Artisan Entertainment and Universal Studios Pay-Per-View
have developed comprehensive marketing plans for their respective PPV-movie debuts.
Universal will use the Internet to help promote its
December PPV release of The Mummy ($155 million at the box office). The studio is
currently running a promotion entitled "Unwrap The Mummy Online
Sweepstakes," in which consumers unwrap a secret code by either ordering the movie on
PPV or playing the "Unwrap The Mummy Online Adventure Game" at www.universalstudios.com/ppv,
the studio said.
Consumers can win one of hundreds of prizes, including a
Dodge Durango, a trip to the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, $500 in gold or a The Mummy
T-shirt and poster.
In addition to the online game, Universal is also allowing
consumers to order The Mummy online. The company has teamed up with TelVue Corp. to
allow consumers to order the movie online up to five days early, the studio said.
"This campaign is a little different from others in
that instead of telling people to buy the movie, we're directing them to the Web to get
them excited about the movie first before getting them to purchase it," Team Services
president Bonnie Werth said. Team Services worked with Universal to develop the campaign.
To support the campaign, Universal is placing national buys
on such cable networks as Discovery Channel and TV Guide Channel, as well as online buys
on E! Entertainment Television's E! Online, MTV: Music Television's mtv.com and
Mplayer.com.
In addition, Universal Studios PPV has created television
spots, radio spots, ad slicks and premium items, and it has provided co-op dollars to
assist cable operators in their promotional efforts.
Meanwhile, in one of the most expensive PPV-movie campaigns
ever, Artisan is putting well in excess of $1 million in marketing behind the December PPV
debut of its successful TheBlair Witch Project ($140 million).
As part of the media buy, Artisan will air national
cable-television spots on such networks as MTV, USA Network, Comedy Central and Sci Fi
Channel, the studio said. The studio will also provide local radio and print placements in
the top 10 markets, with print ads appearing in television publications such as TV
Guide.
"The Blair Witch Project has dominated every
major category of its release, from domestic box office to DVD/home video, and we want to
take an aggressive position with the PPV premiere," Aritsan senior vice president
Gary Rubin said in a prepared statement.
