CNN International today announced that Samsonite will sponsor its new multi-platform feature series, ‘My City_My Life'; a program where celebrities show audiences the highlights of their favourite cities. The sponsorship takes effect from 3rd May 2008, signals the premium travel brand's first television advertising campaign in four years and is a significant evolution of Samsonite's traditionally spot-driven association with CNN International. For Samsonite, its sponsorship of ‘My City_My Life' marks the next phase in its long term global communications campaign ‘Life's a Journey'. The campaign is a compelling mix of brand and product advertising and will extend Samsonite's brand footprint to connect with CNN International's upscale audiences across Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It will also reach audiences globally via CNN.com. Rani R. Raad, Senior Vice President of CNN International Ad Sales comments: "CNN International delivers the upscale business traveller audience that Samsonite wants to reach with their luxury high end travel products. We are excited Samsonite has chosen to cement its advertising relationship with us on this bespoke, cross-platform initiative and we look forward to delivering a powerful brand solution for them." Marcello Bottoli, President and CEO, Samsonite Group comments: "We launched the ‘Life's a Journey' campaign in 2005 to add a much richer, more emotional depth to our communication; to showcase the new direction for Samsonite. Being associated with a travel feature like My City My Life is an exciting next step and brings our brand philosophy to life in front of a key audience." Each month ‘My City_My Life' will take viewers on a unique journey into the heart and soul of one of the world's greatest cities. Icons from the world of film, music and fashion reveal the hidden treasures within their chosen city. Key personalities featured include fashion designer Roberto Cavalli in Florence and French actor/director Mathieu Kassovitz in Paris. In addition to branded billboards attached to ‘My City_My Life' television and web programming, Samsonite will also exclusively sponsor the series' online destination. The bespoke ‘My City_My Life' microsite will stream the program on demand and include written profiles and image galleries of the personalities and guides to the cities in the show. A user-generated content component will invite users to submit their own hot tips for the cities visited in the show and cast ‘Quick Votes' for each of the cities. A branded promotional campaign across TV and web will drive viewer tune-in to the show. Samsonite joins CNN's extensive roster of luxury goods clients including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Omega and Breitling. CNN is the world's leading global 24-hour news network and one of the world's most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN brand is available to two billion people via 18 CNN branded TV, internet and mobile services produced by CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System Inc and a Time Warner company. CNN International is the international directorate of CNN Worldwide and distributes news via 14 services in seven different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 220 million television households and hotel rooms in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, including more than 34 million across the Asia Pacific region and online at www.cnn.com/international - Ends - |
