telecom

Verizon Brings Galaxy Far, Far Away To Here And Now

Verizon is maximizing its sponsorship of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to bring its fans closer to the action, not in a galaxy far, far away, but in the here and now.

When the film holds its official premiere on Monday, Verizon will present the official livestream of the red carpet on starwars.com. Verizon customers will get the chance to ask cast members questions through Twitter using the hashtag #TheForceAwakens and tagging @Verizon.

“The key to our participation is to provide our customers -- who are passionate about Star Wars -- unprecedented access to the cultural moment of the decade,” Cathie McCloskey, director of corporate communications for Verizon, tells Marketing Daily. “Star Wars is a way for us to fuel fan’s passions and show the power of their smartphones and laptops.”

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Meanwhile, the telecom is also giving its customers the chance to be among the first to see the film on its opening weekend. Verizon is giving away more than 12,000 tickets, with a twist. The company has created a Web site, Theory Wars, where they can share theories about what’s going to happen in the highly secretive movie. (Theories supplied by the site include “Han Solo is now a successful nerf herder.”)

“We created Theory Wars to entertain and organically engage fans -- as well as reward them for their interaction,” McCloskey says. “The movie previews have sparked strong fan conversation around plot line theories. Our goal with Theory Wars is to fuel the conversation instead of inflict it. Consumers are pretty savvy and know blatant marketing when they see it.”

Finally, Verizon is giving fans a chance to create their own Droid Turbo 2 phone, customized with palates and backs based on characters from the new film (using the Moto Maker customization tool).

The promos are only available to Verizon customers only (verified through entering phone numbers). The company is communicating the offers through social media, where much of the conversation around Star Wars is happening.

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