Circuit City offers DVD-ROM gift card
Interactive card gives $15 worth of products plus Pirates content
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/21/2007
MAY 21 | Circuit City is offering a unique DVD-ROM gift card to consumers who purchase either of Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s Pirates of the Caribbean Blu-ray Disc releases.
The DVD gift card has content from the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
The card can be redeemed for $15 worth of products at Circuit City stores. In addition, it carries 15 minutes of content related to the Pirates films, The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man’s Chest.
The card also can be purchased at CircuitCity.com.Viewers can download Pirates wallpaper, take an exclusive Pirates aptitude test and access Web links to purchase movie-related merchandise.
The card, created by digital publisher Serious, is playable on DVD players, Windows and Mac drives and game consoles, including PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360.
The item is designed to look and feel like a standard gift card, with a magnetic strip that can be swiped at cash registers. The card’s underside, however, is like a DVD and carries 180MB of content.
In addition to hyping Buena Vista’s Blu-ray discs, Circuit City’s gift cards also promote the May 25 theatrical launch of the franchise’s latest installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
This marks the second time Circuit City has offered such an interactive gift card. The retailer also offered one during the holidays last year.
Serious has produced similar cards for other companies, including Best Buy, Sony Pictures, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.
“We’re excited to team with Serious on this initiative and to be able to offer our customers such a unique and collectible product related to the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” said Dawn vonBechmann, Circuit City VP of multi-channel experience. “It’s a perfect gift idea for people looking for something fun to give recent graduates, dad for Father’s Day or anyone else with a love for consumer electronics and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.”
The interactive cards also can be used to gain customer feedback on product offerings.
“Serious’ interactive DVD gift cards make for a very compelling offering and experience, and we hope that they will subsequently encourage consumer loyalty,” said Mikel Freemon, Serious senior account manager. “As the future is deemed to be digital, the interactive design and creative approach of the Pirates gift cards content is well equipped to both entertain the gift card receiver as well as help impact redemption cycles in stores, drive traffic online and accelerate brand awareness and identity.”
Circuit City is following recent consumer trends, where shoppers are increasingly gravitating toward gift cards. This item has replaced apparel as the gift of choice, with 66% of American adults buying an average of four to five gift cards, averaging $38 each, in 2006, according to First Data and Deloitte.
