Eduardo Hauser and Eligio Cedeño were among Vme’s brand new investors that flew from Florida to New York City to take part in the network’s upfront presentation Wednesday afternoon. The presentation, held at the Instituto Cervantes, was hosted by Venezuelan actress Patricia Velasquez and included remarks by Chairman of the Board Eduardo Hauser, Senior Development Consultant Magaly Rivera and Vme’s new Head of Revenue, Noel Poler.
“I am the new head of revenue,” Poler said in introducing himself, and later joked: “Yes, I know. You’ve heard this before many times before, but believe me, you’ll see me again. I promise.”
After presenting some data on Vme’s audience, reach and distribution, Poler invited media buyers and creative agencies to participate in Vme as underwriters, telling them how to associate a brand or product with a particular TV show but without promoting a product or service. [Being a public-private enterprise distributed through many PBS stations, Vme cannot sell advertising the way commercial networks do; and it is subjected to FCC’s rules for non-commercial broadcasters.]
“Think about it not as to what you have to sell, but about what you want to say,” said Poler, adding that even with the limitations imposed to a public-private enterprise, opportunities abound for marketers in both Vme and Vme Kids. The company is also stressing the importance of buying air time in an uncluttered environment, with commercial air space limited to 6 minutes per hour, compared to 13-19 minutes in commercial networks.
It was clear from Wednesday’s presentation that Vme’s new management will move more aggressively to position itself as “The only mission-driven Hispanic network,” highlighting the importance of mission-driven entertainment and empowerment. Poler even included a slide featuring advertising icon Sir Martin Sorrell, who famously said that “doing good is good business.”
Among the changes to come, executives told Portada Vme will be moving its headquarters to Florida, a move that would make strategic sense since the controlling investor group is based there. No date has been set yet for the move.
