A Roller Coaster Ride
Vivendi Universal Entertainment, Los Angeles, and MasterCard International, Purchase, NY, have launched a multi-year marketing alliance that gives the credit card company exclusive marketing, advertising and promotional rights to Universal’s theme parks and resorts.
In addition, MasterCard will be the official payment brand and preferred card of Universal Entertainment’s theme parks and resorts, movies, music and Internet properties, including mp3.com and rollingstone.com.
A 30-second Priceless TV spot via McCann-Erickson, New York City, supports. The two companies teamed in December 2002 to launch the Universal Entertainment MasterCard from Chase, which allows users to obtain rewards linked to Universal’s movies, TV, music, theme parks and interactive games.
This summer, Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Plano, TX, will team with San Jose, CA-based Internet auction site eBay on a rewards program called Liquid Loot. Customers who purchase brands such as 7Up, Dr Pepper and A&W Root Beer will receive codes that can be converted into online points. Customers who accumulate enough points can redeem them for products such as concert tickets and compact discs. Liquid Loot will also e-mail each participant about new products and offers. eBay has similar loyalty arrangements with companies such as Six Continents and Continental Airlines. Miami-based Burger King last year experimented with its own eBay program, BK Rewards, but shelved the effort to concentrate on its pricing war with McDonald’s.
TiVo, Alviso, CA, and 20th Century Fox, Los Angeles, have inked an agreement through the movie studio to promote new theatrical releases by making exclusive content available to TiVo users. Campaigns may include video elements from the films, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as music video performances from film soundtracks. The deal encompasses five films in 2003 and kicked off with the February release of Daredevil.
Pizza chain Domino’s made history by signing a deal with NASCAR that signified its first major sports sponsorship and the first official pizza of the stock-car racing league. Ann Arbor, MI-based Domino’s, which has 4,800 U.S. locations, will reportedly support the deal with an estimated minimum of $30 million in media, promotions and rights fees and marketing over the next five years. Sponsorship activation plans include pizza box-top coupons, cross-promotions and premiums. First up is a photo or trading card of driver Michael Waltrip on pizza boxes. The chain purchased TV packages with Fox and NBC and will also run print and radio spots. The GEM Group handles for Domino’s.
