Philips-Enemy of the State October 1998 Philips Is Cranking Up The Volume On Its Entertainment Marketing With Touchstone Films Cross-Promotion "We're here but we haven't been loud," says Barbara Krafte of Philips Consumer Communications, the consumer electronics division of Amsterdam-based Philips Electronics. Philips, however, is cranking up the decibel level as it mounts a global marketing campaign in which entertainment tie-ins play a major role. Most immediately: a multi-tier promotion built around product placement in Touchstone Films' Thanksgiving release, Enemy of the State. Starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman and Jon Voight, the film is used by Philips to position its brand in the U.S. and, ultimately globally. "Our objectives are clear: to drive retail sales, to build distribution and to create demand for our product," Krafte tells EML. "This is an opportunity to integrate our technology into the plot line of a major film being released by a highly credible studio. This is not product placement. It's a marketing approach." Components of the marketing "portfolio" include: advertising (print, television and online), point-of-sale materials, "Philips Redesigns Your State of Living" consumer sweepstakes, "full-tilt public relations to complement what Touchstone is doing," trade customer events, private screenings, gift-with-purchase program, and a website page with hotlinks to Touchstone's site for the film (with Touchstone hotlinking back to Philips, as well). The consumer sweepstakes is central on several counts: Krafte says the trade's biggest concern is driving customers into stores and that's where a sweepstakes comes in. Adds Alyse Kobin, of Kobin Enterprises, which represents Philips, the sweepstakes also enables Philips to incorporate products across various divisions as prizes, and to position the company as "very high tech and innovative." In addition to the phones, beepers and flat panel monitors that appear in the film, sweepstakes prizes include WebTV hardware, recordable CDs and more. Promotional programs will be account-specific, if not exclusive. "We're trying to be flexible to fit the selling profile or customer relationship for each account," says Krafte. While Philips has been involved in the film's development for about a year, it wasn't until contracts were signed in September that the electronics firm was able to start talking details with dealers. While both Krafte and Disney's Cherise McVicar allude to future projects in the discussion stage, Krafte says Philips is not limited to working with Disney. "Any opportunity where we can use the film in the same integrated way, and where we have enough advance notice to appropriately budget so that we don't shortcut ourselves in getting the most out of itÉ we're open." Separately, Philips has taken title sponsorship of the weekly syndicated "Motown Live" program, and is linked to VH-1 and Heineken for a fourth quarter sweepstakes. Krafte, Kobin and McVicar will further details the Philips/Enemy links at the EPM Entertainment Marketing Conference next month. September 21, 1998 Philips signs global deal with Disney movie (Murray Hill, N.J.) Philips Consumer Communications is doing a multimillion-dollar global promotion as single sponsor partner of Walt Disney Co.'s "Enemy of the State," one of the holiday season's big films. The tie-in includes product placement of mobile phones, pagers and monitors. Kobin Enterprises, New York, managed the promotion; Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York will do ads. And more promotions could be ahead. Said Brett Dicker, senior VP-promotions and marketing, Disney's Buena Vista Pictures Marketing: "We're in the process of building a relationship." September 21, 1998 Tie-Ins: Will Do Philips Abroad for $10M Push Tied to Enemy Electronics giant Philips is diving head-first into its inaugural entertainment cross-promotion via a deal with Disney to hype its Touchstone Pictures' holiday season action thriller Enemy of the State with $10 million in fourth-quarter media buys and in-store hype across thousands of consumer electronics retailers. Aiming to make a splash with consumers purchasing phones and other telecommunications products marketed by Philips Consumer Communications, its Murray Hill, N.J.-based telecom unit, Philips will use extensive product placement of its cellular phones in the high-tech Enemy as a jumping-off point for a TV and print ad campaign. In-Store POP will bow at Radio Shack, Best Buy and other retailers. Through the movie's high-profile star Will Smith was front-and-center in the wildly successful Men in Black/Ray-Ban promotion two summers ago, the actor/hip-hop artist is reportedly not in the Philips movie-themed campaign. Enemy has been described by one Disney exec as "not the typical promotional movie" because its heavy explosion-laden action will likely draw an R-rating and, because of its creative pedigree actionmeister Jerry Bruckheimer produces and thriller specialist Tony Scott directs it will be adult-rather than kid-targeted fare. It releases at Thanksgiving, about two weeks after Universal's Meet Joe Black, an anticipated adult-targeted film. Given Disney's penchant for long-term relationships, and Philips' goal of closer alliances with entertainment, the two could partner again for other projects, weaving together Disney's vast portfolio of entertainment venues and vehicles with Philips' equally huge portfolio of consumer hardware brands. Philips, which recently launched its largest U.S. advertising and marketing campaign, a $100 million-plus effort, is making entertainment links a priority. In addition to Kobin Enterprises, N.Y., which brokered the Enemy deal, Hollywood product placement and promo firm Norm Marshall & Associates is searching out film and other entertainment opportunities for the Dutch electronics company. Philips, Disney, Kobin to Detail Enemy Tie-Ins Philips Electronics, Buena Vista Pictures and Kobin Enterprises will give a rare pre-release look at the marketing strategy behind Touchstone's Thanksgiving release, Enemy of the State, at the 10th Annual EPM Entertainment Marketing Conference next month. The presentation will feature Barbara Krafte, Director Global Marketing Communications, Philips Consumer Communications; Cherise McVicar, VP National Promotions, Buena Vista Pictures Marketing; and Alyse Kobin, President & Managing Partner, Kobin Enterprises. Kobin represents the Dutch electronics giant. The session is a rare opportunity to hear marketers discuss what they expect of the promotions built around the Will Smith-starring picture and to observe the strategy (and how it plays) as the campaign rolls out. Ads for the film are scheduled to break at the time of the EPM conference which takes place November 8-10, 1998 at the Universal City Hilton & Towers, Los Angeles. "Working with Ray-Ban and Columbia Pictures, Alyse Kobin was instrumental in putting together the outstanding Men in Black case study at last year's EPM Entertainment Marketing Conference," says EPM's Ira Mayer. "That session detailed what each party sought from the promotional partnership, the difficulties encountered hammering out details and the number of times the deal almost fell apart. Alyse, Barbara and Cherise promise a similar in-depth perspective for Enemy of the State, only before it happens." January 1999 Leveraging Entertainment Tie-Ins: Enemy of the State "The promotional environment is very different now than it was a year ago when Men in Black so successfully tied-in with Ray-Ban," according to Alyse Kobin, whose agency, Kobin Enterprises, masterminded the Columbia/Ray-Ban tie-in in 1997 and who also brought Philips Consumer Communications and Buena Vista Pictures Marketing together to cross-promote the holiday release Enemy of the State. "Today talent is much more selective about its tie-in affiliations and clients are more strategic about their initiatives," she says. Kobin joined partners Cherise McVicar of Buena Vista Pictures Marketing and Barbara Krafte of Philips Consumer Communications to present a study on the tie-in which continues from the November U.S. opening to the final international debuts set for April '99. "Our objectives are clear: to drive retail sales, build distribution and create demand for our product," Krafte said of the promotion when she talked with EML prior to the Conference. "This tie-in was not about product placement, it was about global branding," Krafte told the Conference. "Our focus is beyond holiday '98, into '99 and after." Buena Vista's McVicar says that in identifying a potential partner, her staff matches demographics and seeks market penetration. That Philips could get the movie message into avenues "that would normally not carry a movie message" was pivotal. Meanwhile, to Philips, Disney's "status as a global brand was attractive for us, gave us opportunity to leverage the brand." [Note: The significance to Philips of worldwide participation as a promotion partner on Enemy of the State is underscored by the post-opening dissolution of the U.S. partnership between Lucent and Philips that created Philips Consumer Communications in the first place.] The program is executed in three phases over 20 months. While appropriate product exposure in the film is important, McVicar says, both partners seek an integrated approach that makes the technology personal to consumers (Philips' goal) while still appropriate to the film (Buena Vista's aim). Problems arose for both partners, particularly in negotiating use of talent images. "Talent is more conservative than they have been in the past. They are less likely to do full-fledged endorsements and they prefer to be less commercialized," McVicar notes. The problem points up a dramatic change from the 1997 Conference when Kobin and Columbia's Mark Workman described the enthusiasm of stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones for involvement in Ray-Ban product promotion. "We were not sure when we went into this promotion that talent would be open-minded about participation, and they weren't" says McVicar bluntly. "All points were difficult, and there were times when we seemed at an impasse." Enemy stars felt they had been victims of over-exposure in connection with product in the past (Will Smith, the star of Men in Black is also the lead in Enemy of the State). In some cases, retail promotion materials lingered in stores months after the film was gone; actors reacted to that phenomenon by permitting image use in ads, but not at point of sale. Among other challenges facing Enemy partners: -Technical staff on the film periodically introduced product for onfilm use that came from Philips' competitors. "Central to the success of keeping focus on our products was full cooperation from the prop master," Krafte says. -The film carries an R rating. Given retailers' relationships with their local communities, this could have been a major problem, but no retailers pulled out. -The fluidity of international release dates makes it difficult for Philips to set up global retail and trade promotions. -The basic cultures of the partners differ and so their ways of selling can be at odds. Philips has a distribution model that sells 9-12 months out, while Buena Vista is more focused on the opening. "We had to convince Buena Vista that Philips is a distinctive business model - not your average promotion partner, like a fast-food chain," Kobin says. March, 1999 Talking Back: As promotional phonecards mature, marketers add more take to their giveaways. LOOK IN ANY WALLET OR PURSE THESE DAYS and there's a real good chance a pre-paid phonecard is tucked inside. How good? According to Boston-based consulting firm The Yankee Group, at least one member in 34 percent of 102 million U.S. households has used the dandy little device. Chances are also pretty good that the phonecard in question will be branded with somebody's logo a package goods maker, a financial services company, a municipal department, or a local charity. It may even be doubling as the holder's keychain or business card. According to Yankee Group, 13.7 percent of households have received free phonecards through promotional giveaways. That's about 14 million people. A cast of thousands It seems everybody is in the pre-paid phonecard business these days. There are more than 450 companies selling the product in the U.S. (even if you don't count John Gotti, Jr., recently indicated in a phonecard scam). So suppliers are looking to make their products stand out by licensing well-known brand names and entertainment properties to liven up their packaging. Our IVR is standing by Of course, you don't need a phonecard to run an interactive promotion. Toll-free numbers work just fine in that respect, and offer the same data capture possibilities. Philips Consumer Communications, a division of Netherlands-based Philips Electronics NV, went that route last quarter as part of its first media tie-in program, with Buena Vista's Enemy of the State . The interactive element was a logical one for a communications company and a movie in which the cutting-edge technology had a bigger role than co-star Gene Hackman. Working with Sprint and New York City-based agency Kobin Enterprises, Philips set up a toll-free number that was advertised through P-O-P materials at electronics retailers. Consumers were invited to call in and select the "enemy" that was bugging their phones. A total of 5,000 instant prizes including Philips cellular phones, pagers, radios, T-shirts, and baseball caps were presented based on callers' selections. The program generated more than 40,000 calls, with names, addresses, and phone numbers collected from prize winners. "I can't imagine doing a promotion where you could collect data and not doing it," says Philips director of global marketing communications Barbara Krafte. "Companies aren't afraid to put an 800 number in their ads," says Steve Kutelik, vp-sales of Omaha, NB-based Call Interactive, which has helped Revlon distribute lipstick samples, Kraft Foods sell Jell-O Jigglers molds, and Fox Broadcasting attract viewers to Party of Five through interactive promotions. "Everybody's got their own twist, but we are seeing a lot more sweepstakes."