• by Aaron Baar , December 7, 2009

"Avatar," the first movie directed by James Cameron since "Titanic" 12 years ago, is almost the definition of "event movie." And LG Mobile Phones, as one of the movie's tie-in partners, is not letting an opportunity pass it by -- pulling out all the stops with an integrated marketing campaign that includes a first-of-its kind sponsorship to the movie's video game tie-in.

Beginning Dec. 7, LG is airing a television commercial that features footage from the effects-heavy movie projected from an LG eXpo phone (which features a detachable mobile projector). In the commercial, two office drones compete to be the one more in the know about the latest and greatest in technology.

Continuing the theme, LG has created a microsite, www.lgexpo.com, which includes exclusive movie content along with further travails of the two characters. Videos on the site depict the two characters -- Jim and Dale -- giving an online demonstration of the phone as well as its advanced features. One video shows co-workers gathering as Jim shows an "Avatar" trailer on a cubicle wall via their phone. Another shows Jim enlivening a boring corporate presentation (the slides of which are being projected from his phone) by inserting stills from the movie.

Beyond the site, LG has signed on as the sponsor of a venture between online video game information site Gamespot and Ubisoft, which has created "Avatar"'s platform-based tie-in movie game. Through the sponsorship, LG will enable registered Gamespot users to obtain secret weapon "add-ons" to the game on the Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

"For the first time, we're giving away in-game [add-ons] in the form of five exclusive weapons," Simon Whitcombe, vice president of games at Gamespot owner CBS Interactive, tells Marketing Daily. Typically, gamers have to pay for such add-ons. But in this program, which according to Whitcombe is a first for Gamespot, the gamers will be able to get them for free.

"The way we're positioning this promotion is around LG," Whitcombe says. "The brand is enhancing [their] in-game experience, bringing you something you would normally have to pay for."

For LG, the program is a way for the company to utilize video game marketing that goes beyond in-game placement (which is difficult, given the game's futuristic setting) or banners, Whitcombe says. "The beauty of this program is you get to leverage Gamespot's [users] and you get to have your brand attached to 'Avatar'," he says. "It's a real way for a brand like LG to insert itself into the video game landscape."