Advertisers Embrace New Feature of Optimum Select RFI to Immediately Deliver Brochures, Coupons, Offers and Other Information to Consumers by Email

CHICAGO, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today announced the successful launch of Optimum Select RFI with email fulfillment from a live 30-second spot for consumers to engage directly with local, regional and national brands. The new capability allows viewers to opt-in and engage directly with advertisers through a few clicks of the remote to request more information via email from a 30-second spot. ICE Enterprise utilized their Voyage Travel Rewards brand to launch the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line promotion, which ran for two weeks across Cablevision's New York metro service area. Lincoln, Benjamin Moore and Adirondack Regional Tourism have plans to begin RFI to email campaigns shortly.  

"Optimum Select RFI with email fulfillment is an evolution in interactive advertising, providing a more immediate dialogue with engaged consumers from a 30-second spot, and is already seeing results ahead of conventional direct marketing campaigns," said David Kline, president and COO of Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation (RASCO), the sales organization for Rainbow Media and Cablevision.  "Optimum Select is truly a universal product with benefits for advertisers of all sizes including the ability to provide rich engagement metrics. Giving advertisers the ability to send viewers an email offer from a TV commercial, whether in the form of a direct offer, e-brochure or coupon, is a cable industry first."

The campaign consisted of a "two for the price of one" vacation offer from Royal Caribbean, promoted through 30-second television spots, enabling consumers to request more information about purchasing the vacation package and joining the travel rewards program.  The spots included an Optimum Select overlay prompting the viewer to press the "select" button on their remote to receive additional information.  After an opt-in and verification of their personal information, the viewer selects "submit" to complete the email submission.

"We could not have been happier with the results of the Optimum Select RFI with email fulfillment campaign; it is truly a groundbreaking milestone in television advertising driving engagement and ROI directly from the thirty-second spot," said John Rowley, Chairman & CEO of ICE Enterprise.  "The goal of the campaign was to generate sales for both Royal Caribbean and travel reward enrollment, and the campaign generated a total of 3,000 unique email leads over a two week period.  The offer redemption rates were off the charts at 24 percent -- more than double the industry average for conventional email campaigns.  Cablevision continues to be a leader in interactive advertising, providing marketers with innovative products to help brands break-through the increasingly cluttered media landscape."

Optimum Select has a strong record of success with national, regional and local advertisers. Introduced in late 2009, the Optimum Select experience begins with a 30-second television commercial during which viewers are invited to use their remote to opt-in and request more information. The program in progress is minimized in the corner screen while the viewer is given the option to click to request a sample, coupon, gift card or other information, depending on the specific campaign, or save the content to be viewed later. Local, regional and national advertisers have taken advantage of the interactive television advertising product to transform the 30-second commercial into a gateway for longer engagement with a brand.  

Optimum Select is accessible to Cablevision's nearly three million iO TV® digital customers with an interactive digital set-top box.

About Cablevision

Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) is one of the nation's leading media and entertainment companies.  Its assets include cable television operations that provide industry-leading services to more than 3 million New York area households.  A state-of-the-art cable system enables the company to offer a full suite of premier residential and business communications services that include its iO TV® digital television, Optimum Online® high-speed Internet, Optimum Voice® digital voice, Optimum WiFi® wireless Internet, and its Optimum Lightpath® integrated business communications solutions.  Cablevision also delivers advanced video, voice and Internet services to more than 300,000 households in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Through Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, Cablevision operates several successful programming and entertainment businesses, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and IFC Entertainment.  Cablevision serves the New York area with compelling local content through News 12 Networks, a local news leader; MSG Varsity, a suite of television and online services covering high school activities; and, Newsday Media Group, a business unit that includes Newsday, Long Island's leading daily newspaper.  The company also owns and operates Clearview Cinemas, which includes Manhattan's famed Ziegfeld Theatre, a frequent and historic venue for film premieres and events. 

SOURCE Cablevision Systems Corporation