Parties take DVD marketing to the home
Studios sign up for targeted audience
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/9/2008
MAY 9 | Hungry to engage consumers in a way TV commercials don’t, some studios are throwing their upcoming products in-home fan parties.
New York-based marketing firm House Party helps studios hype the latest seasons of various TV shows by distributing party favor packs to the series’ biggest fans. The goal is that studios win the purest form of praise, as peer-to-peer recommendation spurs more sales than traditional ads can achieve.
House Party is responsible for locating the perfect party hosting base, typically charging studio clients $100,000 to corral 1,000 fans to host gatherings at their homes nationwide. The company will comb through various fan blogs, sending out character questionnaires, in order to secure hosts that match studios’ desired target audience. Each host is mailed a free promotional pack, filled with customized DVDs and other themed merchandise, in order to present an entertaining event for about a dozen or so of their friends.
DVDs usually feature show recap episodes or sneak peeks of upcoming seasons.
House Party hosts are required to throw parties on a day designated by the studio, normally a couple of weeks prior to a new TV season launch, to maximize promotional opportunities.
Studio clients must foot the bill for the crafting and distribution of party packs. Costs for these vary widely, from as little as $10 each to as much as $400 to $500.
To date, House Party’s entertainment bashes have been mostly limited to hyping TV shows, including NBC Universal’s The Biggest Loser, Lipstick Jungle and Friday Night Lights. But studios often use the parties to cross-promote new seasons with their available TV DVD counterparts.
Also, House Party management said it has been talking to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, among other studios, to launch DVD-specific fan in-home events. Fox did not immediately comment.
“Our platform works incredibly well for any entertainment, because the most important way that people decide to buy a DVD, CD, film is if their friends like it,” said Kitty Kolding, CEO of House Party. “When these parties happen at home, you are with the people that you want to hang out with, so the influencer part is strong.”
Kolding adds that the company painstakingly interviews prospective hosts in order to ensure that the fan is likely to blog about the experience. In that viral sense, the party’s promotional strength spreads beyond the confines of each host’s home.
Also, a party’s inviting atmosphere should be more successful in implanting marketing messages than a traditional TV, print or radio ad.
“These parties last between three to six hours,” said Kolding. “People are there for hours [with the product] rather than flipping through a page, watching something for 30 seconds, or flicking past something on a Web site.”
She cites various repeat customers as proof that House Party can be a valuable marketing tool. Cartoon Network has thrown five such parties, for shows including Ben 10, Where’s Lazlo, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.
Upcoming parties will be thrown in June for the second season of History Channel’s Ice Road Truckers and in July for the upcoming seasons of TNT’s The Closer and Saving Grace.
“Our mantra is fun, free and exclusive,” said Kolding. “Hosts are already aligned with the brand or show, and these people like to be thought of as the leaders in their social groups. They really want to bring these unique things to their friends.”
