BEIJING, November 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Charm Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CHRM) ("Charm" or the "Company"), a leading advertising agency in China, today announced that for the ninth consecutive year and the tenth time in eleven years, the Company secured the number one position in successful bidding volume at the annual CCTV Prime-time Auction, which was held November 8, 2011.
The CCTV Prime-time Auction is the most important event in China's advertising industry. The results are considered a barometer for growth prospects in China's advertising industry and a key indicator of business confidence across the whole economy. This year the total value of auctioned and pre-sold advertising resources for CCTV hit a record high of RMB14.26 billion, an increase of 12.54% compared to last year.
"The result demonstrates the strong confidence Chinese companies have in the domestic economy as well as their continued recognition of CCTV's value in building brands targeting China's fast growing consumer market," commented He Dang, founder, chairman and CEO of Charm. "Our success further solidifies Charm's leading position in the Chinese advertising market, where we are leveraging our expertise in television to expand our integrated advertising capabilities into digital offerings such as search and online video. We are confident that more and more companies will appreciate our full-service integrated capabilities to both build strong brands and provide more targeted marketing services, thereby offering the best return on their investment."
About Charm
Charm Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRM) is a leading advertising agency in China. Charm operates its business under four brands: Charm Advertising, Charm Interactive, Charm Click and Shangxing Media. Under the Charm Advertising and Charm Interactive brands, Charm offers integrated advertising agency services from planning and managing advertising campaigns to creating and placing advertisements, and under Charm Click, Charm offers specialized search engine marketing services. Under the Shangxing Media brand, Charm has established a portfolio of television advertising media resources through its exclusive arrangements with premium national television channels, which include not only advertising time but also opportunities for placing branded content. Charm's clients include well-recognized brand names in China across many industries, as well as emerging domestic leading brands. In January 2010, Charm formed a consolidated joint venture with international 4A advertising group Aegis Media, its strategic investor, to operate its brand "Vizeum" in China. In October 2010, Charm also entered into agreement to establish a joint venture with Wasu Digital Group to operate all advertising-related businesses across Wasu's IPTV, 3G mobile TV and broadband TV network platforms. For more information please go to http://ir.charmgroup.cn.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this press release are forward-looking statements and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates, but involve a number of unknown risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Charm's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statement on Form F-1. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
In China:
IR Department
Ms. Rita Pan
Charm Communications Inc.
Phone: +86-10-6581-3885
Email: ir@charmgroup.cn
In the U.S.:
Ms. Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
Phone: +1-646-460-9989
Email: chrm@ogilvy.com
