LOS ANGELES -- Predicting that "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" will be the biggest selling video in the fourth quarter, New Line Home Video announced the title for a Nov. 16 release.
The title will be supported by a $20 million campaign, including cross promotions with Nabisco Cornnuts, Cinn-A-Burst and Mint-A-Burst gum and General Mills. The VHS version will retail at $22.98, while a DVD with additional features will be priced at $24.98. Order date for the $205 million summer box office hit is Oct. 10.
"The retailers are clearly positioning it as their No. 1 video of the fourth quarter," said Matt Lasorsa, vice president for promotions and publicity at New Line.
"Retailers are also doing account-specific promotions, not only to support the title, but to drive traffic into their stores," added Sarah Olson-Graves, senior vice president for marketing. "Almost any retailer that wants to do something special and distinct from other accounts has that opportunity with Austin. We've put together many strategic, fun promotions." The Regan Group, a Los Angeles agency that specializes in retail promotions, is working with New Line to develop these promotions, she added.
"We look at the strengths of the retailer, listen to what they are looking for and try to respond with programs that best fit their objectives," said Lasorsa.
Of the national tie-ins, the Nabisco Cornnuts promotion will involve 15 million packages with an instant-win coupon offering prizes themed to the movie. Non-winning packages will contain a dollar-off coupon on the prequel, "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." A $5 mail-in rebate with the purchase of the VHS or DVD version of the new movie and five packages of Cornnuts also will be offered, supported by a national print advertising campaign that will generate 110 million impressions.
A General Mills "Midnight Cereal Madness" cross-promotion at more than 250 colleges will invite students to dress up as an Austin Powers character to win prizes, and will generate more than 35 million impressions.
"The accounts that choose to leverage the Austin video with some of their seasonal sales will really benefit from the space they devote to it and the store traffic that grocery typically brings in for the holidays," Lasorsa said.
