• Mediaweek, Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:17 AM

Disney is crafting a multiplatform sweepstakes and sponsorship deal with retail giant Sears that focuses on Selena Gomez, star of Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place."

The on-air effort includes a 45-second spot to send viewers to a Sears' sweepstakes site. The retailer also will be featured in a flight of 15-second sponsor messages leading up to the August 28 premiere of "Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie." The spots aren't explicitly commercial in nature, only citing the sponsorship and giving a call-out to the Sears site, ArriveLounge.com.

Disney intends these brief sponsor ads to be unobstructed gateways to a more immersive user experience. "Our partners don't have to compete against all those other 30-second spots in rotation. Part of what they buy into is that exclusivity," says Kara Rousseau, Disney senior vp. Earlier this month, Sears sponsored Radio Disney's world-premiere broadcast of the WoWP soundtrack. The deal marks the first time Sears has sponsored the Disney network.

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