Big sponsors line up for 'Big Brother' program
By : Jeffrey Sparshott
Klaudiusz is running around in a little swimsuit. Gosia is crying. Manuela is laughing. Everyone is engaged in some strange ritual that appears to mock Native Americans. It's day 85 on "Big Brother." (http://www.bigbrother.tvn.pl/start.htm)
If you missed the television broadcast, you can get an update on the Internet through your cellular phone or in a weekly magazine. To review the history leading up to day 85, videos and compact discs are available at your local store.
As Poland's advertising market suffers from a slowing economy, companies are becoming more creative in looking to find new revenue streams, and embracing different technologies in the process. The above-mentioned formats make special sense for a company like TVN (http://www.tvn.pl/) and its majority owner ITI Holdings. ITI controls about two-thirds of the television station and it also has interests in movie theaters, home video, film production and, through a stake in Polish computer firm Optimus, one of Poland's leading Internet portals, Onet.
"This is the direction television is going," said Jakub Benke, managing director of Starcom media house. "It's not just about television revenue for the station. They build an experience and build a relationship with consumers."
This more modern concept of reaching an audience follows the example set elsewhere in Europe, it is sophisticated and fits well with the overall strategy of a media company, he said. "Big Brother" has been an especially revolutionary concept in television.
"It's possible that the history of television will be divided into the era before and after 'Big Brother,'" he said.
The show started in the Netherlands, with the first 100 episodes ending in December 1999. Dutch company Endemol subsequently licensed the show around the world and several companies created knock-offs such as Polsat's "Dwa Swiaty" to tap the show's popularity and compete for advertising.
Officials at TVN lament the tough ad market in Poland but are happy with "Big Brother's" performance enough so to plan another reality show this summer while considering a second run of "Big Brother" in the fall. The show has reached almost 30% of viewers on an average night and advertising has "absolutely" been a success, said station spokesman Andrzej Soltysik. The company would not reveal detailed financial information of ad packages.
Soltysik said the program is expensive to license and produce, but the different ways of selling have opened up possibilities, though the television portion of revenues account for more than half of all "Big Brother"-related income.
One area that is touchy for the station and sponsors is product placement on the show. Day 85 clearly showed brand-name clothes, a well-known soft drink, cigarettes, hand lotion, sporting equipment and bottled water. Is it merely a coincidence that Sprite is a sponsor and that both a Sprite-inspired refrigerator and several bottles of the soft drink happened to appear on the show? According to the station, yes.
"There is no such term as product placement in Polish law," Soltysik said.
Benke agreed, saying that "the only thing you do in Poland is deliver products to a media owner and sometimes these products are used because the people have to smoke a cigarette or have a beverage."
Oskar Tulodziecki, European counsel for Hogan & Hartson in Warsaw said that purposeful product placement would be illegal. "Product placement on TV would be a form of forbidden advertising," he said. "Advertising must be clearly indicated as advertising."
Regulations in product placement are limited, though if a station goes beyond what might be considered normal use, it could face substantial fines, he said.
