• by Aaron Baar , June 16, 2009

Summer movie season is here, and LG Electronics MobileComm is making sure consumers know it is a part of it with a multifaceted marketing campaign tied in to "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

"'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' is being deemed as the biggest blockbuster hit of 2009, and in order to highlight the film and create the connection to the brand properly, you truly need an integrated marketing program as we have created," company representative Demetra Kavadeles tells Marketing Daily. "We created a similar marketing program behind last year's 'Iron Man,' which proved to be quite successful for the brand -- so we decided to continue with film partnerships."

At the center of the effort is a television commercial directed by the movie's director, Michael Bay. In the 30-second commercial, one of the movie's "good-guy" robot characters, Optimus Prime, encounters a man with a portable phone, calling it a "Decepticon" (one of the "bad guy" characters). As the man tries to explain that the phone is simply an LG Versa, the phone shows off its features by transforming into a camcorder, GPS device and a computer. Turns out that Optimus Prime is warning of an evil Decepticon behind him. "Is it a phone, or something better?" asks a voiceover, as visuals for the movie come up on the screen.

In accordance with the tie-in, LG has created a limited edition of its Versa phone, which includes Transformers-themed features like voice-tones, ringtones and wallpapers. The limited-edition phone is being promoted through online and in-store tactics, including a dedicated microsite www.uncoverlg.com, which includes an online video game and sweepstakes.

"Creating a limited-edition phone allows us to bring the marketing message right back to the product," Kavadeles says. "Consumers can then make the connection a lot easier when you tie the partnership back to the product."

The site positions the user as a member of N.E.S.T. (Non-biological, Extraterrestrial Species Team). Highlighted areas lead users to a downloadable mobile game, an online game and exclusive stills from the movie.

Also on the Web site (as well as through in-store promotions in conjunction with Verizon Wireless), consumers can send a pre-recorded message (featuring the voice of Optimus Prime, aka Peter Cullen) to to friends and family. By sending a message, consumers are registered in a sweepstakes to attend a screening of the movie, as well as 10 LG phones (for their friends and family), a 55-inch television and an LG Blu-Ray disc home theatre system.