PolyGram Home Video has lined up two impressive promotion programs for its pair of family home video releases this year, Barney’s Great Adventure: The Movie and The Borrowers.
When the purple dinosaur’s first theatrical movie hits home video Sept. 1, he’ll be surrounded with partners, including an account-specific program at Wal-Mart. Other brands linking with Barney include Smucker’s, Luv’s diapers, Hasbro, Tyson, Microsoft, and ADVO/Mailboxes Plus. “We knew it was a strong property,” says Tim Pearson, vp of business development, PolyGram Video. “It was a matter of which sponsors fit best.”
Microsoft, which created the Actimates Barney doll last year, will encode the home video so the information from the movie can be programmed into the doll. The doll already can interact with the PBS TV show and show videos.
Luv’s will carry Barney characters on its diapers and will include a mail-in offer for a Barney toy. The company will support with TV, print ads, and an FSI drop.
TDK will offer a $4 rebate on its blank audio and video tapes while Smucker’s will include a self-liquidating offer for Barney pajamas. The Wal-Mart program should raise huge awareness for the video in its 2,300 stores. On Sept. 12, each Wal-Mart will host a Singsational Song Event where consumers can be videotaped singing the I Love You song, and possibly win a trip to see the Barney exhibit at Florida’s Universal Theme Park. Kellogg will present the program and offer multipacks of cereal that include stickers of the popular characters.
ADVO will tag the film in its nationwide 63 million piece direct mailer.
“We’re proud of what we’ve put together,” Pearson adds.
The Borrowers, a live-action film starring John Goodman, will hit home video Aug. 18. Partners include The Fox Family Channel and Wendy’s.
The video will be part of the network’s new cable launch in August. A consumer sweeps with Fox will offer The Borrowers tape as one of the prizes. People can enter the sweeps at any of Wendy’s 5,800 restaurants. Each entry card will include a $1 off coupon for the video.
Five ConAgra regional brands will team up to offer a $5 rebate off the video when consumers buy a number of ConAgra products. “This big, aggressive rebate should get the video lots of exposure inside supermarkets, an important channel,” Pearson adds.
Kellogg will even offer consumers who buy two boxes of cereal and the video a free cereal bowl, Pearson adds. “This is a strong awareness-building launch,” he says.
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