Warner Bros. Domestic Pay-TV, Cable and Network Features
has partnered with Hilton Hotels on a multimillion-dollar national radio promotion for the
studio's mid-January pay-per-view release of The Negotiator.
The "Negotiate a Hilton Resorts Hawaii Vacation"
radio promotion will allow radio listeners in the top 18 markets to "negotiate"
their way to a one-week vacation at one of three Hilton Resorts in Hawaii -- Hilton
Hawaiian Village, Hilton Turtle Bay Golf and Tennis Resort and Hilton Waikoloa Village --
said William Short, vice president of advertising, publicity and promotion for the studio.
Beginning this week and continuing for two weeks, 25
listeners per market will be chosen to participate in the campaign. One winner in each
market will be chosen for the grand prize, while 450 qualifiers will receive free Warner
Bros. merchandise, Short said.
"Warner Bros. was looking to leverage our media
campaign with a unique selling theme for PPV," Short said. "Coincidentally,
Hilton Resorts Hawaii was looking to extend their reach in the 48 contiguous states
through radio, so the promotion became a win-win for everyone involved."
The promotion will be supported with print and advertising
media valued at about $2 million, delivering in excess of 100 million incremental consumer
impressions. Warner Bros. has created two 30-second spots and one 15-second spot for the
promotion. Participating operators are required to run the spots at least 300 times
throughout the movie's PPV run on such networks as ESPN, USA Network, Turner Network
Television, VH1 and Black Entertainment Television.
The studio will also provide full-page, four-color ads in
select Time Warner publications, as well as in USA Today, The Wall Street
Journal, the Los Angeles Times and The NewYork Times, Short
said.
Warner Bros. will provide operators with customizable
affiliate ad slicks and promotional materials, as well as an affiliate incentive program.
The movie, which earned $45 million at the box office this
past summer, has a typical, 50-day window. It does not, however, feature an early
direct-broadcast satellite window -- a tactic that Warner Bros. has not adapted to date.
Several studios, such as Columbia Pictures and Buena Vista,
have offered early, upfront-guarantee-based windows for movies at least 25 to 30 days
prior to their traditional PPV windows.
Due to guarantee requirements often reaching 20 percent or
higher, only DirecTV Inc. has taken advantage of the window for such movies as Godzilla,
The Mask of Zorro and 6 Days/7 Nights.
