| Wednesday giveaway to boost Orange film links |
| Wednesday, 28 April 2004 | |
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MediaWeek, 6th April 2004 - Mobile operator enlists help of cinemas to maintain its movie association. The Orange Wednesdays promotion that was launched this week at Leicester Square’s Odeon cinema has been two years on the drawing board. The project, signed initially for three years, was generated by Orange and the Cinema Marketing Agency and involved the cooperation of 90% of cinemas in the UK – that’s about 450 picture houses. It required the development of a networking system that enabled punters to redeem vouchers through text messages sent via mobile phones. This meant installing physical units at each participating cinema.At first glance it might all seem a bit technical and mobile agency Flytxt was brought on board to handle the project’s development. In order to understand this initiative, we have to go back a little to Orange’s promotional strategy over the past year or so. If you’ve been to the cinema lately, the chances are that you’re familiar with Orange’s cinema ad campaign featuring the likes of Carrie Fisher and Roy Scheider. The executions feature Orange executives seated around a boardroom discussing possible film projects with said stars, based around services such as colour picture messaging. Through this campaign and Orange’s historical sponsorship of both the London Film Festival and the Baftas, the mobile service provider has managed to establish a credible association with film, and Orange Wednesdays builds on that. On that day of the week, every week for the next three years, Orange customers will be able to take a friend to the movies for free. By texting 241 to Orange, mobile users will then get a message via text that can be redeemed at all the participating cinemas. For the cinema industry, the initiative can only increase the frequency of people’s visits to the movies. But why Wednesdays? "Wednesday’s share of week has been pretty stable over the past few years at around 10%. There’s big growth potential there," explains Diana Berman, director of development and marketing at the CMA. What Orange gets out of the deal besides brand awareness is exclusive mobile rights to film content and information, featuring the 12 biggest films of the coming year. Via its recently launched WAP portal, the operator will give users access to downloads, clips and other content that won’t be available elsewhere. Adhish Kulkarni, business development director at Flytxt, says the project is about a longterm investment in changing film-going behaviour. He believes an above-the-line campaign will generate a response to the team, but that word of mouth will play a key role in the process. "We’re hoping that the viral element gets around," he says. Ron Hanlon, director of Odeon Cinemas, says: "Orange Wednesdays sounds better than relying on grey Mondays." Case Study: Orange Wednesdays Mobile company links up with cinema industry to launch advertising campaign Orange is probably one of the hottest stars in cinema advertising at the moment. Crucially, the mobile brand is also innovating with its cinema strategy and building its established association with film, and this week launches its new Orange Wednesdays campaign. The operator is in partnership with the whole of the UK cinema industry and is aiming to make people go to the movies more often. On average, Joe Bloggs goes to a flick about three times a year and Orange hopes to push this up to five. All Orange customers will be able to take a friend to the cinema for free every Wednesday by redeeming text messages, sent to their mobile phones, at cinema counters. Punters who are on an Orange mobile phone contact just need to send a text to the number 241, and – thanks to mobile partner Flytxt – will receive a return text that can then be redeemed for two tickets for the price of one. The Orange Wednesdays campaign is being supported by through-the-line advertising and the operator’s short movie campaign is about to go into its next phase. Launched by Orange’s former media agency MPG (Initiative now holds the account) and creative advertising shop Mother, the ads feature a panel of stereotypical commercially driven movie producers interviewing various stars, including Carrie Fisher and Spike Lee. The brand is about to launch the next phase of that campaign, featuring more Hollywood stars such as Daryl Hannah and Patrick Swayze. © Copyright Flytxt Ltd 2006. Unauthorized use of any content constitutes a material breach. |
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