CBS Plans Marketing and Publicity Blitz for “Everybody Loves Raymond” Series Finale
* Multi-Platform Campaign Launched During “Grammy® Awards” with Vote for All-Time Favorite Episodes
* On-Air Spots to include celebrity tributes
* Other initiatives include heavy promotion on Viacom Cable and radio properties, extensive co-marketing with 200-Plus CBS Affiliated Stations and special content on in-flight Program “CBS Eye on American”
* Appearances by “Raymond” Cast Members on Top Rated Daytime and Late Night Talk Shows for May 16
CBS is rolling out an aggressive multi-platform marketing and publicity campaign to support the finale of EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND.
The multi-layered effort includes a vote on CBS.com for viewers’ all-time favorite episodes; on-air tributes by celebrities; heavy promotion on Viacom radio and cable properties; extensive co-marketing with CBS’s 200-plus affiliated stations; and special RAYMOND-themed content on “CBS Eye on American.”
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND ¨C America’s #1 Comedy in Viewers, Adults 18-49 and 25-54 ¨C signs off with its 210th episode on May 16. The finale will be preceded by a one-hour special featuring behind-the-scenes footage, highlights from the show’s nine seasons and interviews with the cast.
On Sunday, Feb. 13 during the GRAMMY® AWARDS on CBS, viewers were alerted to vote on CBS.com for their all-time favorite RAYMOND episodes. The five receiving the most votes will then be broadcast on CBS in consecutive weeks, beginning Feb. 28 with the fifth most popular and culminating with the all-time fan favorite on March 28.
CBS stars and other celebrities will also take part in a series of promotional spots where they’ll congratulate RAYMOND on its spectacular nine-year run and express why the show is so special to them.
CBS is also maximizing promotional opportunities within the Viacom family with an extensive campaign on sister cable networks such as VH1, Comedy Central, Nick at Nite, TV Land and CMT, as well as Infinity radio stations and the Westwood One network.
CBS also has launched a comprehensive joint marketing effort with its 200-plus affiliated local stations. The network will provide a package of spots focusing on great moments in RAYMOND history and other show highlights to the stations to customize locally.
In addition, CBS has produced a tie-in guide resembling a Barone family photo album, which is full of ways that stations can promote the finale locally. The guide includes loads of RAYMOND trivia questions for local contests (including a list of guest stars from Kevin James, star of THE KING OF QUEENS, to basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). There are also multiple concepts for other types of contests such as EVERYBODY LOVES A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW COOK-OFF — in the tradition of Marie and Debra — between mothers and daughters-in-law with a local restaurant chef acting as judge.
Besides on-air, CBS will take its RAYMOND promotions to the air with “EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND Moments” on American Airlines’ in-flight program “CBS Eye on American.” “CBS Eye on American” is seen by millions of travelers each month and has aired full episodes of RAYMOND since 1998.
The publicity campaign began with the cast conducting a press conference at the Television Critic’s Association annual Winter Press Tour. Following the final taping of the series, the cast of “EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND” appeared on “Oprah” (2/9/05), giving the top-rated talk show one of its highest-rated editions of the season (8.9/21 Weighted Metered Market Overnight Average) ¨C ahead of two “Oprah” shows devoted to Desperate Housewives (Cast of Desperate Housewives 7.4/18; Oprah gets a role on Desperate Housewives 8.3/19)
From February through May, cast members from the Emmy award-winning series will appear on several of the leading daytime and late night talk shows, including “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Live with Regis & Kelly,” “The View” and “Ellen,” among others.
On April 28, CBS and series producers HBO and Worldwide Pants will host a major red carpet finale party to kick off the final three episodes of the classic series. Cast members from the show as well as celebrities who have been fans of Raymond over the years will be in attendance.
On May 16, the cast will appear together in New York City for one last time in a media blitz that will start on the CBS “Early Show” and culminate on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when the cast of “EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND” and CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves ring the closing bell.