• by Karl Greenberg , April 9, 2010

Convenience store 7-Eleven is back with the Marvel/Paramount "Iron Man" film franchise. The company, which ran promotions around the first film in 2008, is doing a much bigger sponsorship this time around, with 10 themed drinks and cups.  

Foo the new film, also starring Robert Downey Jr., as well as Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle and a few other big names, the chain is also backing the May 7 release with a "Collect Like a Super Hero; Live Like a Billionaire"-themed sweepstakes dangling a trip to the Los Angeles premiere.

The trip includes first-class air fare, two luxury suites and adjoining deluxe rooms for three nights, $5,000 cash for a Rodeo Drive shopping spree, lunch and dinner at The Ivy and Spago, limousine service, personal assistant and private tours of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Retail value of the trip is approximately $30,000.

Evan Brody, 7-Eleven marketing manager, says the company will offer four lenticular Slurpee cups, four "Iron Man"-themed Super Big Gulp cups, character straws and two 13-inch mugs shaped to look like Iron Man and Don Cheadle's sidekick character, War Machine. The effort also features a new Slurpee flavor called Invincible Orange co-developed with Dr Pepper.

"This is much bigger for us than what we did in the first film," he tells Marketing Daily. "For the first, it was about Slurpee; this includes Big Gulp, so it's about 10 different cups." He says retail elements include front-of-store and window banners. There is also a separate promotion with Reese's candy, which is sold at 7-Eleven.

Brody says films are just one part of the company's promotional strategy, which includes sponsorships around gaming, sports and TV programs.

"We have had success with anything that's exciting; in the case of blockbuster films, it's something where excitement is building well before the premiere," he says, adding that 7-Eleven has programs with WWE Summerslam, and a big promotion planned around a video game. "But films do very well -- no question about it. There is so much support as well from studio and distributors. It really gives lots of buzz to a property."

He explains that the images on lenticular cups, like holographic images, actually replay scene segments from the movie as one tilts the cup.

The cups have codes printed on the inside that consumers can type into a sweepstakes entry at Slurpee.com, to earn points for prizes "Collect Like a Super Hero; Live Like a Billionaire" promotion.

Brody says the company will be doing a summer promotion around WWE Summerslam and also a promotion around racing. Sponsor of Andretti Autosport racing, it extended the relationship last fall by signing on as a sponsor of Andretti racer Danica Patrick and her No. 7 GoDaddy.com IndyCar racer. "You will also see us do something in May and June and also something huge with online games."

And the company is also trying to reach Millennials with promos around celebrity-designed coffee cups, such as a Jennifer Hudson-designed series, per Brody. He says a portion of the proceeds for these programs goes to charities. "Millennials are very interested in celebrities and cause marketing, so we are rotating in new celebrities every couple of months," he says.

FreshWorks, 7-Eleven, Inc.'s advertising and marketing consortium, comprising several Omnicom companies, handles the company's creative and marketing.