Sci Fi is imagining great things for its affiliate promotion trumpeting new series Warehouse 13 and returning skein Eureka, as well as the network's upcoming rebrand next month.
Under Sci Fi's "Imagine Greater" initiative, NBC Universal's affiliates will have the opportunity to win a trip to San Francisco for a Warehouse 13 and Eureka experience, where guests will participate in activities and visit locations that encourage fresh ways to imagine greater, and other promotional prizes.
The effort is timed and themed toward the the channel's ballyhooed premiere of Warehouse 13 and its brand evolution to Syfy on July 7, as well as the July 10 return of Eureka in its new Friday 9 p.m time slot.
"Sci Fi is one of the top-five-rated cable networks with incredible demographics and proven original programming," said Brian Hunt, senior vice president, marketing and sales strategy, TV Networks Distribution, NBC Universal, in a statement. "Affiliates will now have an opportunity to take advantage of an incredible promotion and unique prizing during this exciting Syfy rebrand phase."
Distribution partners are required to run a minimum of 250 cross-channel spots, comprising 150 Warehouse13/Eureka show premiere promos from June 23 to July 10. Moreover, following the series' premieres, partners will run 50 Warehouse 13 spots from July 8 through August 28 and a like number of Eureka commericals from July 11 through August 28.
The enrollment period, according to NBCU officials, extends through July 3 online at www.nbcunetworks.com.
Tier 1 distributors, those operating in markets 1 through 25, will receive a trip to San Francisco for a Warehouse 13 and Eureka experience. In keeping with the premise of Warehouse 13, in which a top-secret government warehouse is central to the storyline, the four day/three night trip for two includes a VIP branded dinner event at the Exploratorium - the museum of science, art and human perception located in a former warehouse - with Sci Fi talent in attendance.
In Eureka, the U.S. government moved their smartest scientific minds to one area in the Pacific Northwest, which became the town of Eureka. The facility where they all work is called Global Dynamics, and is overseen by the Department of Defense. Accommodations for this promotion will be set up at environmentally sustainable Cavallo Point Lodge luxury resort hotel, set in historical Fort Baker, a former Army post.
Additional prizing includes an appointment at the Healing Arts Center & Spa and a choice of three-day trips, including the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, which features 13 bathrooms, 13 windows and doors in the sewing room, 13 palms lining the driveway and 13 hooks in the séance room, filled with mysteries even the geniuses of Eureka would have trouble unraveling! The Winchester Mystery House was investigated on an episode of the network's Ghost Hunters.
Affiliates also may choose a day trip to San Francisco's museums, galleries, studios, private collections and eclectic art scene or a creative arts day.
Tier 2 participants, from markets 26 and above, will receive the "Sci Fi Imagine Greater Gift Pack,' comprising an iPod Touch, TomTom Portable Navigation Device, Numbers Clock and the Seeing Outside the Box Game.
