Children's TV channel vtmKzoom is broadcasting its first AFP-programme. An  Advertiser Funded Programme is an alternative for the traditional advertising spot! 

The programme on vtmKzoom is part of the new media campaign developed by MIA for Safari Park Beekse Bergen. ?On Safari!? sees presenters Arne and Joyce (photo) out and about in various episodes with  an animal keeper. 

Safari Park Beekse Bergen (Libéma, the Netherlands) chose Mia as its communication partner. The aim is to position Europe's largest wildlife reserve as a park with the focus on the Africa experience.

Frank Mimpen, Manager Marketing Libéma: ?The campaign by Mia respects our identity as a safari park, yet with new, refreshing inputs. Just what we expect of our communication partner. Safari Park Beekse Bergen offers an exciting, fun Africa experience for the whole family, and this campaign offers a tantalising taste.?

The new campaign will stoke up enthusiasm for Safari Park Beekse Bergen via a carefully-selected media mix, backed by creative promotional campaigns.

“How can we improve our internal communication?” asked Joeri Arts, Marketing, Strategy & Business Development Director at Alpha Credit. Mia drew up a comprehensive strategy and created the staff magazine Square.

A survey after 4 editions shows that 91% of the staff always read the magazine or often read it. 81% devour all the articles or several articles. 88% think that Square is well-written, 94% praise the layout and photos. “More of the same, please” say 25%. Square scores 7 to 10 out of 10 with 90% of readers. A good investment then?

Joeri Arts: “There has been a clear change of mentality between the first and the fourth edition. Employee commitment has increased significantly. We are looking forward to another year of exciting discoveries.”

Internal communication²

The staff magazine Square (4 times a year) is a key ingredient in Mia’s internal communication plan for AlphaCredit. (At the launch, the first edition was hand-delivered to each office, hot off the press.) Its intranet counterpart is known as Square Online. This site was placed on the home page of the intranet as a news screen and is regularly updated. Behind that home page, the entire archive containing a wealth of information could be retained without difficulty.

Square, the ‘meeting place where Alpha people meet’, fits perfectly with the Alpha² programme to drive internal communication.

In rural Urlati (Romania), on 2 February, the first ground was broken for the new P&G Hair Care factory in the presence of P&G top executives. The news spread across all the TV networks. From 2010 onwards, Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Wash & Go will be produced ‘on demand’. In order to enlist 300 technicians and operators in time, Haircare Program Manager Luc Viaene called on the team that succeeded in recruiting 250 operators for the washing tablets factory in Mechelen 10 years ago. So Mia now determines the strategy, creates the Site Equity and steers the recruitment campaign, with Grey Romania as the local executive partner. What does P&G think of Mia? “Priceputi, ageri, de nadejde”. Or: competent, flexible and reliable. Just like the baseline of the new plant.

Midway Games, already known in the 1980s as a publisher and producer of arcade games, is still going strong with video games such as Mortal Kombat, Unreal Tournament, Wheelman and TNA Impact.

For the launch of the wrestling game TNA Impact! Belgian advertising agency Mia devised a gimmick with 2 wrestlers – and a booth babe – appearing at gaming events and challenging people to a multiplayer session. In cooperation with various media, a competition was launched with a trip to London for a real TNA pro wrestling match as first prize. Journalists could even try out the most spectacular moves themselves.

The campaign enjoyed extensive coverage, both in the general press and in the gaming press. The launch gimmick featured in an extensive photo report in lifestyle magazines and announcements about the competition on radio and television.

Prime Water International purifies water to 99.9999 % safe drinking water with an energy neutral membrane filter which is unique in the world. The company called on Mia to put this asset in the spotlight and establish PWI as an innovative and attractive company, both to potential clients and future employees.

Mia developed a new logo and created the brand promise 'Prime Water, Safe Water made Easy'. A new website was developed and Els de Temmerman was appointed as ambassador in an extensive PR campaign. An important facet of Mia’s strategy was Prime Water’s participation in the Open Company Day and the fact that the company competed for the corresponding Award for Technological Innovation. In addition, Mia ensured Prime Water’s presence at the Aquatech trade fair in Amsterdam was carefully organised.

Their efforts paid off: Prime Water was one of the three winners of the Award for Technological Innovation 2008 and received prime time coverage on Belgian public television and local television stations Kanaal Z and TV Limburg. A number of newspapers (De Tijd, De Standaard, Het Belang van Limburg) discussed the technological innovations within the company and recruitment medium Vacature wrote an article on the job opportunities at Prime Water. Ten crucial vacancies were filled in a short space of time.