Samsonite goes on CNN

Asia Pacific - Samsonite will sponsor CNN International's new feature series, ‘My City_My Life', marking its first television campaign in four years.

Samsonite joins CNN's roster of luxury goods clients including Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Omega and Breitling and the sponsorship will take effect from 3 May 2008.

The programme features celebrities who show audiences the highlights of their favourite cities, including key personalities such as fashion designer Roberto Cavalli and French actor/director Mathieu Kassovitz.

In addition to branded billboards attached to ‘My City_My Life' television and web programming, Samsonite will also sponsor the series' microsite, which streams programmes on demand, and includes written profiles and image galleries of the personalities on the show. A user-generated content component will invite users to submit their own tips for the cities visited in the show and cast ‘Quick Votes' for each of the cities.

The sponsorship marks a change in Samsonite's traditionally spot-driven association with CNN International and sparks the next phase in its long term global communications campaign, ‘Life's a Journey'. The campaign is a mix of brand and product advertising that seeks to reach and connect with global audiences through CNN International's reach across Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America.

Marcello Bottoli, president and CEO of the Samsonite Group said, "We launched the ‘Life's a Journey' campaign in 2005 to add a much richer, more emotional depth to our communication; to showcase the new direction for Samsonite. Being associated with a travel feature like My City My Life is an exciting next step and brings our brand philosophy to life in front of a key audience."