Turner Network will relaunch its movie channel TNT, and promote the Cartoon Network through major new initiatives, including a mini theme park on the Gold Coast. TNT will be relaunched in April 2000 as Turner Classic Movies (TCM), a brand name which better describes the channelÕs positioning. After the relaunch, the channel programming will be more genre-specific, with the different types of Hollywood films reflected in different interstitials and channel icons. The Turner Network has now opened its own ad sales office in Sydney, after splitting from the Multi-Channel Network earlier this year. It poached Sally Wong from MCN, where she was a senior account manager, to be sales manager for TNT and the Cartoon Network for Australia and New Zealand. The Sydney-based interactive agency, Zivo, is rolling out consumer websites for the Cartoon Network throughout Asia-Pacific. The website will be launched first in Australia, in the first quarter of 2000, because Australia has the highest Internet penetration among kids in the whole Asia-Pacific market. Celia Chong, senior vice president & general manager of Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, says: ÒThis consumer website provides an interactive destination for kids to communicate with our Õtoon stars. Our goal is to become the number one brand for cartoon entertainment, no matter what medium Ñ television or the web.Ó The Cartoon Network has also licenced Warner Village to build an Òinteractive playgroundÓ at its Sea World theme park. The playground, called Cartoon Beach, gives the pay TV channel a physical presence in Australia, with kidsÕ rides, merchandise, and Cartoon Network characters. The first Cartoon Network themed area outside the US, Cartoon Beach will be promoted on its network throughout the Asia-Pacific region, with a trip to Cartoon Beach offered as a prize in the NetworkÕs competitions. Christine Fellows, vice president, off-channel commerce for Car-toon Network, Asia-Pacific, says: ÒBeing part of the Time Warner Family allows us to better exploit synergies to the greater benefit of our mutual consumers.Ó One of its best-publicised marketing activities was a recent competition which gave as its prize the chance to star in a cartoon. The four Australian kids who won it will be filmed and animated in a 60-second interstitial that goes to air on the Cartoon Network in January 2000. Nickelodeon, a competing kids channel, gives children a chance to Òexperience the Nic-kelodeon brandÓ with a travelling show over summer, setting up obstacle courses and other activities at beaches, parks, schools, sports fields and theme parks. Since it began in the summer of 1996/97, a total of 17,312 children have participated in the obstacle course. Next year, Nickelodeon will Ôtake overÕ six beaches around Australia in January and February. Other Nickelodeon promotions include Boss for a Day, in which a child will be able to run the channel for a day in February 2000, and the Kids Choice Awards in March 2000, in which children are given the chance to vote for their favourite celebrities. NickelodeonÕs Rugrats 2000 promotion for April offers a voice-over part in the Rugrats movie, or a voiceover part in a Sony Playstation game, with both recorded in the US.
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