Échale la culpa a Rio

Ana Aizenberg me mandó este artículo, que refleja la enorme inversión en publicidad en torno a la película de animación “Rio", que viene muy bien para ayudarnos a pensar el futuro de la Buenos Aires Film Commission. Es un interesantísimo ejemplo de la evolución del concepto “marca – ciudad”, ligado cada vez más a la interacción con diferentes lenguajes para la construcción de un relato "transmedial" que integre todos los formatos posibles:

Overall, promotional partners will provide more than $100 million in marketing support for the film that revolves around a domesticated macaw named Blu who never learned to fly but winds up in a series of adventures after traveling to Rio de Janeiro.

The 82 partners Fox lined up to launch various advertising, sweepstakes and in-store efforts, is the largest number of promo partners the studio has assembled globally around a pic, beating even "Avatar."

"It's the biggest campaign we've ever done," said Anna Roca, senior VP of international promotions, feature films at 20th Century Fox.Marketers typically shy away from spending a considerable amount of coin around a pic unless they have proof it will perform, either from the success of prior installments or the sale of books, videogames or toys that they may be based on.

Yet "Rio" is proving a unique case, landing several brands that have never associated themselves with a Hollywood production in the past, like Overstock or Benjamin Moore, or expanded a tie-in to cover all of their products, the way Chiquita has done.

What helped land the companies was the pic's title.

Overseas, Rio isn't just short for the Brazilian city, but also is associated with the annual carnival when millions fill streets to celebrate with dancing, parades and music. In the U.S., however, Rio isn't as well known; the equivalent Mardi Gras in New Orleans overshadows other celebrations.

"Internationally, we had a leg up because Rio means something to (partners and potential audiences)," said Roca.

Brasil, cada vez más firme en su aspiración a ser potencia de este siglo, parece entender claramente las reglas de juego del sistema y hecha mano de sus fortalezas para intentar moldear el imaginario global. ¿Es posible trasladar este modelo a Argentina? El tango aparece como el atributo más obvio pero hay una larga lista de elementos de nuestra cultura con los que podríamos trabajar.

La alianza estratégica con empresas de los más varios sectores es esencial para lograr un impacto realmente profundo. Es notable la variedad de formatos que puede proponer un cruce como este:

Meanwhile, French automaker Peugeot will use the pic to celebrate its 10th anniversary in Brazil; the Gap in the U.K. and France will promote "Rio's" bright colors to sell clothes; and a Mexican PSA will turn pic's title, which means both river and laugh in Spanish, into a pun ("al leer, me rio") to promote reading among kids.

Also, starting April 5, Overstock will launch a "Rio"-branded boutique on its website that showcases a variety of products themed around the movie and all the creature comforts a character like Blu may need to make the journey to Rio. Timing comes as Overstock is rebranding itself as O.co, with a large TV push. Its "Rio" tie in will also get a TV push and substantial online media buy.

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Kraft baked up a new batch of Oreos, featuring blue filling and the Blu character stamped on the cookie. The cookies will only be available in Latin America. Blue Sky created custom-animated sequences, featuring characters from the pic, for partners to use in their TV spots and online, giving them a sense of ownership of the movie in return for their involvement.