Polaroid keeps with the teen theme as Backstreet Boys sponsor.

After a summer fling with Britney Spears last year, Cambridge, MA-based Polaroid will again hit the concert trail with The Backstreet Boys this year.

The camera and film maker, which supported the singing heartthrobs on their 1999 tour, will sponsor the Black and Blue Tour visiting 37 North American cities from June to September.

Activation includes a limited-edition “Black and Blue” I-Zone camera launching at retail on June 1. The camera carries the group’s logo and stickers of its members. It also comes with a “peel-and-reveal” instant-win gamepiece offering a grand-prize trip for four to a future concert. Ten thousand other winners get backpacks filled with prizes. P-O-P, print ads, and radio spots support.

Compared with previous music sponsorships, “there is more of a trade angle this year,” says Kathleen O’Connor, vp-account supervisor with Polaroid’s newly named agency of record, Morristown, NJ-based DVC Group. “The retailers are getting excited about this program.”

In a strategy employed to great success last year with Spears, the Boys will use I-Zones on stage as part of their performance. The camera also gets “introduced” on the P.A. system. Polaroid once again will host fan fests at each concert venue where kids can take pictures using I-Zones to place on a “postcard” that gets presented backstage to the band.

“We’re reaching millions of people this way,” says Polaroid divisional vp-marketing Xanthe Samaras. “With teens, music is their No. 1 passion.”

Polaroid generated some 200 million total impressions and received 80,000 entries into a tie-in sweeps while co-sponsoring Spears’ 2000 tour (September 2000 PROMO). The I-Zone is currently the No. 1 selling camera in the world.

Polaroid keeps with the teen theme as Backstreet Boys sponsor.

After a summer fling with Britney Spears last year, Cambridge, MA-based Polaroid will again hit the concert trail with The Backstreet Boys this year.

The camera and film maker, which supported the singing heartthrobs on their 1999 tour, will sponsor the Black and Blue Tour visiting 37 North American cities from June to September.

Activation includes a limited-edition “Black and Blue” I-Zone camera launching at retail on June 1. The camera carries the group’s logo and stickers of its members. It also comes with a “peel-and-reveal” instant-win gamepiece offering a grand-prize trip for four to a future concert. Ten thousand other winners get backpacks filled with prizes. P-O-P, print ads, and radio spots support.

Compared with previous music sponsorships, “there is more of a trade angle this year,” says Kathleen O’Connor, vp-account supervisor with Polaroid’s newly named agency of record, Morristown, NJ-based DVC Group. “The retailers are getting excited about this program.”

In a strategy employed to great success last year with Spears, the Boys will use I-Zones on stage as part of their performance. The camera also gets “introduced” on the P.A. system. Polaroid once again will host fan fests at each concert venue where kids can take pictures using I-Zones to place on a “postcard” that gets presented backstage to the band.

“We’re reaching millions of people this way,” says Polaroid divisional vp-marketing Xanthe Samaras. “With teens, music is their No. 1 passion.”

Polaroid generated some 200 million total impressions and received 80,000 entries into a tie-in sweeps while co-sponsoring Spears’ 2000 tour (September 2000 PROMO). The I-Zone is currently the No. 1 selling camera in the world.

Kodak is relaunching an infomercial for the DC210 digital camera this month, after a successful test for Christmas 1997.

The half-hour program will be shown in a mix of urban centers and small towns, according to Creative Entertainment Group, which produced the infomercial for Kodak.

The original program was screened on cable and broadcast networks in such cities as Boston and Atlanta. The camera costs $900 and about 900 were sold.

Because Kodak was concerned that any attempts on its part to sell directly to consumers would alienate its retail partners, the program was also designed to help drive retail sales. In addition, fulfillment of telephone orders was handled by local retailers.

The pitch was for more information or to buy the camera. Of the few thousand requests for more information, approximately 12% bought the camera at a retail outlet later. Kodak estimates that sales in test cities were 80% above sales in non-test cities.

According to the partners of the Century City, CA-based production company, Kodak wants to become a major player in the digital market. The venerable camera maker is also considering a hipper, fresher look, but not at the cost of losing its main client base.

In addition to its fears about undermining its retail sales, Kodak was afraid of cheesy-looking infomercials. Furthermore, the target market turned out to be 12 different categories of customers, from Techno Turks to Crafty Crafters.

Writer Linda York and director Daniel Loewenthal-who, with Francine Bergman, are the three partners in Creative Entertainment-developed the infomercial with what York described as “good sitcom construction.” In the program, the DC210 solves a number of problems for a family: the shy college student woos a girl with beautiful pictures; the mother wins a major real estate deal with personalized presentations; the entrepreneurial father sells pet widgets over a well-illustrated Web site (with the help of a brainy daughter).

The program was shot with two endings. The first was “Christmas specific,” while the other involved an anniversary. The latter ending will be used for the June series.

The infomercial is part of Kodak’s new advertising look. Ogilvy & Mather, Kodak’s agency, ditched the Kodak Moments tag that had been used for some three decades. O&M, however, does not create long-form DRTV programs. The New York agency turned to its affiliate, A. Eicoff, Chicago, for help. Eicoff, in turn, introduced Kodak to Creative Entertainment.