Among entertainment properties, Twentieth Century Fox’sThe Simpsons has always been a winner for tie-ins (just ask Butterfinger). The 10-year old cartoon has achieved “classic” status while retaining its place as the crown jewel in the Fox network’s lineup, and has gained a loyal following that have proved receptive to well-executed marketing alliances.

With its now-evergreen appeal, its simple animation style, and its envelope-pushing humor, you might think that The Simpsons would translate wonderfully to the Internet. And if you did, you’d be right.

While the “official” Web sites of many entertainment properties still offer little more than token photos and information and the occasional “chat” with a star, two-year-old thesimpsons.com attempts to deepen the show’s relationship with its often-rabid fans.

“What we decided to do was move from the traditional ‘fanzine’ type of site to one that was built on a community of fans, one that allowed us to build a relationship with the user,” says John Richmond, president of Fox News & Digital. “Fundamentally, Fox and [parent] News Corp. have been broadcasting on a one-way basis. What this technology allows us to do is develop a two-way relationship.”

Part of the strategy for developing that relationship is providing necessities as well as amusements. “Our goal is to take a popular brand and incorporate it into everyday life,” says Fox senior vp-entertainment Jordan Kurzweil. On the Internet, that plays out through free e-mail and Internet services — hot tactics among marketers these days (May PROMO) — mated with a brand about which users are passionate. “We were one of the first entertainment properties to offer a branded ISP,” boasts Richmond.

Since a site relaunch in January, about 350,000 consumers have signed on for free Internet service, while 120,000 have opted for free e-mail. The site generates three million to four million page views per week.

One of the site’s main selling points is the association people have with the various characters, and Fox has found that consumers as well as advertisers are willing to pay a premium to rub elbows with Homer J. and the rest of the cast. “[Our ISP] has been so successful that we’re now thinking about moving to [a service] we will charge for,” says Richmond.

A major plus for prospective online advertisers is that the TV show’s diverse audience has carried over to the Web. “As far as we can tell, it attracts the same broad demographic as the show,” says Richmond. “We’ve seen between half a million to 750,000 page views per day. It’s been fairly consistent, although there have been some spikes which are related to promotion work,” says Kurzweil. “Part of the consistency is due to the fact that The Simpsons are on TV so often, at all times during the week.”

Fox has kept the Web site relatively fan-focused, rather than drenching it in marketing messages. Glendale, CA-based Nestlé Foods’ Butterfinger, a long-time Simpsons’ TV advertiser and promotional partner (September 1999 PROMO), is the site’s official sponsor, and banner ads from cell-phone maker Nokia run in several areas. The site also features a marketing tie-in with Southland Corp.’s 7-Eleven Food Stores, Dallas, which promote a Simpsons trivia game that can be played at participating store locations.

“All of our online and offline properties are dedicated to promoting all aspects of The Simpsons [from videos to T-shirts] on a year-long basis,” says Richmond. “It started with The Simpsons getting their star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame — it goes from the ridiculous to the sublime.”

Bart Bowls ‘Em Over

Due to strong fan affinity, Fox hasn’t had to run many sweepstakes to entice visitors to the site. However, the need to keep content fresh and engaging for repeat visitors, as well as a desire to learn more about these Simpsons lovers, has sparked several promotional initiatives.

“We’ve implemented a number of different aspects to the site that would foster registration in the communities,” explains Richmond. One current example is Bart Bowl, a year-long trivia game in which visitors register before answering questions. Each weekday, visitors can answer 10 new trivia questions.

The game will run through October, when one winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood for a two-day party that will also conclude The Simpsons Global Fanfest, a year-long celebration of the show’s 10th anniversary.

The contest “gives us fresh and accurate registration to track,” says Richmond. “It’s about building a relationship with these people [so] we can do a whole number of things — from marketing, to selling, to actually fulfilling transactions.”

To achieve that last goal, thesimpsons.com includes an online store featuring such branded merchandise as T-shirts, hats, toys, key chains, books, CDs, videos, magnets, and memo pads. There are also links to online stores for other Fox properties including The X-Files and Fox Sports. But Fox is much more ambitious in its long-term vision for e-commerce. “As we grow the community and begin to understand what people are looking for, we’ll begin to provide e-commerce beyond just The Simpsons merchandise,” says Richmond.

Fox is also thinking about hosting auctions, an effort that could begin as soon as this fall. “We want something where people could come into an eBay-style environment to auction and trade Simpsons memorabilia,” says Richmond. “That is a more natural place to do it than on eBay or any other major auction site.”

A Life of Its Own

The beauty of a mature, multi-dimensional show like The Simpsons is that supporting characters and subplots are strong enough to be highlighted on their own. “We are in the process of creating stand-alone properties that are extensions of the show,” says Kurzweil. “Fans like to think Springfield is a real place, and along those lines, each institution [from the show] should have its own Web site.”

Fans themselves can participate in The Simpsons Web buildup. In a departure from the hard line drawn by many entertainment properties (such as the Star Wars franchise), Fox has embraced unofficial fan sites (thereby, perhaps, bringing any copyright infringements closer to the vest). “One of the other things that we’ll be launching soon is the ability to create your own home pages on The Simpsons site,” says Richmond. “We’d like to co-opt any of the unofficial sites that are out there and bring them into our world.”

“Several years ago, the approach, was, ‘Let’s shut down the unofficial sites,’” says Richmond. “But those of us involved in digital media have now realized the viral marketing aspect of those sites.” Fox is even giving fans the means to build sites. “Now we’re out there offering tool kits that let them create their own sites — augment their existing sites and become part of the family, so to speak.”

Fox is also developing a newsletter that will cater to the fans who find that three episodes daily are simply not enough.

Moestavern.com, here we come.

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Among entertainment properties, Twentieth Century Fox’sThe Simpsons has always been a winner for tie-ins (just ask Butterfinger). The 10-year old cartoon has achieved “classic” status while retaining its place as the crown jewel in the Fox network’s lineup, and has gained a loyal following that have proved receptive to well-executed marketing alliances.

With its now-evergreen appeal, its simple animation style, and its envelope-pushing humor, you might think that The Simpsons would translate wonderfully to the Internet. And if you did, you’d be right.

While the “official” Web sites of many entertainment properties still offer little more than token photos and information and the occasional “chat” with a star, two-year-old thesimpsons.com attempts to deepen the show’s relationship with its often-rabid fans.

“What we decided to do was move from the traditional ‘fanzine’ type of site to one that was built on a community of fans, one that allowed us to build a relationship with the user,” says John Richmond, president of Fox News & Digital. “Fundamentally, Fox and [parent] News Corp. have been broadcasting on a one-way basis. What this technology allows us to do is develop a two-way relationship.”

Part of the strategy for developing that relationship is providing necessities as well as amusements. “Our goal is to take a popular brand and incorporate it into everyday life,” says Fox senior vp-entertainment Jordan Kurzweil. On the Internet, that plays out through free e-mail and Internet services — hot tactics among marketers these days (May PROMO) — mated with a brand about which users are passionate. “We were one of the first entertainment properties to offer a branded ISP,” boasts Richmond.

Since a site relaunch in January, about 350,000 consumers have signed on for free Internet service, while 120,000 have opted for free e-mail. The site generates three million to four million page views per week.

One of the site’s main selling points is the association people have with the various characters, and Fox has found that consumers as well as advertisers are willing to pay a premium to rub elbows with Homer J. and the rest of the cast. “[Our ISP] has been so successful that we’re now thinking about moving to [a service] we will charge for,” says Richmond.

A major plus for prospective online advertisers is that the TV show’s diverse audience has carried over to the Web. “As far as we can tell, it attracts the same broad demographic as the show,” says Richmond. “We’ve seen between half a million to 750,000 page views per day. It’s been fairly consistent, although there have been some spikes which are related to promotion work,” says Kurzweil. “Part of the consistency is due to the fact that The Simpsons are on TV so often, at all times during the week.”

Fox has kept the Web site relatively fan-focused, rather than drenching it in marketing messages. Glendale, CA-based Nestlé Foods’ Butterfinger, a long-time Simpsons’ TV advertiser and promotional partner (September 1999 PROMO), is the site’s official sponsor, and banner ads from cell-phone maker Nokia run in several areas. The site also features a marketing tie-in with Southland Corp.’s 7-Eleven Food Stores, Dallas, which promote a Simpsons trivia game that can be played at participating store locations.

“All of our online and offline properties are dedicated to promoting all aspects of The Simpsons [from videos to T-shirts] on a year-long basis,” says Richmond. “It started with The Simpsons getting their star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame — it goes from the ridiculous to the sublime.”

Bart Bowls ‘Em Over

Due to strong fan affinity, Fox hasn’t had to run many sweepstakes to entice visitors to the site. However, the need to keep content fresh and engaging for repeat visitors, as well as a desire to learn more about these Simpsons lovers, has sparked several promotional initiatives.

“We’ve implemented a number of different aspects to the site that would foster registration in the communities,” explains Richmond. One current example is Bart Bowl, a year-long trivia game in which visitors register before answering questions. Each weekday, visitors can answer 10 new trivia questions.

The game will run through October, when one winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood for a two-day party that will also conclude The Simpsons Global Fanfest, a year-long celebration of the show’s 10th anniversary.

The contest “gives us fresh and accurate registration to track,” says Richmond. “It’s about building a relationship with these people [so] we can do a whole number of things — from marketing, to selling, to actually fulfilling transactions.”

To achieve that last goal, thesimpsons.com includes an online store featuring such branded merchandise as T-shirts, hats, toys, key chains, books, CDs, videos, magnets, and memo pads. There are also links to online stores for other Fox properties including The X-Files and Fox Sports. But Fox is much more ambitious in its long-term vision for e-commerce. “As we grow the community and begin to understand what people are looking for, we’ll begin to provide e-commerce beyond just The Simpsons merchandise,” says Richmond.

Fox is also thinking about hosting auctions, an effort that could begin as soon as this fall. “We want something where people could come into an eBay-style environment to auction and trade Simpsons memorabilia,” says Richmond. “That is a more natural place to do it than on eBay or any other major auction site.”

A Life of Its Own

The beauty of a mature, multi-dimensional show like The Simpsons is that supporting characters and subplots are strong enough to be highlighted on their own. “We are in the process of creating stand-alone properties that are extensions of the show,” says Kurzweil. “Fans like to think Springfield is a real place, and along those lines, each institution [from the show] should have its own Web site.”

Fans themselves can participate in The Simpsons Web buildup. In a departure from the hard line drawn by many entertainment properties (such as the Star Wars franchise), Fox has embraced unofficial fan sites (thereby, perhaps, bringing any copyright infringements closer to the vest). “One of the other things that we’ll be launching soon is the ability to create your own home pages on The Simpsons site,” says Richmond. “We’d like to co-opt any of the unofficial sites that are out there and bring them into our world.”

“Several years ago, the approach, was, ‘Let’s shut down the unofficial sites,’” says Richmond. “But those of us involved in digital media have now realized the viral marketing aspect of those sites.” Fox is even giving fans the means to build sites. “Now we’re out there offering tool kits that let them create their own sites — augment their existing sites and become part of the family, so to speak.”

Fox is also developing a newsletter that will cater to the fans who find that three episodes daily are simply not enough.

Moestavern.com, here we come.