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AUTHORS CAN JOIN FORCES WITH TV'S USA NETWORK
The following is the press release from USA Network to explain their "Characters
Welcome" program.
For the first time in its twenty-five year history, USA Network is launching a comprehensive branding initiative
extending across all media, including on-air, off-air and online platforms, [as] announced today by Bonnie Hammer, president
of USA Network… The campaign…features a new logo and the tagline “Characters Welcome,” a statement
that will reflect and inform every aspect of USA, from marketing and promotion to program development.
“When we started developing a brand strategy we knew we wanted it to be enhancing rather than limiting,”
said Hammer. “We didn’t want to tack on a meaningless tagline or claim an arbitrary niche or demo. I believe we’ve
succeeded in developing a campaign that’s organic to USA, something that captures and communicates what the network
is about, what lives and breathes on its air.”
“In talking to our viewers and realizing what they loved best about USA, we realized that there was
real connective tissue around the concept of strong, relatable characters,” added Chris McCumber, senior vice president,
marketing and brand strategy. “‘Characters Welcome’ delivers a clear message that establishes an immediate
emotional connection with our audience.”
“The beauty of our new brand is that it truly embraces everything we do,” said Hammer. “Whether
it’s an obsessive compulsive detective like Monk, the tormented returnees of the 4400 or a real-life action hero from
the WWE, it’s the compelling, sometimes complicated, often funny characters that make USA Network what it is.”
…USA’s website will offer an…extension of its brand message, called “Show Us Your
Character.” “We will literally lay out a welcome mat for our audience,” said McCumber…
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TAKING AN IDEA AND RUNNING WITH IT
To best-selling, award-winning author Janet Elaine Smith, both
the writing and the marketing of her books is serious business. But it's also the best way in the world to have a whole lot
of fun.
Agent Gail Fortune (then editor for Berkley/Jove Publishing) once asked Janet, "Do
you ever write anything serious?" Janet's quick reply was "I'm very serous about my writing, but I never write anything very
serious."
Fellow Star Publish author Carolyn Howard-Johnson said of Janet, as their Marketing
Director, "...other publishers don't have what we do; we have a Janet Elaine Smith."
But turn her loose on an audience, whether in a chat room, on the phone, in an e-group or "live,"
if she doesn't have you laughing in the first five minutes, there is something terribly wrong.
And that's where her characters come into play. Most of them are as nutty as Janet
is, so she decided to bring them to life by giving them their own websites.
Where did that leave her? Well, for Monday
Knight, it meant that she gets her own e-mail, has collected more AOL and Earthlink free hours by snail mail than Janet has,
gets free pantyhose (Janet knew it wasn't for her, even before she saw Monday's name on the address label; it was too small
for Janet!), has met and gone on tour with the pop band Smash Mouth (they even took her to Live with Regis and Kelly), has
become a spokeswoman for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers), gone up the Amazon River, and been taken on an excursion to
watch the planets line up from the top of a mountain in Connecticut.
Now, Janet would like to help you do the same thing with the characters from your
books. To find out about how this whole thing came about, check out the facts behind the story here. USA TV isn't the only place where Characters are Welcome! Check it out at http://characters-welcome-websites.tripod.com .Don't miss out on the fun!
Until next time,
Janet Elaine Smith, Marketing Director
Star* Publish LLC
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