Paramount ANZ’s national sales director says, ‘It’s the best inventory sales on the Melbourne Cup I’ve ever seen’
In just one day, the eyes of the world will be firmly focused on the $8 million Lexus Melbourne Cup. The 2022 Melbourne Cup Carnival will be broadcast live and free on Ten and 10 Play.
It will be the fourth time Ten has aired the Melbourne Cup, after signing a five-year $100 million deal with the Victorian Racing Club in 2018.
Lisa Squillace, National Sales Director, Paramount Australia and New Zealand.
Paramount Australia and New Zealand national sales director, Lisa Squillace told Mumbrella: “This year it’s all about being back on track.
“We expect a full house in Flemington, which is super exciting after a number of years of crowds not being able to attend. But back on track in regards to showcasing the carnival like never before. We’re live and free on 10 and 10 play, and we’ve also launched a 10 Play FAST channel, which really talk around the history of The Cup. And it really is a historic part of Australia’s sort of vernacular in everyday life,” she said.
“And we all know that Australians are watching on all screens, from big screens and small screens, and all the screens in between,” said Squillace.
“They’re on linear, they’re on digital, they’re in clubs, they’re in restaurants, and even in schools. So, it is really the one event in the country that everybody stops and watches. We reached over four million people last year, and we expect to be reaching those types of numbers again, across our platforms. It is really going to show the power of an event like this and the power of advertising in something like this, you are able to have such a mass reach in one spot, which is really powerful.”
In terms of sponsors onboard for this year, TAB is Ten’s wagering partner for the broadcast and will provide odds updates within the coverage and is also sponsoring the race clock. Harvey Norman is also sponsoring race insights via “Michelle’s pick of the yard”.
In June this year, Lexus today confirmed it will continue as the naming rights sponsor of the Lexus Melbourne Cup following a two-year extension as principal partner of the Victoria Racing Club (VRC). Lexus has a strong suite of content in their sponsorship showcasing their marquee called LANDMARK by Lexus.
Lexus Australia chief executive, John Pappas said the continuation of the VRC principal partnership underlines Lexus’ position as a leading luxury lifestyle brand and its commitment to supporting iconic Australian cultural and sporting events.
“We are thrilled to continue as principal partner of the VRC through to the end of 2024 with naming rights to the Lexus Melbourne Cup and prominent lead-up races that provide direct entry to the Flemington classic,” Pappas said.
“It is a wonderful partnership that has brought premium experiences, innovation and flair on the track, while activations such as the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour have enabled the excitement of The Cup to be enjoyed by communities throughout Australia and beyond.
“We all know the Lexus Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation, but now, more than ever, it’s also the race that’s shared with the people.”
On board for the coverage is host, Eddie McGuire, alongside three-time Lexus Melbourne Cup winning jockey Glen Boss will join him, mounting yard expert Brittany Taylor, Group 1 winning jockey James Winks and form expert David Gately, as well as Caty Price.
International racing expert Francesca Cumani will join the coverage while Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has signed on to lend her insights.
Covering all things fashion, colour and entertainment in the Birdcage and around the track are Rob Mills, Georgie Tunny, Natalie Hunter, Tara Rushton and Archie Thompson.
Ten’s Melbourne Cup coverage had a metro audience of 1.213 million views in 2021 while 2020’s race drew in 1.140 million metro viewers, a slight drop from 2019’s 1.441 million and a significant fall from 2018’s 1.836 million and 2017’s 1.79 million.
Squillace added: “Along with a host of major packages in various categories, the market sees the value in Australia’s most iconic event. It’s still one of the only places to place your brand TVC in front of half of the country in one moment.
“For TAB we’re promoting their brand-new App and have leveraged our partnership with Twitter so you’ll now see a branded TAB emoji, associated with our hashtag #CupWeekon10.”
As for inventory sales, Squillace said the broadcaster has said it had its best year yet. “This year has possibly been our most successful sales on The Cup, not only over 20% but as digital assets are up over 80% in regards to take-out. The way that our advertisers are accessing our audiences this year is very much with a very heavy digital extension, not only across our new ad formats such as KERV Interactive, BrandBOOST, and Ad Selector but also, through our partnership with Twitter to particularly taken a big partnership, obviously with the VRC with Paramount and also now with Twitter to be able to have an extensive campaign that really taps into the environment.”
Following two days of racing comes Kennedy Oaks Day on Thursday, 3 November and TAB Champions Stakes Day on Saturday, 5 November, with all race days being broadcast live and free on Network Ten and 10 Play.
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