ITV Creates Cross Promotion First With Movie Tie-In
ITV Sales has launched what it claims is a media first for television by collaborating with Carat and Buena Vista International to create a cross-media sponsorship package including movies and an interview with a Hollywood director.
The deal has spawned an event dubbed Two Nights of Night by ITV, focusing on the work of film director M Night Shyamalan, creator of blockbuster thriller flicks, Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Both films star Hollywood action stalwart Bruce Willis and will be screened along with two five-minute interviews with the director in August.
Promotions for M Night Shyamalan’s latest creation, The Village, will be screened throughout all broadcasts covered by the deal, providing what ITV claims will be highly targeted advertising ahead of the film’s release on 20 August.
Commenting on the promotion, Lee Jury, marketing director at Buena Vista International, said: “Our aim was to build a relationship between the audience and the director. Creating a specific M Night event with ITV enabled us to showcase the director’s previous work in a personal and exclusive manner and offer a unique platform for us to promote his latest film, The Village.”
Ben Allen, sales controller at ITV Sales, added: “Our partnership with Carat and BVI has created an event which will provide viewers with great programming. This is indicative of the more collaborative approach that we are adopting in our relationships with clients to create communication solutions which deliver real cut-through.”
The promotion will be backed by online editorial and video streaming at www.itv.com/movies. The promotion follows a bumper month in terms of advertising revenue for ITV, with the Euro 2004 football tournament creating the strongest growth since the height of the dotcom boom in 2000. The broadcaster experienced overwhelming demand for airtime spots during the contest, helping the company to outperform all of its commercial rivals put together (see ITV Hails Euro 2004 A Success As Revenue Soars).
ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com
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