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Monday, May 2, 2011

Comcast Prefers 'Symphony' Not 'Synergy'

While Rivals Streamline, Burke Pushes Cross-Marketing Project at NBCU

From Jessica E. Vascellaro and Lauren A.E. Schucker, wsj.com
As he eases into the role of chief of Comcast Corp.'s NBCU, Steve Burke is doubling down on an idea that's fallen out of favor in the media business: synergy. 
While other media companies are breaking apart to streamline, Mr. Burke is fixated on strengthening ties between assets as diverse as theme parks and cable channels like CNBC to pump up interest in NBCU's franchises. 
He's ordering executives to lend their support to company-wide projects, starting with the animated Easter film "Hop" from Universal Pictures and NBC's new singing competition show "The Voice." 
The result: promotions ranging from a golf-club swinging Bunny from "Hop" on the Golf Network to dousing Comcast's online-video site with clips of belting wannabe pop stars. 
He calls the strategy "Project Symphony"—a play, on synergy, a word he resisted because it evoked cost-cutting and had become a derided term. "As the world fragments, it becomes harder and harder to promote anything," he said in a recent interview. To get people's attention, "you have to take this approach."

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