Several years into the DVD format war, the Blu-ray army has invaded the malls.
Walt Disney Studios last month launched the Magical Blu-ray Tour, which this fall will visit 18 shopping centers around the country.
It’s the latest effort to kick-start a home-entertainment medium that has not yet won over consumers en masse. (The same can be said for rival HD DVD.)
Shoppers will encounter a 40-foot exhibit that showcases all aspects of Blu-ray. It is built to look like the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.
One side of the structure has a mini theater that will host hourly live presentations. The other side has six to 14 interactive kiosks (depending on the size of the mall) from which consumers can check out the latest Blu-ray players from tour sponsor Panasonic.
The draw? Disney movies are played on Panasonic’s high-definition plasma televisions. And experts from both Disney and Panasonic are on hand to answer questions about the technology and content.
Visitors can also get Blu-ray previews of Disney/Pixar’s “Cars,” and Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons.” They can also play the interactive “Liar’s Dice” game from “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” (The first two “Pirates” movies are available on Blu-ray.)
One aim of the mobile event is to “educate and engage consumers as to the advantage and exciting features that are unique to the Blu-ray disc format.” says Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios.
Meanwhile, Viacom Inc.’s Paramount and DreamWorks last month announced that they were exclusively backing the competing HD DVD camp.
The movie studios together received a reported $150 million in cash and promotional guarantees. A forthcoming HD DVD release, “Shrek The Third,” will get a marketing push from Toshiba.
Sony, the primary developer of Blu-ray, took a similar approach a few years ago to gain exclusivity for its Super Audio CD format. Abkco Records reportedly received a large sum from Sony to re-release the early Rolling Stones catalog in that format. Consumers decided they were happier with iPods, and both audio formats languished at retail.
A SWEEPS OF OUR OWN
Now it’s our turn to walk the walk.
There’s still time for you to enter Promo’s Fast Track to Cash Sweepstakes, offering a $10,000 prize.
We figured it was about time that we run a sweeps of our own, so we partnered with iC Group and Quebecor World to put together a state-of-the-art interactive game involving three cars.
In our August issue, we inserted a dynamic, die-cut game card shaped like a racecar. Each one contained a unique PIN number that can be entered at www.fastcashpromo.com, Additional game cards will be handed out to attendees when they register at Promo Live Sept. 17-19 in Chicago at the Navy Pier.
Besides the $10,000 grand prize, there will be 20 prizes of $500 in cash; 800 prizes of $50 in cash; and 250 instant prizes of a $10 target gift certificate.
So see you down at the virtual track.
Network
