Advertising and Marketing

CCTV disaster rate card

JDM080519cctvs.jpg
Be a part of something historic

CCTV's been broadcasting live from the earthquake-stricken regions of Sichuan for the past week, and has also been devoting interview and analysis programming to the earthquake relief effort.

It's also been running ads, of course. Here's a rate card that's been floating around online:

CCTV Earthquake-Rescue-Themed Advertising Plan

At 2:28pm on 12 May, a major, 7.8-magnitude earthquake occurred in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, in western China, a natural disaster that caused the worse loss of life in China since the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake.

CCTV has put the entire force of its stations to following the latest developments in the earthquake rescue effort, using live broadcasts, in-depth reports, and interviews to show the whole process of the Chinese people's united will to combat this natural disaster.

Humanity has emotions in the face of unfeeling calamity, so let us offer up our hearts and lift our voices to express our good wishes toward those who have been afflicted by the earthquake, and our sympathy and encouragement to those heroes on the front lines of the rescue effort.

1. Ad Format

Earthquake Rescue PSA + Company-Specific Earthquake Rescue-Themed Corporate Brand Identity Advertisement

1. Earthquake Rescue PSA: Produced by the Ad Department. A PSA with the content, "Earthquake Rescue, Unity of Will Forms a Stronghold."
2. Company-Specific Earthquake Rescue-Themed Corporate Brand Identity Advertisement:
1) Produced by the company itself. Content to be a corporate brand identity advertisement that complements the theme of the earthquake rescue effort.
2) Broadcast order to be determined according to the invoice.

2. Ad Broadcast Schedule

CCTV-1 and CCTV-News joint live broadcasts; CCTV-News live broadcasts. No fewer than 8 airings per day.

3. Ad Cost

Units: 10,000 RMB / day

5 seconds: 35
10 seconds: 53
15 seconds: 66
20 seconds: 90
25 seconds: 106
30 seconds: 119

CCTV
2008.05.13

via IdeoBook, who comments, "Who can make a mint off a national tragedy?"

On the other hand, a week's worth of live broadcasts on-location in the mountains of Sichuan can't be cheap, and CCTV did donate 50 million RMB to the relief effort, so maybe the reality isn't as crass as it looks on the printed page.

There are currently 3 Comments for CCTV disaster rate card.

Comments on CCTV disaster rate card

Classic. It makes sense for CCTV to want to make money from current events (that's what news organizations do), but the way it is packaged and presented is a little too much, especially the "Rescue-Themed Corporate Brand Identity Advertisement".

Are these prices more than normal, and by how much? Also, advertisers need to be careful what kind of commercials they air. May be wiser for companies to sit this one out until normal programming returns.

What hurts is the other stations that can't air normal schedule of entertainment and thus lose out on the ad revenue.

Not sure, Michael. I poked around for some relevant rates but didn't turn up much. The number 300,000 for 5 seconds turned up, which is comparable to these rates, but normally it'd be different at different times of the day - I think that it's because there's no strict "program schedule" during these live broadcasts that a special rate card had to be drawn up.

Post a comment

All comments are moderated and subject to review by Danwei contributors and editors, but well-grounded and articulate comments will be published regardless of which way they lean. Because comments published on any website ultimately contribute to the character of that website, we may decline to publish comments that are irrelevant, redundant, or that do not adhere to generally accepted standards of courtesy; if you are looking for a fight, there are plenty of other venues available online.


Some useful html: <b>bold</b>, <i>italic</i>,
<a href="http://www.danwei.org">link</a>

Media Partners
Visit these sites for the latest China news
090609guardian2.png 090609CNN3.png
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
laomo2008fpA.jpg
Recommended blogs and new media
Books on China
AXL090619paulfrenchbook.jpg
Foreign journalists in China, from the Opium Wars to Mao : Paul French, author of a book on Carl Crow has written a book about the lives and exploits of foreign journalists reporting from China from the 1820s to 1949.
Earnshaw Books' Tales of Old Peking: Tales from Old Peking is available from Earnshaw Books, and like its sister, Tales from Old Shanghai is a book of fragments of information about periods, events or places in Beijing's history, collaging together pictures and text about eunuchs, concubines, the Lama Temple, Opium Wars, art, emperors, and a miscellany of other interesting topics
Henry F. Pringle's "Bridge House Survivor": Pringle was imprisoned by Japanese forces from October 1942 to August 1945, and Bridge House Survivor, available from Earnshaw Books, is his harrowing account of torture under the Japanese.
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ A short interview with Muzi Mei (2004.02): Danwei interviews Muzi Mei
+ CCTV vs. classic movies (2006.03): A rundown of several pastiches of Chinese movies appearing online as 大史记 - "The Year That Was". Some from CCTV, others not. With links to video.
+ Street hawker cries of Beijing (2006.12): Yang Changhe demonstrates hawker's cries in a video shot by Muzimei.
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky rsschiclet2.png (on the mainland)
or Feedburner rsschiclet.gif (blocked in China)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Main feed: Main posts (FB has top links)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Top Links: Links from the top bar
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Jobs: Want ads
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Digest: Updated daily, 19:30