Starbucks Corp. is moving beyond the coffee cups and is heading for Hollywood.
The Seattle-based coffee chain is marking its first foray into the movie industry under a new deal with Lionsgate, in which it will promote the new film Akeelah and the Bee in some 5,500 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Under the partnership, Starbucks will carry the Akeelah and the Bee soundtrack starting April 4 and the DVD of the film when it rolls out later this year.
Starbucks will offer screenings of the film to store baristas before its April 28 debut. The chain will also run in-store promotions, sneak previews and a Wi-Fi network promotion. Starbucks will use its relationship with XM Satellite Radio to offer special programming on its Hear Music Channel.
For it support, Starbucks will receive an undisclosed amount of box-office sales from the film. The company is also considering plans to get involved in film production.
“While we are a coffee company at heart, Starbucks provides much more than the best cup of coffee— offer a community gathering place where people come together to connect and discover new things,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, in a statement. “We are always looking for innovative ways to surprise and delight our customers.”
“This is the ideal blend of two entrepreneurial companies committed to identifying exciting news ways of doing business,” said John Feltheimer, CEO, Lionsgate, in a statement. “Out partnership is a new milestone in Liongate’s continuing commitment to reach potential moviegoers in groundbreaking, nontraditional ways and through innovative new distribution alliances.”
The announcement comes as part of Starbucks’s marketing plan to move to align itself more with entertainment properties to increase its edge over the competition, the company said. The coffee chain has offered a digital music service in stores since 2004 (PROMO May 1, 2004).
Akeelah and the Bee details the story of Akeelah Anderson, an 11-year-old girl who advances from the inner city of South Los Angeles to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The movie, a Lionsgate and 2929 Entertainment production, opens in theaters April 28.
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