16 September 2009 saw the centre of Singapore’s ever-bustling business hub play host to hectic activity of a non-financial nature, as numbers were hewn from massive blocks of ice to coincide with the commencement of trading at the world’s stock exchanges. As each financial market opened, the air was abuzz with the sound of electric ice-saws as sculptors carved sets of ice-blocks into each exchange’s all-important opening numbers. The on-ground event was activated by advertising agency BBH for client Bloomberg TV and, according to Shawn Galey, managing director for Bloomberg Television’s commercial affairs in the Asia-Pacific region, this stunt is just the start of a concentrated marketing effort to raise the channel’s profile across the region. Asked why Singapore, why the Central Business District (practically preaching to converted in terms of Bloomberg brand recognition) Galey said the event was the start of a major push for audience share in Singapore. “We want Bloomberg TV to have the same brand awareness in Singapore as it already does in Hong Kong,” he said. “PAX data alone shows the strength of the Bloomberg Television brand in Hong Kong, and the data’s even stronger if you include our branded block on TVB Pearl. We want to replicate that in Singapore.” TVAplus suggested that Bloomberg TV has been perceived as more of a branding exercise than a real commitment to television – especially as the majority of Bloomberg’s revenues are known to come from its terminals business. (One news network executive even admitted that that’s the line taken to ad clients when selling against Bloomberg TV.) Galey says that mid-2008, the decision was taken to get serious about television (globally), with the setting up of Bloomberg Multi Media Group – headed up by CEO Andy Lack. “Bloomberg Multi Media Group has a separate business plan, there’s been a huge sea-change which is obvious in the product. If you compare the channel to one year, two years, five years ago – in terms of look and feel, pace, the quality of information, the quality of the interviews.” Galey says that improvements have been made to the on-air look-and-feel three times in the last 12 months. Bloomberg Television’s new look includes a fresh screen format that eliminates the prior ‘J’ screen, which truncated the video portion of the service. Galey says the new screen makes for a substantially more viewer-friendly product, and is a natural evolution of Bloomberg’s television service. The new screen incorporates new visual and contextual data layouts and dramatically increases the on-air video component. The new screen also features the channel logo on the upper right-hand side of the screen, and incorporates an index bar, a rolling news bar and a ticker bar. The new look-and-feel includes a number of new graphical packages that create a lively and dynamic on-air product. The data for these packages is derived in real time from the Bloomberg Terminal service, and integrates the power of the terminal service with its television counterpart. Bloomberg Television – The Source, delivers live business and financial programming from the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, together with incisive coverage of specific countries, industries and business events. Bloomberg Television has over 500 journalists in 30 bureaux across the Asia Pacific region; live cameras and studios in 14 Asia-Pacific cities: Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo. Galey says another indicator of the company’s commitment to television, and to the region, is that ‘The Trade’, a show anchored out of Singapore by Singaporean Haslinda Amin, is now being beamed live to the US. “Our Asian programming, 8-10am daily, is now going into the US at an evening primetime in New York (8-10pm). This is engendering a massive positive impact on the quality of shows produced in the region, and increases the audience for Asia programming by 60-70 million homes. ‘The Trade’ sees Haslinda Amin take viewers around the region as markets open for Asia’s trading day – covering the latest breaking and developing business and financial news. “We’ve also invested significantly in the move from NTSC to PAL and have just embarked on encryption of the channel. We are building out a promo suite in Singapore for Q4 2009, and we are ramping up our marketing efforts – of which the CBD event is just the beginning.”