NBCU, Liberty Mutual Ink Marketing, Programming Deal

NEW YORK, April 2: NBC
Universal and Liberty Mutual today announced a cross-platform marketing and
programming partnership that includes two TV movies to be broadcast in the
2008-09 season.

The movies are part of a
broader Liberty Mutual marketing campaign that will run across NBCU’s
properties, looking at the theme of personal responsibility.

One of the two movies is
Kings, which is also serving as a backdoor pilot. It is part of Liberty Mutual’s
The Responsibility Project, a multi-faceted, branded-entertainment initiative.
The project utilizes independently produced short films, online content and now
TV properties with NBC as catalysts for examining the decisions that confront
people trying to "do the right thing." Each movie will be promoted
and linked to The Responsibility Project website, which features content,
discussion guides, interviews, articles and blog postings tied to the central
theme of personal responsibility. The concept for The Responsibility Project is
rooted in Liberty Mutual's television commercials that feature the tagline,
"Responsibility. What's Your Policy?"

Kings centers on David
Shepherd, a young soldier who rescues a king's son from enemy territory and
sets events in motion that will finally bring peace to a country.

"This innovative
joint agreement represents the kind of forward-thinking that results when NBC
works closely with commercial clients to create customized solutions,"
said Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.
"In this case, it centers on the theme of personal responsibility, which
is crucial to Liberty Mutual and NBC, and can be conveyed in a creative and
vital manner with the themes of our two new movies, including Kings."

"This is a great
example of what can be accomplished when we work with a client earlier in the
creative process to develop a strong understanding of their marketing
objectives and match them with the right creative opportunities," added
Mike Pilot, the president of NBC Universal Sales and Marketing.

Steve Sullivan, Liberty
Mutual Group's senior VP of communications, said the NBC Universal deal is part
of the company’s efforts to “create a deeper relationship with our consumers by
creating a long-term emotional connection to our brand. By partnering with NBC,
Liberty Mutual has the opportunity to become involved earlier in the creative
process to support projects that align with our brand message promoting
personal responsibility."

The deal is part of NBC
Universal’s attempts to take a different approach to the ad market, in response
to what Jeff Zucker, the president and CEO of the company, referred to in his
NATPE keynote as “game-changing technological development and profound shifts
in consumer behavior.”

The company is set to announce
a year-round programming schedule,
followed by a series of one-on-one meetings with advertisers and media
buyers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. On May 12, NBC Universal will host
a “spotlight event” that will showcase the full scale of the company’s
offerings.

—By Mansha Daswani