• by Tanya Gazdik , November 11, 2009

Travelpro luggage manufacturer has inked a product-placement deal with Paramount Pictures.

The original inventor of "Rollaboard" luggage will be featured in the dramatic comedy "Up in the Air" starring George Clooney, scheduled for a December release.

To support the partnership, Travelpro has developed a marketing program launching Nov. 17 that includes print, online and in-store advertising and a consumer sweepstakes offering the chance to win a trip to Hollywood, along with Travelpro luggage. For its more than 2,500 retailer partners, Travelpro will sponsor a drawing offering two winners a trip to the official movie premiere.

Banner ads will run on more than 10,000 travel and entertainment sites, said Scott Applebee, vice president of marketing at the Boca Raton, Fla.-based Travelpro.

"We focused our advertising spend online with the objective to drive consumers to the sweepstakes Web site, where they could get information about Travelpro and the movie," Applebee tells Marketing Daily. "They also have an option on the sweepstakes landing page to connect directly to our retail partners' Web stores to purchase Travelpro luggage. ...Our goal was to be very targeted in our advertising, focusing on consumers that met our target demographics and were avid watchers of movies and frequent travelers."

This is the first time Travelpro has struck a deal with a movie studio, Applebee says. "It is an ideal fit for our brand because the movie is all about travel," Applebee adds.

The company recently ran an online campaign through the Travel Ad Network, an aggregator of over 500 travel sites. The campaign was combined with a "Trip to South Africa" Sweepstakes that helped launch Travelpro's new Atlantic Optima luggage collection.