Fit TV, which launched a national ad agency search last month, has selected one New York and six Los Angeles shops to compete for its estimated $10 million account.
The seven contenders for the cable network’s business are: Korey Kay & Partners, New York, and California shops J. Walter Thompson, Los Angeles; Wiley & Associates, Westlake Village; House Design & Film, Beverly Hills; Kovel Kresser & Partners, Venice; and WongDoody and PPandG, both Santa Monica, a client representative said last week.
Creative presentations to the Los Angeles-based channel began last week and continue this week. Although the winning shop could be selected in the next few weeks, the search process may be extended by another round, the client said.
Contenders were asked to provide proposed taglines and full speculative creative presentations. They were also asked to propose a media plan for the January 1999 relaunch of the channel and the six months afterward.
Previous advertising for the network was created mainly in-house. While Fit TV has spent around $5 million in the past, sources said the client may spend as much as $10 million on the relaunch. When the channel first began its search [Adweek, Sept. 14], president Pyper Davis said Fit TV was planning “a very big promotional push over the next five months.”
Fit TV plans to reposition itself as a 24-hour cable network with lifestyle and fitness programming targeted at women. The network currently reaches about 10 million homes nationwide.
7 Agencies Vie For Fit TV
