HBO hits Singapore's streets to push show

But the outdoor portion of the campaign was almost shelved because the new '18' classification does not permit promotion of these shows on bus shelters or buses as well as free-to-air television and radio. Caroline Wong, the director of marketing communications at HBO Asia, said the company had opted to focus on print after being told that bus shelters were outside the classification rules. ClearChannel AdShel then appealed to the Media Development Authority, which relented and allowed the ads to run on the AdShel network, except in front of schools and places of worship. As a result, the campaign kicked off with print ads in major English dailies. The island-wide bus shelter campaign only kicked in a week later. The overwhelmingly pink-hued campaign was designed by boutique agency Tan & Timmerman. HBO has also added a retail element to the promotion. A one-month campaign is now running to promote a book, which explains the show in major bookstores since HBO launched with the fifth season as part of its regional encore strategy of repeating the previous series before it broadcasts the final season in mid-August. The retail promotion will be followed in October with leading department store Tangs being decked out in the show's theme. Wong said the company planned to spend a budget equal to its allocation for Band of Brothers to promote the show, which centres around the lives for four New York single women looking for love and excitement. She said marketing the show in Singapore presented a few challenges. "The greatest challenge is to communicate that this is show is about love and relationships, not about sex. It's important for us to get the right message out there." The other challenge is that the show only starts with the fifth season. However, the major dailies have run background information on the show and the characters. Wong said the ad campaign also stressed that the show is an HBO original. "Attracting subscribers to pay for and keep the service is about developing distinct and good original programmes like Sex and the City. Consumers need to see that this is a channel that is different and better, and therefore worth paying for." HBO Asia has been working with StarHub Cable TV on acquiring new subscribers and retaining existing subscribers. Rebecca Tan, executive director for Nielsen Media Research Singapore, said the Singapore screening was expected to have similar if not higher ratings than Hong Kong. "Except that in Singapore, having it aired on HBO which is a paid premium channel, might restrict the audience accessibility." According to Nielsen, the show garnered ratings of between 14 and 23 per cent share in Hong Kong.