The Joester Loria Group and Hurricane Sandy

· The Kellogg Company announced a $500,000 donation to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts to The Red Cross and Feeding America through both monetary and food donations.

·Discovery Communications offered a  special website to track the storm.

·Animal Planet launched a new Facebook page with the goal of reuniting pets lost during Hurricane Sandy with their owners.  The new Facebook page is called “Hurricane Sandy Lost and Found Pets” and it has over 19,000 supporters, a number that is rapidly growing.

·Pepsi pledged $500,000 to the American Red Cross’ disaster giving program and $250,000 to Feeding America’s disaster relief fund.

Discovery’s “Shark Week” Takes a Bite Out Of Pop Culture

In 1987 “Shark Week” began after a Discovery Channel brainstorming session with the goal of gaining more viewers.  Every time a shark program aired previously, the network, which was just two years old at the time, noticed an increase in ratings.  What no one predicted was a pop culture phenomenon would be born, attracting more than 20 million viewers each year.  Last year alone, 27 million people tuned in to get their dose of shark-themed programming.  “Shark Week” airs at the end of July, and attracts advertisers because of the younger audience it brings in.

As technology and science continue to advance, more and more knowledge about these fascinating creatures becomes available giving the network ongoing, fresh content.  During the 25 years of “Shark Week,” Discovery has aired 151 programs for viewers to chomp on.

In recognition of the 25^th Anniversary of Shark Week, a consumer products program was launched for the brand in 2012.  This year, a collection of t-shirts for men, women and children are available in-stores at national retailers and in 2013, a broader collection of product will be available in national chains and resort retailers.  In addition, you can find official Shark Week merchandise on Discovery’s Online Store

The Joester Loria Group is the exclusive licensing agency for  “Shark Week.”  It’s one of our favorite weeks of the year and for shark fin-atics out there we recommend following @sharkweek on Twitter for a daily dose of videos, facts, trivia and more.

AdAge recently covered the success and origins of “Shark Week” in its article How ‘Shark Week’ Went Rogue.

Joester Loria Group’s View on Brand Extension

Branding Strategy Insider recently posted an interesting article explaining how brand extension can be considered both a friend and a foe. The article defines brand extension as expanding a property into new, adjacent categories with the ultimate goal of gaining the best financial return. The Joester Loria Group focuses on developing great brand extension for our clients and we understand the importance of closely aligning with the brand’s core values.

Branding Strategy Insider highlights My Dirty Jobs, a line of cleaning products inspired by Discovery Channel’s hit series. We are proud to have brokered this deal and delighted to see Brand Strategy Insider applaud the link between what the brand and the brand extension, saying “the fit between the well-known TV show and a line of cleaning products makes good sense.”

Read Branding Strategy Insider’s full article about brand extension.

Read the Joester Loria Group’s post about the My Dirty Jobs Line of licensed cleaning products.

Mythbusters Announces Refreshed Line of Science Activity Kits

Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated series, MythBusters has a refreshed line of science activity kits that will debut at Dallas Toy Fair 2012. Mythbusters is credited with making science cool again, and the activity kits, manufactured by Poof®-Slinky®, inspires young minds to interact with science and learn while having fun. This deal was brokered by The Joester Loria Group on behalf of Discovery Communications.

Visit the official Mythbusters website here: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/mythbusters/

Discovery Channel’s Hit Series Dirty Jobs™ Inspires New My Dirty Jobs Line of Cleaning Products

As demonstrated in 7 season of “Dirty Jobs™” on the Discovery Channel, Mike Rowe devotes his time to finding (and doing) the dirtiest jobs in America. Now, under an arrangement brokered by The Joester Loria Group, a full line of Dirty Jobs™ Heavy-Duty cleaning products, is delivering everything consumers need to cut through the grease, grime, stuck-on dirt and set-in stains that keeps their home from looking its best, whether Mike’s been there or not.

The My Dirty Jobs cleaning products feature a heavy-duty, oxygen powered stain remover, Dirty Jobs Complete, which is produced with an original formula featuring an increased concentration of oxygen-powered enzymes, making it one of the most advanced and powerful stain-removers on the market. Dirty Jobs cleaning products will be available in all Walmart Stores in March 2012.

Developed in consultation with Rowe, the marketing campaign for Dirty Jobs, the cleaning products will emphasize that whether work or play, it is okay to get dirty because at the end of the day it washes off.

“When you think of the show Dirty Jobs several things come to mind– dirt and mud with an overall giant mess to clean up,” said Elizabeth Bakacs, Vice President of Licensing for Discovery Channel. “The goal of this line is to provide consumers with a complete line of products unlike any other on the shelf today, all designed to make life’s everyday messes a little easier to tackle.”

Later this year, additional Dirty Jobs cleaning products will be available at major retail locations and specialty stores nationwide, including a bleach-powered bathroom cleaner, an oxygen-powered foaming cleanser, a carpet spray aerosol, a multi-surface cleaner, a laundry spot-remover and a degreaser and hand sanitizer.

The official website for the line is www.MyDirtyJobs.com.