'LOST WORLD' SET TO CHEW UP RETAIL SCENE STARTING NOV. 4

DAN ALAIMO

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- Retailers will find Steven Spielberg's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" in their stores Nov. 4. Universal Studios Home Video here is releasing the box office giant as a sell-through video with the cross-promotional support of Bradenton, Fla.-based Tropicana Pure Premium juices.

The big dinosaur movie will have a suggested retail price of $22.98, a minimum advertised price of $14.95, a pay-per-view window of just under 90 days and an order close date of Oct. 13. It grossed over $225 million at the box office, devouring a record $100 million in its first five days of release.

"Certainly, the cross promotion that takes place with Tropicana lends a great advantage to supermarkets," said Andrew Kairey, executive vice president of Universal Studios Home Video. "Tropicana is very aggressive in doing account-specific promotions. There is an opportunity for supermarkets to join up with Tropicana and Universal to create a bigger event than they normally do."

The Tropicana promotion will include national television advertising, a mail-in $5 rebate offer on the purchase of "Lost World" and Tropicana Pure Premium orange and grapefruit juices, on-pack advertising, point-of-purchase displays and an instant-win sweepstakes. The sweepstakes will offer five grand prizes of a trip for four to the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

A second tie-in partnership with the Discover Card will benefit many supermarkets that accept the card. Customers who buy the movie with the Discover Card from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 can receive a free pair of "Lost World" binoculars by mail. Discover Card will advertise the offer using network and cable television and national magazines.

"Most supermarkets accept the Discover Card and I think there is a way of approaching and marketing that is to their advantage as well," Kairey said.

"We believe that supermarkets could become a larger percentage of market share on this product because of the cross promotions," he said. Universal's sales force has been directed to create channel-specific promotions and initiate joint sales calls with Tropicana representatives, he said.

Kairey expects that sales of "Lost World" will ultimately rank it in the top five live-action movies, such as "Jurassic Park," "Independence Day," "ET" and "Mrs. Doubtfire."

The prestreet date media campaign from Universal will include network, cable and spot television, outdoor advertising, newspaper polybags and an online sweepstakes at a dedicated web site. After the street date, the television ads will continue, along with advertising and promotions on the Sci-Fi Channel and the USA network, radio ads and more print ads. Another wave of ads will reach consumers during the holiday buying season.

Universal's direct media efforts will reach 98% of households 22.5 times. The overall marketing campaign will generate more than 8.5 billion impressions.

Other promotions for the title will involve licensees such as Hasbro, Tyco, Tiger Electronics and DreamWorks Interactive, with combined ad spending exceeding $4 million. Additionally, Universal will provide 21,000 elementary schools with an Educational Resource Guide about dinosaurs.