 |
 |
|
Welcome, Guest [Sign In] |
August 21, 2008 |
 | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
March 1, 2001 - KidScreen Magazine
Campaign Spotlight: What were they thinking?
by Mike Connell Marketer: Bandai America, Cypress, California-Bill Beebe, senior VP of sales and marketing; Shin Ueno, VP of marketing; Colleen Sherfey, director of marketing
Advertising agency: J. Walter Thompson, L.A.-Lori Golay, managing partner; Aimee Eiselstein, account supervisor Public relations agency: Porter Novelli, L.A.-Wendy Watson, senior VP Promotional agency: HWB Promotional Marketing, Irvine, California-Yvette Brown, managing partner; Shari Nomady, managing partner Media: Mindshare, L.A.-Geraldine Pugongan, media director Sponsors: Wal-Mart, Toys `R' Us, Pioneer Entertainment Market: North America The campaign: A seven-month North American Mobile Suit Gundam Invasion Tour. The 52-foot Gundam tour vehicle will make stops at TRU and Wal-Mart stores in 25 markets from March to September 2001. The promo is supported by local radio and local/national print, on-air during Cartoon Network's Toonami block, and on-line at www.gundamofficial.com, in addition to in-store awareness in the selected markets three to four weeks before the campaign starts. The tour targets the 12 to 17 core Gundam audience, in addition to a more general 15 to 25 demo. Total spend for the promotional tour is somewhere between US$1.5 million and US$2 million. The strategy: Despite a 20-year following born in Asia, the Gundam phenom has only just started cultivating State-side fanaticism. March 2000 saw Cartoon Network's Toonami debut of Gundam Wing, one of seven series in a Gundam franchise that spans eight feature films and a licensing campaign that has pulled in over US$5 billion in sales in Japan alone. Approaching nation-wide acceptance, Bandai is making its multimillion-dollar North American Gundam push-taking the battle to the people in a 52-foot truck-based campaign, aiming to reward the current 12 to 17 fan base, and hoping to add both younger and older devotees to the Gundam ranks. The idea at planning stage, says Bill Beebe, senior VP of sales and marketing for Bandai America, was to make the experience fun and informative, plus to create something that will have lasting effects. Bandai's Power Ranger tours (in conjunction with Fox and Saban) had been successful in the past, but were-in accordance with the younger target demo-geared more toward fun than information. This time around, a tour not only had to sate the detail-hungry fanatic, but also to interest-yet not overwhelm-the initiate. In search of new Gundamites, Bandai research found a like-minded fan in the extreme sports arena, inclining the company to include the three Bs (boarders, bladers and bikers) to the list of anime, comic and Gundam collectors already on its roster of potential and current fans-additions that, in all likelihood, cater to a cool-by-association strategy rather than any guarantee that the extreme sports fanatic would be into Gundam. Dates and cities of extreme games events, anime expos and Comicons were included on the tour calendar.
|
