Promo - November 2008 - (Page 8)

best overall Simpson Mania 7-ELEVEN/SIMPSONS MOVIE KWIK-E-MART EXPERIENCE AGENCY: FreshWorks CLIENT: 7-Eleven, Inc. for lovers of sweets it was a dream come true. Racks of pink, sprinkled doughnuts displayed in bakery cases enticed even the most apathetic customers to live out a cartoon fantasy. After all, who could resist that mouth-watering treat, the Sprinklicious Donut, made famous in one of TV’s longest running animated sitcoms, “The Simpsons”? It was all part of the magic that materialized Pro Awards in five categories for “The Simpsons Movie” Kwik-E-Mart campaign—which was also honored by the judges as Best Overall. “We wanted to touch ‘The Simpsons’ like it never had been before,” says Bobbi Merkel, director of convergence for TPN/ FreshWorks, 7-Eleven’s advertising agency, which developed the idea with Fox and Gracie Films, the TV series’ creator. “When we sat down, we thought about things from a consumer’s point of view. We had input from families and friends [along those lines]. Research showed that 7-Eleven and “Simpsons” fans shared a similar THE JUDGES SAID: • The boldness of the takeover—the fact that they allowed a complete takeover— created a whole new experience. • The publicity that it generated was completely unexpected. • It exceeded the buzz factor. • It wasn’t your traditional co-promotion. • They took 7-Eleven and made a real-life cartoon out of it. audience: males 18 to 34. To grab its audience and promote the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. film, 7-Eleven brought a piece of the show to life—literally. In a reverse product placement move, the company turned a dozen stores in North America into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience store made famous in “The Simpsons.” The goals: to reinforce 7-Eleven as a fun, relevant brand and boost bakery sales while promoting the film’s July 27, 2007, opening. The 7Eleven promotion kicked off July 1. “The partnership was such a natural,” says Rita Bargerhuff, vice president of marketing for 7-Eleven, Inc. “We thought if we were able to pull it off, it would benefit both entities.” Working on a budget of less than $3 million, 7-Eleven turned the fictitious store into a reality at 12 7-Eleven locations a month before the film’s opening. But there were challenges. For one, the Kwik-E-Mart portrayed on the show is far from flattering. It positions the traditional convenience store as a place that sells unhealthy food and might possibly not pass a Health Department inspection. “We had some people saying, ‘Are we sure about this? This could put the brand at risk,’ ” Bargerhuff admits. “But we knew we had a better store experience to share. One great way to get people in the store was to offer an incredible, delightful ‘Simpsons’ experience.” So 7-Eleven and FreshWorks forged 8 november 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - November 2008

Promo - November 2008 Contents Editor's Note Pro Awards The Promo 100 The Agency Center Resource Center Index of Advertisers Promoland

Promo - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.