'The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie' Launch

Brand: SpongeBob SquarePantsCompany: NickelodeonAgency: In-HouseCampaign Title: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie LaunchProduct Category: FilmTime Frame: November 2004Award Category: Multi-partner Promotion Marketing Overview The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie opened Nov. 19, 2004 on the heels of larger-budget animated releases The Incredibles and The Polar Express. Nickelodeon's challenge was to stand out in a crowded field and drive fans of the popular TV property to theaters. Promotion Objectives Drive awareness and position The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as a must-see film Drive ticket sales Strategy & Tactics 1. Off-channel marketing support through partner promotions:Burger King Supported with a $12 million-dollar TV ad campaign featuring different spots targeting adults, kids and Hispanics. Ran five different radio spots, including executions targeting Hispanics and African-Americans.Staged a six-week in-store promotion (November-December) featuring giant inflatables and a variety of other P-O-P materials, 12 premiums given away in kids meals, and five adult watches in collector tins sold separately. Hosted a micro-site on burgerking.com. KelloggPromoted the movie on 51 million packages of various cereals, Pop-Tarts, Eggo's and snacks. Supported the products with in-store displays and marketing programs, 30-second TV spots for cereal and Eggo's, and a dedicated micro-site. Packaging featured three promotional offers: a self-liquidating offer for a T-shirt, eight free in-pack collectible watches, and a sweepstakes. Created limited edition SKUs of SpongeBob cereal and Pop-Tarts, EL Fudge Cookies, FudgeStripe Cookies, Eggo's, Cheez-Its, and Animal Crackers "Undersea Friends."Airheads Launched limited-edition Citrus flavor SKU in August (26 million packages). Supported with P-O-P displays and a 15-second TV spot.Target Hosted a "Dare To Be Square" promotion in 1,313 stores that included a sweepstakes, a display in the boys' department, and ads on the Target Video Network. In November, store entrances carried giant SpongeBob figures.Supported with a 15-second TV spot, promotions on Target.com and Channel Red, and circular features. Co-sponsored The SpongeBob Movie Car in an October NASCAR Nextel Cup Race broadcast live on NBC.Distributed SpongeBob gift guides in movie theaters, at a SpongeBob-sponsored NASCAR race in October, and through Nickelodeon magazine and direct mail.The Cayman IslandsUtilized SpongeBob in print and online advertising and at a sea school for families on the island. Cayman Airways painted movie-related graphics on a plane.Provided the grand-prize trip for Nickelodeon's sweepstakes.Holiday Inn Beginning in May 2004, promoted the movie in more than 450 hotels with a "Bikini Bottom Bite" kids menu, lobby signage, and graphics on key cards. Holiday Inn Sunspree hotels hosted activity areas and ice cream. Used the character in an adult-targeting print and direct-mail campaign. The holiday-inn.com web site carried the movie trailer.2. Nickelodeon ActivityNick.com hosted a super-site at spongebobmovie.com featuring the trailer, a 3-D game, and trading cards; and a blog at spongeblogger.com with downloads, a message board, sweepstakes registration, and new character previews. On-Air Three phases of TV spots built awareness, interest, and urgency and highlighted a variety of campaign components. Nickelodeon magazine ran a related cover story and published a special tie-in magazine in November.An in-theater campaign ran from December 2003 to November 2004 and featured trailers, lobby banners and popcorn bags.Sponsored the SpongeBob Movie 300, a NASCAR Busch Series Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Oct. 16 that was broadcast live in prime-time on TNT. The race featured cars with movie paint schemes driven by Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. Sister studio Paramount Pictures ran spots on 20 broadcast and cable networks, starting six weeks before the premiere. It also entered a 62-foot SpongeBob balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.Results The film opened with a weekend box office of $33.5 million, the best ever for a Nickelodeon movie and the biggest opening in 2004 for Paramount Pictures. The film ultimately grossed more than $83 million.PartnersBurger King's promotion increased Kids' Meal sales nationwide. Several markets sold out of the adult watches. The theft of several giant inflatables generated national headlines.Holiday Inn's activities helped increase bookings by 66%, night stays by 68% and revenue over 79% compared with 2003Kellogg's sold out the promotional cereal SKU.Target's sales of SpongeBob-related merchandise increased 50% over the year-ago period.Summary The comprehensive cross-platform marketing campaign effectively connected with and raised awareness among kids and adults by utilizing Nickelodeon media, multiple consumer touch points, and both traditional and unexpected venues to produce strong box-office results and raise the property's overall profile to new heights.

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