Kids channel Nickelodeon has announced a campaign to build awareness of environmental issues amongst children, putting into action a pledge it made to supporting kid's rights through the "Say yes for children" public affairs campaign that it adopted last year. The campaign launches in local markets around the world over the next few weeks.
While responding to to queries sent by indiantelevision.com's Ashwin Pinto, Nickelodeon Asia's senior VP and MD Richard Cunningham dwelt on the initiative as well as how Nick is performing in Asia. Cunningham, the 15-year veteran of Nickelodeon's sister channel MTV oversees the day-to-day operations of Nick’s four 24-hour channels in Asia covering markets like Japan, India, Southeast Asia and the Philippines.
Cunningham's responsibilities involve, overseeing the channel’s programming, production, advertising sales, marketing, finance, network development and communications.
Excerpts:
When and why did Nickelodeon get involved with the Say Yes campaign? |
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Is this meant to complement MTV's HIV/AIDS social initiative? |
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Are you planning on-ground environmental activities in Asian countries to augment the initiative? We are still in discussions on the best and most effective on ground activities we can plan for the next year for Asia. |
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Apart from the upcoming movie The Rugrats Go Wild is the message of protecting the environment going to form a part of any episodes on Nickelodeon? Each episode is meticulously researched and the results can be seen in the lush animation and gripping storylines. We try to educate in a subtle and entertaining way, without hammering kids over the heads with messages. And it certainly shows in the way kids are taking to the Thornberrys! In fact, The Wild Thornberrys Movie was very well received when it was screened in cinemas in parts of Asia earlier this year. |
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What else does Nickelodeons Public Affairs commitment for this year involve? The Big Help was introduced in Asia last year to overwhelming response. And this year, we are going one step further by focusing on one of those key words - Give - with the help of UNICEF and our sponsor, Hasbro Toys. We are working closely with local charities to become the beneficiaries of this campaign. This will be rolled out in October in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. |
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Is it a challenge for you to balance social commitments with economic concerns? As such, we dedicate a fair amount of our resources - from manpower, to programming hours and marketing budgets - to our pro-social commitments. |
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What outdoor activities does Nickelodeon plan for kids in Asia in order to extend the brand beyond television? Are they similar to the 'Lets Just Play' campaign that was unveiled recently in the US? On ground activities plays an equally important part in our efforts to reach out to kids beyond television. As such, you will be seeing an increase in on ground events, activities and initiatives - localised and targeted - at our kid audience in the coming year. We will definitely keep you informed of these as they get confirmed. On the business side how do you break up the Asian market?
What major lessons has Nickelodeon learnt from operating in Asia? We have found out from research, letters and interviews, that parents feel safe leaving their kids with Nickelodeon, as it is not violent. Parents in Asia tend to focus very much on education, and as such, shows like The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats, Blues Clues and Dora The Explorer give them a feeling that Nick is not just entertaining, but also educational for their kids. We have also found out that kids like to see themselves on television; so we try to include as many Asian/local faces on the channel. We are also increasing local content, so as to further connect with the kids in Asia. As a viewer in what manner is the Asian kid different from his US counterpart? For a show to connect with kids what must it contain? What lessons can content developers learn from Rugrats? Shows need to be able to appeal to the kids' viewpoint to connect. Nickelodeon is one of the world's largest and most popular producers of original shows for kids. Our programming philosophy sums up why our shows have been a hit with kids for such a long time. Nickelodeon's kid-first philosophy is reflected in our programmes, which are: Everything Nickelodeon does puts kids at the centre of the universe - whether it is our television shows, our merchandise or our films. The company strives to provide challenging, respectful,entertaining and empowering products for kids. Could you elaborate on the programme strategies that have been developed for four-year-olds and 14-year-olds that come from different worlds. Is there a deliberate gradation involved? Has the amount of local content you'll make for Asia exclusively gone up and in what manner? In addition, we have also developed original Nick Asia productions like the game show, Don't Bluffwhich features families from all over Asia and the animated series Tomato Twins which is created in Singapore. In 2004, we hope to produce more local shows, feature local hosts and original Asian produced animation as well. What alliances have been forged with regional Asian channels for dubbed Nickelodeon programmes which appear as programming blocks? Online - have additional features like broadband been introduced? Is a Kids awards show something that Nickelodeon would look at for the Asian region? This year, we introduced local votings in several of our markets. This ploy has received an overwhelming response and thousands of kids sent us their votes for their favourite stars and shows through email, SMS (text messaging) and snail mail. So a local Kids awards show is something that may happen soon. Ratings wise how is the channel faring in Asia vis-a-vis Disney and Cartoon Network? |