Its 4 August and by the time you are reading this Disney Pixar’s animated comedy movie Cars will have set the Indian cinema screens racing. And as cars drives into India, complimenting it is a marketing overdrive with approximately Rs 10 million being spent on the blitzkrieg.
The marketing will comprise mostly below the line (BTL) activities and tie-ups around the movie with the likes of Kellogg’s Chocos, McDonalds, Kissan Jams, GoodYear and the Vox Group.
Cars will be released in the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chandigargh, Bangalore and Goa on 4 August. While in Chennai it will release on 11 August, in Hyderabad and Kolkatta it will be released on 18 August.
In order to target mothers and kids, Cars will have an on-pack promotion on Kellogg’s Chocos. With every three (350 gms, 370 GMs and 375 GMs) packs of Kellogg’s Chocos, consumers get two Cars toys free. Apart from this, with every 250 GMs of Kellogg’s Chocos, Cars Trading Cards are given free. This offer has been on from 15 July and will end on 15 August.
The movie is targeting a wide audience spectrum ranging from kids (4-11), families (mums, dads, kids), general audiences (18-49), tweens, teens (12-17), car aficionados and car racing fans and hence efforts are being made to make contact with these audiences at all touch points.
On jar promotion with neck tags and stickers on the lid will also be seen on Kissan Jams. A considerable amount of moolah is being spent on promoting Cars and Kissan Jams via television promos across channels. Also, point of purchase (POP) material and school contact programmes have been rolled out in metros and mini-metros across the country. This activity will run for a period of three weeks.
On the other hand, McDonalds will launch a Cars Happy Meal promotion in keeping with the international tie-up. This will be promoted via television and also POP at McDonalds outlets across metros and mini-metros for three-four weeks. McDonalds will also be giving out special Game boards with the Happy Meals.
Cars has also tied up with Chennai based Vox Group, an auto accessory chain with interests in fields like automotives, plastics, leather, real estate, agriculture and exports. Vox Group’s association with Cars will be a thematic one and will be seen across outdoor, in theatre and press.
With Goodyear, LightYear will see an in-film placement, wherein all the cards ride on LightYear. The promotions around this in India will be primarily on radio and in print across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune.
What’s more, the Walt Disney Television International (India) will also be promoting the movie across its various divisions. Walt Disney Television India will run special identities on the channel. Vroom Cars Contest has been developed for Disney Channel wherein viewers have to SMS a simple answer and they can win merchandise, books and DVDs and also McDonalds Happy Meals.
Disney Publishing Worldwide will be releasing books including tory books, color books and activity books around Cars. Walt Disney Internet Group will have Cars content on all mobile providers in India. The content will range from wallpapers, screen savers, ring tones, voice tones, themes and games.
On the other hand, Cars’ home video partner Excel Home Videos will celebrate the theatrical release of the movie by re-releasing all Disney/Pixar titles including Pirates of the Caribbean 1 at a special price of Rs 399.
Channel [V] will also run Cars interstitial along with a contest, while Star Movies will air a special program on Cars in the show Opening Night.