Akiit.com (March 13, 2007) TV One and the Washington, DC Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation have announced that TV One has signed as an official media partner of the initiative to build a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the National Mall. As a media partner to the Memorial Project Foundation, TV One will help build awareness of the planned memorial and raise donations from consumers interested in supporting it.
TV One will take advantage of its national television programming and online media platforms to promote the Memorial and will encourage affiliates and advertisers to take part in the campaign to raise awareness and funds for the memorial. TV One has created “Build the Dream†spots featuring TV one talent and prominent African American supporters of the Memorial that will begin airing this month during Black History Month.
The Build the Dream spots will continue to air on the network throughout the year, and the on-air campaign will include interstitial updates about important developments affecting the Memorial. TV One’s website, www.tvoneonline.com will prominently feature information about the campaign, as will the network’s e-mail customer newsletters.
“TV One is proud to be part of this important effort to make sure that, for generations to come, Dr. King’s dream will be kept alive, and people of all colors, ethnicities and ages can touch it, live it and help fulfill it every day,†said TV One President and CEO Johnathan Rodgers (above). “As a black-owned media company located only footsteps away from our nation’s capital, we at TV One feel a special passion for helping to make this dream a reality.â€
The Memorial Foundation has raised $77 million of the needed $100 million to complete and maintain the memorial. At the start of Black History Month, the Memorial Foundation called on corporations, foundations, and individuals to step up to the plate and donate $3 million during February alone. TV One is not only helping this effort, but will continue to support the Memorial Foundation throughout 2007.
Prominent Americans featured in the “Build the Dream†TV One on-air campaign include Jesse Jackson, Terrence Howard, Andrew Young, Dick Gregory and Victoria Rowell, as well as TV One’s own prominent hosts, “Turn Up the Heat†chef G. Garvin “Who’s Got Jokes†host, comedian and actor Bill Bellamy and “The Cool Factor’s†Kim Coles.
TV One is reaching out to its affiliates for support of this important initiative, by providing taggable spots, ad slicks, postcard and bill insert art, and poster art that affiliates can use for their own customer campaigns to support the Memorial. TV One will also utilize tagged spots to extend the network’s advertising partnerships across its media platforms, including the TV network and online.
Campaign supporters will be directed to www.tvoneonline.com, where they can make donations to the project and learn more about it.