FEATURES: StarEastNet ditches celebrity cachet to revamp brand name

<p>In a bid to rescue flagging consumer and investor confidence before </p><p>it goes for a public offering this month, Hong Kong </p><p>marketing-cum-celebrity management organisation StarEastNet is striving </p><p>to revamp its brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Aided by its agency of record Lowe & Partners/Live, the HK$15 </p><p>million (about US$2 million) above-the-line burst sees </p><p>StarEastNet make a maverick move by dissasociating the corporate brand </p><p>from its celebrity owners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The likes of co-founder Jackie Chan and the 150-plus stars StarEastNet </p><p>represents were deliberately scrapped from the campaign after it was </p><p>found that they were hampering brand recognition, according to Lowe & </p><p>Partners MD Mateo Chien. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When you mentioned the name StarEastNet, consumers only thought of </p><p>celebrities without knowing the context of the company. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Brand awareness was overwhelmed by individual stars," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He added: "They (the public) lacked the market perception of the brand </p><p>in totality, so we opted to reposition it as a totally new brand of </p><p>entertainment marketing". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The resulting burst entitled "Make a wish. Make it come true" highlights </p><p>the aspirational, emotional appeal of stars in a night sky. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This stellar blanket is then depicted hand-in-hand with StarEastNet's </p><p>own varied, but largely unknown, portfolio of services. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>These services include event management, sponsorship, consultancy, </p><p>merchandising, licensing and helping stars build their image and </p><p>celebrity cachet in the marketplace. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When people think of event marketing or promotion we wanted them to </p><p>seriously consider StarEastNet as a conventional media avenue akin to </p><p>print or TV," said Mr Chien. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The revamp also extends to the StarEastNet website, www.StarEastNet.com, </p><p>amid reports of plummeting hit rates only nine months after launch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Redesigning the site in-house, a sub-site for celebrity crooner Leon Lai </p><p>also rolled out in May at www.leonstareastnet.com, although Mr Chien </p><p>pointed out that as a celebrity sub-site it would not strictly adhere to </p><p>the rebrand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Set for a three week June run, the 60-second TVC will be followed by a </p><p>cut down 20-second version airing on TVB and ATV. The campaign is </p><p>supported by a print burst running in the local press. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>