Your Freelance Solution to Finding Big Ideas

Need to reframe a brand's positioning or find a creative sales driver for a key retail window?  Have an entertainment property that can deliver benefits to a corporate partner but need someone to frame the opportunity and pitch partners?

With over 20 years of entertainment marketing experience, I'm a matchmaker between corporate America and Hollywood.  I've done it all...movie tie-ins, tour sponsorships, product placement deals, kids licensing agreements, video game tie-ins and inking celebrity spokespersons.  It's not just about partnering with hot lists, but a fundamental understanding of your brand's desired positioning, business objectives, tolerance for risk and matching that with the right partner that can help you deliver results. 

Think you're not big enough for a "Hollywood" deal, think again...entertainment marketing is no longer just for Fortune 100 companies.  This is now a mainstream tactic with proven case studies of not only driving sales, but providing a compelling theme for an integrated campaign including advertising, PR, digital and events. 

Need some examples?  Be sure to check my capabilities and past projects.

Brands Hear the Music with The GRAMMY's

Now that the Golden Globes are behind us, it's all about the GRAMMY Awards on CBS which last year attracted a decade high viewership of 27M music lovers.  Reflecting back to past sponsors, it's traditionally beverage, beauty and auto that line up for the red carpet and this year expect more of the same.  Announced partners include  a multi-year deal with Hyundai as they  launch the 2012 Veloster; a portfolio of P&G brands including Olay, Covergirl and Gillette; and other category leaders including MasterCard, Pepsi, Delta and Hilton.  Most are offering a VIP experience to the show complete with makeovers, red carpet arrivals and even celeb interviews (don't quite get Taylor Momsen/MasterCard since she admits she's not attending the show).  Some brands are mirroring the Academy's strategy to make the GRAMMY's a year-round idea like MasterCard who sponsors the event series, "GRAMMY Artists Revealed" which features past winners in intimate venues ala VH1 "Storytellers."  One of the more mass appeal ideas is how Pepsi and Pandora partnered to create the first ever GRAMMY-genre stations with nominee playlists and an artist video series featuring exclusive interviews with select GRAMMY nominees where fans get an inside look at the artists' prep for the show.

Be sure to watch the GRAMMY's to see if there are any in-show integrations on Feb 12 8/7c on CBS.

BMW Heads Back to the Movies

BMW finds another action franchise during a year when we originally expected a Bond film...Mission Impossible:  Ghost Protocol.  With an instantly recognizable theme song and the mission possible spin that most partner brands deploy, BMW is funding an undisclosed multi-million dollar campaign behind their U.S. sales event campaign which includes in-theater advertising, national TV, PR, screening events and digital media around their Mission to Drive sales event with calls to book your test drive now.  My guess is that this made for the perfect theme to their annual event when they go head to head with Lexus.  Tom Cruise gets behind the wheel of two BMW models in the film, the concept vehicle, the Vision EfficientDynamics which is the future i8 model and the 6 Series convertible.  Check out their website for more, notice you never see Cruise's likeness used anywhere out of the context of the film as he's notoriously limiting with his most precious asset, his likeness.  

I Feed the Need for Speed

I always love a streamlined promotional concept and this one is a natural...Tony's Pizza and EA's Need for Speed franchise.  Pizza lovers are rewarded with a temporary virtual car rental to take for a spin around the track and if they like the ride, can save $5 toward the purchase any EA title--just in case motorsports is not your thing but using the insurance of the appeal of the House of EA to grab a guy's attention.   And to bring things back to reality, you can even win a BMW Z4.  Go here for more details.

Maroon 5 Partners with Snapple

This idea is the best of what partnerships should look like...full integration of a band's equity into the brand equity and some topspin of doing good.  Snapple and Grammy award-winning pop-rock band Maroon 5 launched ‘Tea Will Be Loved’ – a blend of green and black teas with hints of pomegranate and berries-- to benefit Feeding America.  Named for their smash-hit “She Will Be Loved,” this limited release Snapple tea which features the band's imagery and a special ingredient picked by each band mate will be available starting September 1, 2011.  The band's also providing prizing for promotional overlays and promoting ad nauseum on their Facebook page.   At the launch event they signed.what else?  Their Snapple bottles. 

Justin Timberlake Gives a Fan a Shot

To promote his new film, In Time, Timberlake is offering up some hot real estate to a skilled fan...his Facebook profile picture which amassed 12,000,000 likes.  Yes, he's willing to replace his own mug with that of a photograph that expresses the idea of "every second counts."  He'll even hand pick the finalists and the photographs will be displayed in a pop up gallery to promote the film.  Great way to offer a low cost, high perceived value prize that gets probably more people talking about the idea and the film than will ever enter--SMART!  What do you have to offer fans that's in that same vein?  Check out the contest here.

Charter Jumps into Music Events

Cable company, Charter Communications is targeting college kids this Fall with their launch of Charter Center Stage musical event October 15th in Madison, WI.  Set against the backdrop of Univ of Wisconsin homecoming weekend, Charter's agency, Agent X, is producing a free festival-type event featuring headliner Panic! at the Disco, indie fav Fitz and the Tantrums and Plain White T's.  The local event with a national footprint kicked off with a Battle of the Bands contest offering a cash prize and the opportunity to perform at the event along with a general market $19.99 high-speed internet offer.  The actual concert will be streamed live on Facebook and highlights of performances will be turned into Charter On-Demand programming.  The goal is to reach college students that are striking out on their own for the first time and making service provider decisions.  The program is promoted via radio, print, online, social nets, and guerilla marketing tactics.   The hope is that this event is expanded to additional markets in 2012.  Agent X retained Cloud Consulting to identify and secure music talent.

News You Can Use

Rihanna and Nivea put Skin in the Game

Here's a somewhat unlikey pairing of sex symbol Rihanna and the somewhat stodgy European skincare company, Nivea, for a brand makeover-complete with nude ad campaign.  They're leveraging her in all ways from a 100th birthday celebration at the company's HQ in Germany to a boat cruise to announce their pairing.  They're touring with her around the world on her "Loud" tour with sampling, instore offers/POS, and even experiential events in high traffic public spaces.  Want to see Rihanna backstage?  Another reason you'll have to "Like" Nivea's Facebook page...all of which helped them to grow their fans 400% in one year.  Like all smart deals in '11, any act with substantial fan communities should be asked to tweet or post comments about the relationship multiple times to provide potential post-relationship benefits.  Read more here.



Beverages Turn to Music This Summer

Absolut Vodka and Heineken are turning to the power of music to help engage consumers during the concert and tailgating season.  Absolut enlisted the pop culture phenom, Cee Lo, on the heels of his "The Voice" notariety and followed him on the road and backstage to get his take on what it's like to be an entertainer, feathers and all.  Check out the 2 part series here, now if he would just make the time to change his hospitality rider to include Absolut vs. Ciroc! Watch Part 1 & Watch Part 2 

Heineken is giving drinkers VIP experiences like red carpet treatment at the Latin Grammy's which they sponsor, free music downloads, and festival experiences.  Every bottle has a code under the cap...just think they're missing the big buzzworthy mega experience that would generate real excitement.  Looks like they were almost afraid of partnering with talent with so many blow ups over Tweets, etc. that they made it so generic it loses a bit of its umph.   I think there's a way to find a healthy balance.

The Green Lantern Goes Mobile

Another good reason to tap into the pre-release hype of a film and an example of how to do it...opening weekend results were disappointing at $52M vs. projected $60M.  Although it's just limited to LA, it's a good widespread test to see if consumers who visit SUBWAY restaurants in the Los Angeles area will use their mobile phones to play SCVNGR to win tickets to the Green Lantern premiere.  Curious how many submissions they'll get from "Take a photo next to a SUBWAY® logo while flexing your superhero muscles. Show us how great & strong our sandwiches makes you feel."  Maybe they need to hire a new copywrighter to give this copy more authenticity but we like to see partners trying new things.   See more details about this specific campaign here: http://subway.scvngr.com/. Also onboard for The Green Lantern were LG mobile phones and Reese's candies.

  

Automotive Tie-ins with Hollywood Are Back

Fast Five,' 'Thor,' 'Transformers' Mark Return of Summer-Movie Auto Tie-Ins

'Thor' Brings First Entertainment Marketing Program from Honda Motor Co.'s Acura

I'm sure National Promotions departments are thrilled that the deep pocket players are back not only supplying cars for production, but also investing big dollars in splashy ad campaigns.  Be sure to check out the non-traditional Dodge spot...I can only imagine the nightmare of approvals since it wasn't a dedicated :30 to the film but more about the power of car chases that just happen to be in Fast Five.  The ultimate road test is, of course, how many cars are sold as a result, so we'll keep an eye on that.  Read and see more here.



Intel..Leveraging their Tech Equity to Enhance the Shows

As Coachella wraps up this weekend, thought it was worth talking about how Intel is partnering with The Creators Project to create an immersive concert experience...visual experiences with performing artists and sound on a new scale.  The sponsor, Intel, is now literally part of the show vs. a typical tech free web lounge. 

AFLAC Spins Gottfried Firing

Working with celebrity can be a boon or a bust and the potential for a PR snafu like the tweets from Aflac's spokesduck, Gilbert Gottfried, last week is just the latest example of how when you're working with talent don't forget the must have morals clause.

Aflac had a couple options...1) force Gottfried to apologize in a press conference and donate a big check to tsunami relief, 2) fire him promptly and publicly, or 3) use the opportunity to create some goodwill..see how they opted for #2 & #3......read on