This month and next, General Growth Properties will bring Nickelodeon’s Noggin brand into a handful of malls with Club Noggin centers. They will test the preschooler clubs in Lancanster, PA; Sugar Land, TX; Lynnwood, WA; Omaha, NE; and Portland, OR. If successful, Club Noggin begins a rollout in June to GGP’s 170 malls.
The centers offer preschoolers and parents free, 60-minute or 15-minute sessions of educational games led by an activity leader, with songs, video clips, games and hands-on stations. Kids interact in small groups; parents stay at the center during sessions. Clubs will feature a different Noggin character each month to prompt return visits.
“The primary goal is a positive education experience. The branding comes second,” says Denielle Bertarelli, Noggin director of marketing. “We’re small and growing, so brand awareness is very important for us.” The five-year-old cable network reaches 38 million households nationally.
Chicago-based GGP handles retailer tie-ins (including sponsorship and sampling) at each mall; Noggin, New York City, works with cable affiliates in test markets to see how Club Noggin can help local affiliates. Both will promote Club Noggin on their Web sites and through online newsletters, in-mall P-O-P and local print and direct-mail ads.
Club Noggin “sets” are put up in mall courtyards and taken down after each session. GGP researched the idea of a kids club with 3,000 parents in February.
Nick has also partnered with Binney & Smith, manufacturer of Crayola crayons, for a promotion featuring a free stencil and how-to-draw instructions for one of five Nick characters, including Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob SquarePants, Eliza Thornberry, Hey Arnold and Tommy Pickles. Stencils are included with 20 Crayola items. Toys ‘R’ Us will feature the item in two of their Craft Club Make & Take events, and Wal-Mart will hold an event where kids can experiment with some Crayola’s new offerings. Think 360, based in Tarrytown, NY, handles.
Blockbuster, Inc. has teamed up with MasterCard International for a two-year marketing alliance designed to support customer acquisition and usage initiatives for MasterCard and its customer financial institutions. As part of the agreement, MasterCard is the preferred card for Blockbuster’s Movie Freedom Pass (launching this spring) and Game Freedom Pass programs. Consumers can purchase either Pass and set up a monthly subscription fee on their MasterCard.
“Anywhere we mention the Movie or Game Freedom Pass, we will mention MasterCard,” says Lisa Zoellner, VP-brand promotion, partnership and field marketing for Blockbuster.
In-store signage, in-store TV and direct mail supports.
“With our proprietary media vehicles, we have the ability to promote the MasterCard card and its use to more than 48 million U.S. members — be it in store, in home, or online,” Zoellner says.
Blockbuster handles marketing in-house.
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