entertainment

Sony, Six Flags In 'Karate Kid' Promo Effort

Karate Kid

Six Flags is about to drop kick a multi-platform promotional campaign next month reflecting a partnership between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Six Flags Media Networks, the advertising, sponsorship and corporate partnerships arm of the theme-park company. 

The effort promotes the remake of "The Karate Kid" with advertising, in-park branding and a promotional push centering on a competition among karate students at 10 parks that dangles tickets to the film's premiere on June 11 and a chance to host a private screening.

Ads will run on Six Flags media across its theme parks, including Six Flags TV, Jumbotrons, SixFlags.com and menu board TV.

To participate in "The Karate Kid Challenge," young karate students and their senseis have to sign up at TheKarateKidChallenge.com. The competitions require participants to display martial arts skills.

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At each of the designated parks, the judges -- who will base scores on things like technique, difficulty, entertainment value, and creativity -- will pick a winner and a runner-up. The participating parks are in Valencia and Vallejo, Calif.; Arlington and San Antonio, Tex.; Springfield, Mass.; St. Louis, Mo.; Chicago; Atlanta; Jackson, N.J.; and the Six Flags park in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area.

The company will post videos of the winning teams on Yahoo for a public voting period in May. The top three vote-getters then go to the premiere of the remake in Los Angeles, where the grand-prize winner is chosen.

Each Six Flags park location will name a winner and a runner-up at the end of the day's events; teams must be present in order to win.

In addition to an advertising push on in-park TV media, the partnership includes ride domination in five parks, where certain rides -- principally roller coasters -- will be "wrapped" in "Karate Kid"-themed branding.

Six Flags Media Networks launched in late 2008 with nine media channels, including TV, radio, print, outdoor, attraction integration, experiential marketing and Internet elements. At the time, the company said the media properties allow marketers to saturate parks with advertisers' media messages.

Six Flags Television launched in March 2008, with TV screens arranged so that people waiting in line to ride can view 45-inch plasma televisions that show both ads and entertainment. The displays also have Bluetooth so park visitors can do mobile-device sweepstakes and content download.

David McKillips, SVP, corporate alliances for Six Flags Media Networks, said the program reflects Six Flags' strategy of helping marketers develop 360-degree experiential and brand-building marketing programs.

The "Karate Kid" remake was co-produced by Will Smith and stars his son in the title role, plus Jackie Chan as the teacher, Mr. Han.

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