MOSCOW, April 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CTC Media, Inc. ("CTC Media" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CTCM), Russia's leading independent media company, announced the results of "Content 360" transmedia projects competition, which was held as a part of the MIPTV 2013 spring content market. The winner of the competition, Alex Alexander, from Australia, has presented his transmedia project "Step 1".
The competition was organized by CTC Media in partnership with MTS, a leading telecommunication operator in Russia and CIS, and advertising agency Ailove.
This is the first time when Russian companies acted as organizers of cross platform competition of this scale, and the first time when the advertising project idea for the Russian market was selected through an international competition.
About 40 projects of production companies, advertising agencies and independent participants from all over the world took part in the competition.
A jury consisting of CTC Media, MTS and Ailove representatives has chosen five finalists. All of them were invited to Cannes to present their projects. Alex Alexander, the winner of the competition, won a prize of 5,000 Euros and also a possibility to realize his ideas as a part of new joined CTC Media and MTS project.
Viacheslav Murugov, CTC Media Chief Content Officer, Head of CTC Channel: "Nowadays, just a TV screen is not enough for people, today viewers watch videos using Internet and mobile devices. That is why CTC Media is more than just TV. It is a transmedia company which seeks new ways of development and creating new sources of income. Recent success of the first Russian transmedia project "Real Love" on the CTC Channel is the perfect prove of correctness of this strategy."
Anna-Maria Treneva, CTC Media Head of Digital Media: "We were encouraged to organize the competition by a remarkable success of our recent transmedia project "Real Love". We received huge number of interesting and bright projects from around the world. It was the first time when the TV channel organized this kind of event. We have made a statement as a leader in transmedia projects industry on the international content market. As a result, we have a possibility to combine the best ideas from around the world for the CTC Channel and our partner MTS."
Yaroslav Smirnov, MTS Head of Mobile Internet Marketing Communications, VAS & Financial Products:"MTS has a broad experience in the sphere of innovative cross media projects and is actively supporting initiatives to search for the best ideas and new opportunities in that area. Several years ago together with our partners we launched a revolutionary format, which proved to be effective and is strengthening its market positions now. Today, high quality proprietary content is a prerequisite for a successful communication with a target audience since traditional promotion methods are showing less effectiveness. Within a framework of the transmedia projects competition, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in this subject on an international level and are looking forward to effective cooperation with CTC Media and to discovering new formats."
Oleg Zhdanov, Ailove CEO: "This is an unprecedented case when an agency, a brand and a TV channel united for the search of innovative formats outside of Russia. Demand for transmedia is already formed around the world but so far few teams understand how to approach this area. That is why we are at the forefront not only in Russia but also internationally."
About CTC Media, Inc.
CTC Media is a leading independent media company in Russia, with operations throughout Russia and in a number of other CIS markets. It operates three free-to-air television networks in Russia – CTC, Domashny and Peretz – as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan and a TV company in Moldova, with a combined potential audience of over 150 million people. The international pay-TV version of the CTC channel is available in North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central and South East Asia. CTC Media also has its own TV content production capabilities through its Story First Production subsidiary and a number of digital media assets in Russia. The Company's common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "CTCM". For more information on CTC Media, please visit www.ctcmedia.ru.
About "Mobile TeleSystems" (MTS)
Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the leading telecommunications group in Russia, Сentral and Eastern Europe, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world's fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers. The Group has been awarded GSM licenses in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 200 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at www.mtsgsm.com.
About Ailove
Ailove is an independent innovative digital agency. It takes leading positions in interactive agencies ratings: 4th place in AKAR creative rating; 5th place in Russia's Top-135 digital agencies rating Teglain-2012. Realizes full-coverage, complex and integrated digital solutions on the basis of their own capacities. In the Ailove team there are more than 120 high-qualified specialists. The main goal – is to help leading companies to build clear and meaningful communications with the target audience in interactive media spheres. For more information on Ailove, please visit ailove.ru.