CNN And Miramax Partner To Promote 'The Aviator'
According to Mediapost, CNN and Miramax have teamed up for a "multi-platform promotional initiative" for 'The Aviator,' due in theaters December 17. According to the article:
The on-air spots promoting the movie literally take flight on the CNN networks and encourage viewers to log on to CNN.com to learn how to win a trip to experience the glamour of "Old Hollywood" embodied throughout the film.
In addition, branded movie promotional banners will run on CNN.com, directing users to "The Aviator" promotional mini-site, at which they can enter the consumer sweepstakes, watch the movie trailer, and obtain information about the film.
Additionally, a "Making of" featurette will be screening on the CNN Airport Network.
MediaDailyNews 11-30-04
Disney's 'The Incredibles' Uses Extensive Mobile Device Marketing
In addition to saturating the planet's TV screens, magazines, newspapers and fast food outlets, it looks like Disney and Pixar are hitting mobile devices hard as well. According to the latest issue of Forbes, mobile device marketing has become integral to the studio's marketing took kit:
Pick up your phone or log onto Disney Mobile, the company's cell-centric Web site, and you can download two dozen Incredibles wallpaper graphics, two new video games and three dozen custom-made ring tones--including one of villain Syndrome growling, "What, you expected a cute little ring?"
However, Disney isn't just interested in marketing movies to kids via cellphones -- they're looking to get into the cellphone game themselves a la Virgin Mobile:
Disney is so enthusiastic about the mobile market that it is getting ready to launch its own cell phone company. For more than a year, company execs have been discussing becoming a "mobile virtual network operator," or MVNO, a model under which a company skips the expensive process of building a national phone network, instead signing on with an existing provider and rebranding its service. A Disney mobile network would allow the company to sell cheap phones, branded with its characters, and provide them with a dedicated, direct marketing channel to kids.
Meanwhile, for all of you movie marketers with a shoestring budget looking to get in on the mobile game, you might want to try the SMS messaging route with a company like Textgram or Phonecaster.
Have a programmer on staff? Maybe you can get them interested in developing some simple content, wallpapers or ringtones using Mobile BASIC, a simple development environment.
Forbes.com: An 'Incredible' Marketing Ploy
The "Seed of Chucky" Sperm Bank: Gross or Brilliant?
I was on Yahoo! Movies today when I stumbled across a tower ad that took me to the "Sperm Bank," which just happens to be the "Official Seed of Chucky Fan Community."
With lots of tongue in cheek humor, the Sperm Bank enlists Chucky fans to engage in various viral and promotional marketing activities that earn them "sperm," which they can later cash in for Chucky swag. Some of the activities include:
Paint the town Chucky!
Chucky is getting ready to paint the town red this weekend. Click here and help him get started by printing out stickers from the "Killer Stuff" section and hanging them all over your town! Take a picture of your handiwork and upload it to the Delivery Room for 200 sperm. (Limit one).
Opening Weekend Photo Challenge
When you rush to see Seed of Chucky this weekend, don't forget your friends or your camera! Take a photo of you and a group of your friends in front of a Chucky poster, upload it to the Delivery Room and you'll get 200 sperm! (Limit one).
Interesting idea, but it the user interface is crappy, and you would have to do a hell of a lot of free promo work to get a free Chucky doll. I might try to get the Chucky condoms though -- they're only 200 points.
Click here to become a member of Chucky's Sperm Bank!
'Kinsey' Protesters Become Inadvertent Marketers for the Film
Posted on Thursday November 11, 2004
Filed under
According to Variety, a conservative backlash is brewing over this Friday's upcoming release of 'Kinsey," the biopic about the famed sex researcher:
Two days before its limited debut, conservative groups outlined plans to protest the biopic about Alfred Kinsey on the grounds it glorifies the sex researcher they consider responsible for AIDS and the sexual revolutionRevolution.
One, the director of Concerned Women for America's Culture and Family Institute, even went so far as to compare Kinsey to Dr. Josef Mengele or "your average Hollywood horror-flick mad scientist."
Fox Searchlight marketing prexy Nancy Utley couldn't help but see the parallels between the protests Kinsey endured, quoting one of his lines in the movie: "The forces of chastity are amassing once again."
It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that conservatives were never the target market in Fox Searchlight's marketing plan for this flick anyway. In fact, i'm guessing the target would probably lean towards white, urban liberal men and women aged 25-52. Protests from conservatives will only make these people MORE EAGER to find out just what all the fuss is about. In fact, take a look at the free publicity they've generated. It looks like a movie marketing goldmine to me...
Variety.com - 'Kinsey' draws ire
Warner Brothers Peppers Singapore with One Million 'Polar Express' Postcards
Posted on Thursday November 11, 2004
Filed under
I always find it interesting to see movie marketing techniques that the studios use in other countries.
Warner Brothers just pushed a big direct mail campaign in Singapore. With a population of just 4.1 million, they may have penetrated practically every household in the country:
In an unusual movie marketing move, Warner Bros partnered [with] Singapore Post to maildrop 1 million postcards. Each one bore scenes from the movie.
Our friendly postman started delivering them to homes on Nov 4.
The postcards also invite residents to write to Santa to stand a chance to attend The Polar Express slumber party. The top prize at the party is a trip for two to Finland.
Based on a little research of Singapore postal rates and what I know about printing and fulfillment, I'm guessing the total spend on this project was around $165,000-$180,000 dollars -- Pretty good when you consider that they reached practically every family in the country...
Express delivery - NOV 12, 2004
Sci Fi Channel U.K. Promotes The Grudge With a Microsite
From across the pond, Brand Republic noted that the U.K. Sci Fi Channel promoted the launch of the supernatural thriller 'The Grudge' with a custom microsite, on-air promos and horror-themed weekend programming:
The microsite contains editorial and promotional information about the film, which stars 'Buffy' actress Sarah Michelle Gellar and is a remake of a popular Japanese thriller.
There is also a viral email competition that shows mysterious footage of the Sci Fi office. Promotional trailers and behind-the-scenes footage support the movie.
The "Do you have a grudge?" themed weekend was developed by Sci Fi Brand Solutions and ZenithOptimedia and includes some of the best Japanse and Thai supernatural cinema, including the first back-to-back screening of 'The Ring' trilogy.
Does anyone know if this is a carbon-copy of the U.S. Sci Fi Channel's promo (or if they did one at all?)
At any rate, the "weekend saturation" approach appears to have taken ground in Europe as well.
Brand Republic
Online Short Film Renaissance: Lessons Learned
With the torrid success of short political films on the web this year, many online film venues have emerged from their dot-com era time capsules and have begun to see a renaissance of sorts. According to Technology Review, audinece figures are finally matching the dot-com era hype:
How big a deal was the election for online films? Before the July launch of This Land, Atom Films was getting about three million unique visitors per month. As November 2 drew near, that figure reached 9–10 million. The political-themed “Mock the Vote” section of Atom Films “tripled our traffic and sustained it,” says O’Neill. iFilm’s Harrison says that the political fare increased traffic to his site as well. iFilm now streams between 40 million and 45 million movies per month, up from 15–20 million a year ago.
With the likelihood of political burnout from the most saturated election in our country's history, can the likes of iFilm and Atom/Shockwave hold their audiences? Here's their marketing strategies in a nutshell:
Harrison says iFilm will soon launch an action sports channel, hoping to capture the grassroots enthusiasm surrounding activities such as skateboarding and motocross. Atom Film’s O’Neill says her company has learned a valuable lesson from its recent success: go topical. “We’re looking at the calendar for big events to figure out what we can produce around them,” she says.
Cat a niche get any more niche? This is precision segmentation at its best, folks!
Technology Review: Golden Age for Online Films
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