BEIJING, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Charm Communications Inc.
(Nasdaq: CHRM) ("Charm" or the "Company"), a leading advertising agency in
China, today announced that it has been appointed as the exclusive agency for
more than 20 top advertisers at CCTV's 2011 Prime-time Public Auction, which
will take place on November 8, 2010. With the auction date drawing nearer the
Company expects its client list to continue growing as more and more companies
join the race for CCTV prime-time resources.
With nearly all of China's leading brands competing for advertising slots
in the annual public auction, it is the most high profile event in China's
advertising industry. The annual event is also closely monitored outside of
the advertising industry as a leading economic indicator of business
confidence heading into the next year.
CCTV kicked off its 2011 auction introduction meeting on September 13 in
Beijing notifying of the changes with regards to timing and formatting. The
auction date is being brought forward from November 18 to November 8,
accelerating companies' preparation time and advertising budget decisions.
Additionally, online bidding is going to be introduced for the first time,
allowing greater flexibility for agencies participating in the bidding process.
In the 2010 Prime-time Public Auction, which took place in November 2009,
CCTV contracted a total sales volume of a record breaking RMB 11bn, and Charm
accounted for more than 21% of this volume, making it the auction's largest
agency for the eighth consecutive year. Over its sixteen year history Charm
has built a customer base which regularly participates in the auction, all of
which are either blue-chip national brands or emerging leading domestic brands.
In preparation for the auction, Charm held its VIP pre-sale marketing
event on August 28, welcoming over 100 clients, and so far more than twenty of
them have already appointed Charm to be their exclusive agency at the 2011
auction, including the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Citic Bank,
Hua Xia Bank, Yunnan Baiyao, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, Midea Household
Appliances, COFCO, Beingmate, Bosideng and Heilan Home Men's Apparel.
Advertisers can only participate in the CCTV Prime-time Public Auction through
an agency.
"We are confidently looking forward to another successful year as we
continue to bring our clients industry leading expertise and leverage our
integrated service offering to help them successfully navigate through this
important yet complex auction event," commented He Dang, founder, chairman and
CEO of Charm. "With our highly experienced team of experts, six self-developed
media planning tools including CHARM ZOOM IN, MIOS and VALUATION, and eight
industry-leading third party media and market research databases including CTR
and CSM, Charm's CCTV Prime-time Public Auction management system is the most
effective in the industry."
About Charm
Charm Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRM) is a leading advertising agency
in China. Charm operates its business under three brands: Charm Advertising,
Charm Interactive, and Shangxing Media. Under the Charm Advertising and Charm
Interactive brands, Charm offers integrated advertising agency services from
planning and managing advertising campaigns to creating and placing
advertisements. Under the Shangxing Media brand, Charm has established a
portfolio of television advertising media resources through its exclusive
arrangements with four programs on CCTV, and two satellite television channels,
Shanghai Dragon TV and Tianjin Satellite TV, which includes not only
advertising time but also opportunities for placing branded content. Charm's
clients include well-recognized brand names in China across many industries,
as well as emerging domestic leading brands. In January 2010, Charm formed a
joint venture with international 4A advertising group Aegis Media, its
strategic investor, to operate its brand "Vizeum" in China. For more
information please go to http://ir.charmgroup.cn .
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
New York
Amanda Sham
Brunswick Group
Phone: +1-212-333-3810
Email: charm@brunswickgroup.com
Beijing
Henry Fraser
Brunswick Group
Phone: +86-10-6566-2256
Email: charm@brunswickgroup.com
SOURCE Charm Communications Inc.