SPY Fox 2' Release No Longer Top Secret, Thanks to Marketing Campaign

For the launch of its new CD-ROM, titled "SPY Fox 2: Some Assembly Required," Humongous Entertainment is targeting parents for the first time in the company's most extensive marketing campaign to date. Driven by $2 million in marketing muscle, the campaign includes a trip for four to the World Expo 2000 in Germany; 3,000 6-foot-high talking standees; a multifaceted, first-time partnership with Loews Cineplex Entertainment; first-time television advertising and full-page print advertising.All elements of the campaign promote the "See the World with SPY Fox" sweepstakes, with the trip to Germany as its top prize. The Expo is a natural tie-in, according to Mike Salvadore, director of marketing and business development for the Bothell, Wash.-based company, since the "SPY Fox 2" story centers around the lead character, SPY Fox, furiously searching the World's Fair grounds for the off-switch that will foil a dastardly plan for world domination.The promotional campaign for the CD-ROM targets two distinct markets, most noteworthy of which is the parent sector, a first-time strategy for the company. "Our studies show that, in some cases, up to 70% of software for children is purchased by parents not accompanied by their children," explains Salvadore. "One of the ways we're reaching these parents is by placing the standee in major channels like Best Buy, Comp U.S.A., Costco, Toys 'R' Us, Wal-Mart and Zany Brainy, and at Loews theaters, where recent hits like 'Toy Story 2' drew an influx of parents." The promotion also targets children ages eight through 10, a slightly older market than previous Humongous Entertainment releases and one which offers more marketing latitude than products geared to younger audiences, says Salvadore.In addition to the standee greeting more than 22 million Loews moviegoers through mid-January, "SPY Fox 2: Some Assembly Required" is being featured on one million Reel Kidz Stuff Combo Pack popcorn bags in more than 300 Loews theaters nationwide. A Humongous Entertainment CD-sampler disk is also being distributed in selected markets. "The ability to get demo samplers into the market is exciting," says Salvadore. "Our research has disclosed that people who buy one Humongous product are likely to become Humongous families." Posters placed at Loews concession stands as well as on-screen promotional loops fortify the Loews partnership.The motion-activated standee says various attention-grabbing lines from the "SPY Fox 2" game and holds a tearpad for the sweepstakes. Consumers can also register to win through Humongous Entertainment's web site by sending in an entry form from the product box.The entire promotion was designed in-house. The standee was produced by Graphics Industry of America, St. Louis, while the Loews signage and popcorn bags were produced by Bensussen, Deutsch & Associates, Woodinville, Wash.

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