August 31, 2009.- Telemundo, a leading producer of innovative and high-quality content for Hispanics in the U.S. and around the world, and State Farm Insurance announced today they have partnered to produce «La Banda del Pueblo,» an 8-hour docu-reality to premiere on Telemundo on September 13th and on mun2 on September 20th in high-definition.
The show is an original content idea brought to Telemundo by State Farm. As part of the agreement, Telemundo Studios is working with State Farm’s advertising agency, Alma DDB, its partner company FiRe Advertainment, and media agency OMD to produce the reality show in Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
«We are thrilled to partner with State Farm on an innovative production that engages viewers across all platforms including the Telemundo Studios, the network and our digital assets,» said Michael Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Sales, Telemundo. «Clients are looking for ‘360’ partnerships, and «La Banda del Pueblo» is a great example of how Telemundo is uniquely able to work with them from the development to the final production to achieve their marketing goals.»
«La Banda del Pueblo» will follow the trials and tribulations of struggling Mexican regional musicians that came together as a band during a State Farm casting call and who then went on to win the hearts of State Farm executives, agencies and consumers. Now they’ll get to share the experiences they face in their journey to fame and glory including naming the band.
«This band is so talented and their story so inspirational because it truly reflects the Hispanic consumer’s life in the US. As a company, our mission is to be there to help people realize their dreams, manage the everyday, and recover from the unexpected,» said Bruce Petersen, advertising director at State Farm. «This is exactly the journey we’ll see the band go through and it is extremely rewarding to bring this story to life. For us, this show represents the first time that we produce an original branded content program because it’s a story worth telling,» he added.
«Once again Alma DDB is proud to lead this unconventional concept for a client who has imagined and enthusiastically supported the potential of this idea and the impact it will have on our consumers and culture in positioning the brand as meaningful and visionary. For the Agency, this initiative is a coherent demonstration of influence at work,» said Luis Miguel Messianu, President and C.C.O. of Alma DDB.
On August 28th, polls began to run nationally on holamun2 and locally on the Los Angeles station websites with viewers voting on their favorite band name.
«Times have changed: It’s not about a simple product placement anymore, it’s about tailor-made content for brands. We are happy that clients, agencies, partners and media are letting us apply this to their communication platforms. That’s what we do. That’s what Fire Advertainment is all about and «La Banda del Pueblo» is a perfect example of how advertising and entertainment will work from now on. Advertainment is a reality and we are happy being pioneers in it, said Christian Reslen, C.E.O and Creative Director of FiRe Advertainment US.
«This project exemplifies a new paradigm for collaboration among agencies, breaking through traditional boundaries between creative and strategic resources to enable a true collaborative effort that produced a breakthrough execution,» said OMD’s Shari Staiano, National Investment Director for the State Farm business.
The production began on August 17th and will end with a performance by the band at the Telemundo special «El Grito» concert
