• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 3, 2008

Paramount, Lucas Film and video game publisher THQ have created a mobile marketing campaign to keep "Indiana Jones" fans talking long after they have left the movies--with licensed ringtones, wallpapers and a mobile game based on the brand.

 

 

Consumers will find in the more than 600,000 Indiana Jones DVD movie box sets made available for purchase at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club a coupon insert for a free ringtone of the "Indiana Jones"-theme song. The offer began in late May to coincide with the theatrical release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

A sticker affixed to the outside of the box alerts consumers to the promotion. A card insert inside the DVD box instructs consumers to text message the six-digit code. The return message provides a URL where consumers can download the ringtone for free to their phones.

"About 15% of the people who bought the DVD since the promotion began have tried to download a ringtone," says Brian Hong, director of wireless marketing at THQ, adding that giving away free stuff provides a way to cross-sell mobile phone casual games.

Hong says on average, between 2% and 4% of consumers bought something after receiving a free ringtone. That's pretty darn good, he adds, estimating that the industry average for online ad redemption is about 0.5% to 1%.

The promotion that ran in London's Daily Star experienced an even higher redemption rate, about 20%. The promo was for a free "Indy" game demo with option to download the full game, according to James Scalpello, THQ VP marketing worldwide.

Paramount made the free ringtone giveaway possible. When Wal-Mart rolls out its "American Summer" campaign in July, it will highlight "Indiana Jones" merchandise with signs throughout the store alerting consumers to the exclusive free ringtone offer.

Full-page ads in Indiana Jones, the official magazine, began running May 22 to coincide with the release of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in movie theaters. Ads will also appear in June, August, October and December issues.

About 115,000 magazines are being circulated throughout the U.S. in Barnes & Noble, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Suncoast, FYE, Borders and newsstands. Titan, which distributes the magazine, estimated much higher readership, according to Hong, who says the word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) will push readership up to about 1 million.

WOMM can make or break a campaign. Research conducted by Fizz suggests that in North America when products cost less than $1,000, and the person telling the story has interest in the category, the person hearing the story will purchase that product 93% of the time, according to Ted Wright, managing partner at the WOMM company. Quality and presentation of the story are keys to success, he says.

Hong says THQ also will support advertising for the Wall-E mobile video game scheduled for release to tie into the Disney/Pixar movie.