olympics Torch Run; to drive tune-ins to ‘The Making of 2007 Special Olympics Opening Ceremony’ on National Geographic Channel. Singapore National Library was the venue for the display of the actual Special Olympic Torch, screening of the show and a talk from the photographer. Testimonials to NGC from key stakeholders include from DHL marketing manager Yap Ming Hsien, “Your events are always quality affairs that we can depend on, thank you for always going that extra mile for us.” And Shail Kapri, director – fund development, Asia Pacific, Special Olympics International, said to NGC and DHL, “A BIG congratulations to you both!! The event was fantastic and the crowd loved it (we got great on-the-spot feedback from our athletes and our invitees from the Economic Development Board of Singapore, ESPN Star Sports, Milbank, Corum Swiss Watches, Citibank, Salesforce.com and Temasek Holdings)!” PR in Singapore was valued at over US$115,000. Similar events were held at the British Council in Delhi, and at the DHL retail store in Shanghai. PR in China was valued at over US$372,000.