AOL RED Announces Exclusive "Direct-to-download" Horror Film Release
Today AOL announced that they will release the horror film 'Incubus' as a "direct-to-download" exclusive on AOL RED, a teen-centric entertainment site.
Starring Tara Reid, the feature-length film follows a group of six teens attempting to escape from a government paranormal research lab. AOL plans to sell downloads for 7.99 or five day rentals for $3.49. Purchasers can begin watching the stream as it downloads. The film will be available for download beginning on October 31st, and AOL will have a 30 day exclusive window before the DVD hits stores. AOL plans to promote the release with a user-generated content contest where fans can submit homemade horror shorts. No specifics on prizing was mentioned.
At first glance, this looks like a creative way to build buzz for both AOL RED (who heard of it before today, anyway?) and the DVD's release. However, given the fact that the target audience spends more time online than watching television, this little promotion may have stumbled on a new window. If they're successful, that is…
Lionsgate Announces Nationwide Public Word of Mouth Screening Event for 'The Descent'
 Lionsgate has teamed up with in-theater ad & promo outfit National CineMedia and Horror rag Fangoria Magazine to launch a one-night-only advance screening event for the upcoming horror thriller 'The Descent.' The special screening will take place next week on July 26th at 8:00 p.m. - nine days ahead of the film's August 4th wide release. The event will be held at 47 participating Regal, United Artists, Edwards, and Cinemark around the country in key markets including New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Miami and Atlanta, among others (a full list of markets is available here). A regular admission charge will be in effect, and tickets can be purchased either online or at the box office the day of the screening.
The producers of the film have created exclusive behind-the-scenes content created especially for the event, and Fangoria has created a microsite to promote the screenings as well. Lionsgate has also linked to the advance ticket sales site from the film’s homepage.
Based on the numerous positive early reviews from fan boy and genre sites such as AICN, Joblo.com and bloodydisgusting.com, the potential for good word of mouth arising from this effort are high, especially since the structure of the event is designed to cater to the "mavens" of the horror genre – Fangoria readers eager to see both the previously-unseen U.S. cut as well as the exclusive extras. Collateral for the film has also been exceptional, with one of the most compelling one-sheets, trailer and web sites of 2006.
This isn't National CineMedia's first foray into movie marketing promotions – Last year, they conducted advance screenings to promote MGM’s 'North Country', as well as a one day re-release of New Line's 'The Wedding Crashers' earlier this year in support of the DVD release. Both screenings also had "special features," including a live satellite Q&A for 'North Country' and exclusive "uncorked" extras for 'Wedding Crashers.'
'Star Wars' named the Overall Best License of the Year by Trade Group
According to a Lucasfilm press release, the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) named the Star Wars franchise the Overall Best License of the Year.
LIMA presents the "best in show" award at their Licensing International Show annually to a property "that has had a significant and profound impact on the licensing community at retail and in the general marketplace during the previous calendar year." Star Wars also won top honors as the number one entertainment license of the year in the Boys Toy, Movie-based Video Game, and Licensed Publishing categories. According to Lucasfilm, Star Wars-themed merchandise generated over $3 billion in revenue from all channels in 2005.
The previous Overall Best License went to 'Spiderman 2.' The LIMA awards have been presented annually since 1984.
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General Mills to Give away free Movielink Downloads
 General Mills will be giving away coupons for free Movielink downloads as cereal box promotions, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. The $5 coupons will be in specially marked boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Grahams, among others. The code will allow the customer to rent a digital version of the movie of their choice for 30 days, according the the article.
A joint venture of Paramount, Sony, Universal Studios and Warner Bros., Movielink's content is made up of the partnering companies' catalog titles, and they also have non-exclusive distribution agreements with Disney including Miramax) Lions Gate and others.
After many years of being the official "idea before its time," Movielink's time may have finally arrived. And with consumer acceptance of digital downloads quickly coming to a head, they really need to think about building their brand. Partnering with General Mills gives them the broad exposure outside of their core audience, which until now has probably been tech savvy early adopters. Movielink coupons in boxes of sugar cereals will help them reach teens -- the most voracious of digital content consumers.
Report: Teens and Tweens are abandoning TV
According to Packaged Facts, a new division of Marketresearch.com, teens and Tweens are not all zoned out in front of the tube, making them increasingly difficult to reach via TV advertising: Almost 80% of the 8- to 14-year-olds, or so-called tweens, "love" television. But that number drops to 60% in 12- to 14-year-olds.
The research points out that the 8-14 audience gets "distracted" by other activities when watching the television. As they get older, other activities take up their interest--such as reading, listening to music, or mostly, surfing the Internet--while watching television. This research has found out what other studies have shown--the young people are masters at multi-tasking. The movie marketing implications are quite clear: if you're trying to reach this demographic, you need to shift your efforts to other outlets like online and outdoor. Additionally, partnerships with purveyors of products that teens love (cell phones, fast food, video games) will be increasingly important.
[Via Mediapost]
Sony Will Release Four Movies for the PlayStation Portable
According to CIO Today, Sony has announced that they will release four movies in the UMD format. The titles will street on April 19th following the PlayStation Portable's release in late March.
According to the article, Sony will use UMD-formatted movies to expand the adoption of the PlayStation Portable beyond young males. However, the initial slate doesn't look like it will deviate from their device's core user base:
The movies the company has chosen, however, may not do much to expand that demographic out of the gate. The four titles -- "XXX," "Hellboy," "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" -- have a fairly limited appeal. They do add to the device's reputation as a viable video viewer, though.
Sony already has announced that it intends to include a copy of "Spider-Man 2" in the first one million PSP units to be sold in the U.S. There is no word on whether or not the movie will be available for separate purchase.
So which titles should Sony release? I would personally like to see more sophisticated fare like 'Closer' or 'Monster' -- what would you movie marketers out there like to see?
CIO Today - Worldwide Technology - Sony To Release PSP-Compatible Movies
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