• by David Kaplan , March 7, 2005

Forget who's breaking up or getting back together, as marketing synergies abound on this week's new episode of Fox's "The O.C." he plot is the last thing people are likely to talk about in reference to the Thursday night young adult soap opera, which on the March 10 installment promises the exclusive worldwide premiere of the "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith" trailer as well as the first "official" chance to hear five songs from the upcoming Beck album, Guero. The trailer makes its way into movie theaters the next day (with the actual film's release on May 19), and Beck's album hits stores on March 29.

"After hearing the new Beck album, both [music supervisor] Alexandra Patsavas and I felt there were too many good songs to choose just one," said a statement from Josh Schwartz, the show's creator and executive producer, which also noted the integral part that music plays in every episode. "So instead we came up with the idea of a 'Beckpisode'--to premiere multiple tracks from his record in one episode."

As for wrapping the show around the premiere of a movie trailer--a science fiction movie far afield from the irony-drenched characters on the show--it's simply a matter of bringing a few more young male viewers to the show (and did we mention that "Star Wars" just happens to be distributed by 20th Century Fox?), notes Albert Litewka, chairman and CEO of Creative Domain, a Hollywood-based creator of trailers and movie marketing materials.

"Running an exclusive trailer--even for something as big as 'Star Wars'--is unusual," Litewka said. "Normally, a movie studio wants the highest distribution for its marketing wares. But the benefit here is that 'The O.C.' is a Fox show, and 'Star Wars,' being distributed by 20th Century Fox, represents an opportunity for Fox to help itself by attracting the all-important young demo--for those interested in seeing the movie, but having seen the show, as well as to get young fans of the show interested in seeing the movie."

What's not unusual, media buyers noted, is Fox's and "The O.C."'s marketing-friendly initiatives.

"In the past, The WB has dominated when it came to attracting young demos with music in shows like 'Felicity,' 'One Tree Hill,' and 'Everwood,'" said Tom Weeks, entertainment director, Starcom Entertainment. "But 'The O.C.' has taken it to the next level in connecting to other areas that viewers are passionate about. Music is a real point of reference in every episode of 'The O.C.,' such as the 'Bait Shack' hangout location on the show, where a lot of new bands are featured performers. It makes watching the show more of an event, and that is especially true in the case of both the 'Star Wars' trailer and the 'Beckisode.'"

The show has served as a pioneer in terms of reaching young people and by tying pop culture so closely to the show, said Stacey Lynn Koerner, executive vice president, director of Global Research Integration for Interpublic Group's Initiative.

"I think it's a good way to integrate each of the fan cultures that surround 'Star Wars' and 'The O.C.' and music in general," she said. "The Fox network has done an extraordinary job at reaching out to marketers."

Koerner pointed to work that Initiative had done with AOL in 2003 with Fox: "We created the 'AOL O.C. Music Showcase' with Fox, which was the first sponsorship of its kind on the network. The deal took a promising new show and associated AOL's Running Man with the program. During 'The O.C.''s first season, a clip of a new music video played within the show. AOL's Running Man icon was integrated into the video clip to let viewers know that they could see the video in its entirety exclusively on AOL, before it aired anywhere else, including MTV."

In fact, the media buyers noted that the advertising could help the show in a reciprocal way.

"'The O.C.' has achieved a kind of cult status, and it's on during a very competitive night," said Meghan Stutzman, entertainment supervisor at Starcom Entertainment. "The numbers are slightly down from last season, and these sort of promotions surrounding the show are designed to give it a bit of lift and attract new viewers."