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You don't need a superhero's budget to leverage the hype of Hollywood's major blockbusters. Here's how any company can create successful marketing tie-ins to the silver screen.
It was like any other big movie premiere. In early May, dozens of VIPs arrived en masse to catch one of the first screenings of the highly anticipated summer blockbuster The Da Vinci Code. At the event attendees received their special goodie bag, as swag is all the rage in Hollywood these days. Inside they found a Juniper Networks-logoed Rubik's Cube, compliments of their host.
No, this wasn't some big-to-do red carpet event put on by Sony Pictures for the beautiful people; this was a creative grassroots marketing effort organized by the Herndon, VA-based Juniper Networks.
While Juniper isn't a small business by any means, in the high-tech world it's David to Cisco's Goliath. And while Cisco can spend like crazy to keep its lead dog position, Juniper has to be a little more creative with its budget.
That means paying for some big, official Hollywood tie-in partnership with Sony Pictures is out of the question. However, that didn't stop Lou Anne Brossman, director of field marketing for the federal market, from leveraging all the hype Hollywood has to offer to thank Juniper's important customers, partners and employees.
Renting out local theaters for premieres and passing out thoughtful promotional items "is something that's easy to do, and more people should do it," says Brossman. "Although I hope they don't because it's been working so well for us."
Indeed, you don't have to be a big brand like PepsiCo, Burger King, Duracell, Quaker State or any other of the mega-brands that paid top dollar to tie in with the new epic film Superman Returns to borrow a little Hollywood blockbuster buzz for your small business.
Rather, marketers just need a little ingenuity to soak up some of the hype surrounding the summer movie season. "Small and mid-sized businesses have the agility to respond quickly and take advantage of whatever is creating buzz in the popular culture, and borrowing or referencing blockbuster movies can be a strong attention grabber," says Andy Birol, owner of Birol Growth Consulting in Cleveland and author of The Five Catalysts of Seven Figure Growth. "If a movie really rings true for your market, jump on the bandwagon - even if only while the movie is in theaters. Hollywood promotes heavily and then disappears if sales are disappointing. Don't be afraid to do the same."
Indeed, Hollywood spent $3.7 billion to advertise movies last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. This was up 6% from the year prior. A third of that budget is shelled out for the big summer launches.
Last year movies like War of the Worlds ($46 million) and Batman Begins ($43.3) received hefty marketing budgets.
Spending behind this year's releases will likely be even larger after annual box office receipts declined in 2005 for the first time since 1991.
Smaller companies can inexpensively build off of the buzz of these mega-budget marketing campaigns by simply piggybacking on the plot of an upcoming movie to create a marketing effort, according to David Zweifler of G.S. Schwartz & Co., a New York-based public relations firm.
A home security product, Serenti, used the recent Harrison Ford movie Firewall as a springboard for its promotional push. It sent out a press release talking about the identity theft angle of the movie and how Serenti can help prevent such an occurrence. "This works even in business-to-business situations," Zweifler says. "You just have to be smart about what you tie into. You can get a lot of mileage out of those tactics."
Stephanie Jacobson, communications director for Startup-Nation, a community for entrepreneurs in Birmingham, MI, that has a syndicated radio show and Web site, says, "Have your ad campaign have the look and feel of Superman without being Superman. Small businesses can leverage the themes of blockbuster movies creatively across merchandising, promotions and events."
Superman carries many familiar equities a marketer can use to create marketing programs or promotional products. Be it concepts like having a secret identity, being a Man of Steel or possessing super powers, not to mention Kryptonite, the Daily Planet newspaper or even X-ray glasses - there is plenty for creative marketers to play around with.
Clark Kent isn't the only familiar character in theaters this year, as Hollywood is looking to sequels to save itself from another repeat performance of poor sales. Mission Impossible III, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest are all familiar titles.
Zweifler says if he were doing another program for Serenti based around identity theft, he could easily leverage the fact that "Clark Kent is this guy working for two decades on the job and he's got this secret life."
After all, making such connections is the same thing the pros do. George Sagadencky, president of Under the Sun Promotions in Encino, CA, works with most of the top studios, from Disney to DreamWorks, to create logoed merchandise based on their films. Some of his favorite creations have been a bulletproof vest for the DVD release of 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and logoed toilet paper for Along Came Polly.
For Over the Hedge, he came up with T-shirts pressure packed in a custom garbage can and pizza boxes. For Poseidon, he pitched logoed life vests and for Pirates of the Caribbean 2, he recommended pirates' journals, T-shirts and loaded dice based on a scene in the movie.
With any promotion, "just be creative. That's huge," Sagadencky says. "It's important to come up with items that will let your client stand out. Every marketer wants that one item that will separate them from the crowd."
Even with bigger companies like Juniper, "everyone's budgets are tight," Brossman says. To get ideas as to what premiums to dole out for these events as well as others, Brossman consults her own technicians to see what they would find inspiring. "They love being asked," she says. "Just yesterday, this guy walks in and says, ‘You know what we need? WiFi finders.' We ended up ordering keychains that light up when you find a wireless network."
She also says USB ports have been hot. "We fill them up with white papers, but we don't call them that," Brossman says. "Put an important name around them. We call them the ‘Best Practices World Report Series.' We publish one every quarter."
When it comes to linking with a movie specifically, there is a very small window of opportunity. This makes it dangerous for small businesses. "There's plenty of use for branded merchandise, but there's very little evergreen value to them," says Zweifler. "What happens if the movie bombs? You don't want to be the brand on the coffee mug on someone's desk the week after."
This is a problem that big brands cope with constantly. Pepsi, for example, was saddled with leftover premiums when its tie-in with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace failed to meet expectations. Some bottlers were left with closets full of leftover T-shirts.
Still, the big marketers have too much invested to not try to leverage their tie-ins for all they're worth. McDonald's, which is in the last year of a decade-long deal with Disney, offered eight cars in their Mighty Kids Meal to feed off of Pixar's Cars from June 9 to July 6. For Pirates of the Caribbean 2, it's offering logoed toy telescopes and treasure chests from July 7 to August 3.
One lesson marketers of small businesses can learn from the big guys is to be careful about with what and whom you partner, says Jacobson. "McDonald's partners with Disney because they have similar brand values," she says. "If you partner with another company or charity, make sure it lines up with the image or brand platform that you're trying to promote, otherwise it could be a negative for your brand."
She notes that Starbucks just completed one of its biggest movie tie-ins with Akeelah and the Bee. The cozy coffee retailer selected the film not because they thought it would gross $300 million worldwide, but because they support literacy efforts. Stores offered a travel-edition of Scrabble to tie in with the movie.
Another strategy that can be filched by observing big marketers is to put your eggs in one basket. "They don't tie in with every summer movie, they pick one," says Don Zihlman, principal, StreetSmart
Selling.com in Scarborough, ME.
Small businesses should do the same albeit on a local basis. "The big boys tie in with the blockbuster Superman; you do it on a smaller level," Zihlman says. "Look at something in your community, something you can dominate. Don't spread yourself thin by doing 10 things."
This could mean sponsoring a local race, fair or hot air balloon festival. "Be the official drink cup supplier with your logo on all the cups," Zihlman says. "If it's a golf event, hand out custom imprinted golf balls or towels. Just make sure your presence is known."
Birol agrees: "Rather than try and co-brand, which can be time-consuming and fraught with disappointment and roadblocks, hijack an event."
There can be many obvious tie-ins locally. A children's store can sponsor the school play, suggests Jacobson. Bookstores can easily leverage movies like The Da Vinci Code.
"Try co-partnering on events," she says. "You can share the costs of any materials, whether it's making T-shirts with all of the companies' names on them or taking out an ad in the paper. There's a lot of strategic partnering that can happen." She also recommends bartering services or swapping banner ads on partner companies' Web sites.
Marketers should make sure not to infringe on any trademarks, Zweifler says. "You want to be careful about using someone else's logo or trademarked item. If you were to have used Harrison Ford's face or the Olympic logo, you'd have to compensate them. You have to piggyback indirectly. Everyone will know if you're talking about Sex and the City, you just don't have to mention the characters by name."
Still Brossman notes that events like The Da Vinci Code screenings are invaluable for her specific needs. Since her clients are federal employees, she can't use direct mail because of the Anthrax scare a few years back. And as for e-mail, "there are so many spam laws. Plus we sell firewalls so we're not going to spam people."
Bonnie Harris, president, Wax Marketing Inc., St. Paul, MN, says she helped a small chain of grocery stores called Festival Foods tie in with Chicken Little when a local theater owner presented the opportunity. The stores put up in-store signage and gave away tickets to see the film. "Trying to get in a movie at the production level is incredibly expensive," Harris says. "People pay millions. Try getting in with local theater owners and smaller theater chains. They may be willing to listen to ideas."
Brossman agrees. "You can call the theaters for special showings. It's something they do all the time."
She would know. Last year she leveraged Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith to create a unique promotion aligning Juniper with the movie's rebels and Cisco with the Empire. Before the film, the company ran a cartoon, created by one of its offices, spoofing its competition. After the movie it gave away logoed foam rocket ships and playing cards.
" It's a nice thing to do," Brossman says. "And it works well for federal employees who can't receive gifts over $25 because of ethical restrictions," she notes. The program was so successful she expanded it to seven markets for the launch of The Da Vinci Code.
Reprinted with permission of Successful Promotions, copyright 2006
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