• by Aaron Baar , November 29, 2012

In today’s ever-connected, battery-powered world, everyone needs access to portable power and charging solutions -- even travelers. With Energizer launching some new portable power-charging products, the company is hoping to reach business travelers and vacationers alike via a media and content partnership with popular online travel site Orbitz. 

The marketing partnership, which runs through the end of the year across a variety of platforms, at its heart involves the travel company’s “Orbitz Original: The Cayman Islands” online documentary and travel series. The series of 10 short films (hosted by travel expert Richard Bangs) prominently feature the portable power products. Each episode (which are produced in conjunction with  the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism) showcase not only the scenery of the tropical islands, but also ways in which consumers can stay connected with loved ones (or the office) and find information via electronic gadgets. 

“The communication message is that for people on the go, they have multiple devices they want to keep charged,” Josh Winkler, vice president of partner marketing for Orbitz, tells Marketing Daily. “[This was a chance to] allow our consumers to think about, when they’re traveling, what products they might need to make them more comfortable.” 

An introductory video features Bangs and the Energizer Bunny sitting on a beach watching the ocean. Amid shots of professionals (such as pilots and baggage handlers) and vacationers using tech devices, Bangs says he’s felt a sense of “empowerment” on his journey to the Cayman Islands that he hasn’t felt before. “It’s not just that I’ve stepped and dipped through three brilliant pieces of paradise in the Cayman Islands, but that I’ve been fully charged throughout,” he says. “Like most travelers today, I carry an assortment of connected devices, and too often I’ve been plagued with battery demise at a critical moment.” He later shows off the two new Portable Power products from Energizer that he’s been using.

In addition to the Web series, the effort includes an Energizer-sponsored microsite (Orbitz.com/Energizer), as well as Orbitz.com home page takeovers for dynamic advertising, sponsorship of targeted e-mail messages, strategic use of Orbitz’s social media channels and mobile marketing. 

“It’s a multi-pronged approach,” Winkler says, noting that the company has previously completed partnerships with companies like Target, Sony, Bose and Samsonite. “Energizer is one of the most robust programs we’ve put together leveraging multiple outlets.”