GOLDEN BOOKS WILL LAUNCH GROCERY TIE-INS

ED LIEBER

LAS VEGAS -- Golden Books Home Video & Audio, a new division of Golden Books Family Entertainment will back its upcoming slate of animated holiday titles with several supermarket-oriented partnerships, the company announced here this month during the Video Software Dealers Association Convention.

Cross promotions with M&M/Mars, phone-card company LCI International, and Hallmark Greeting Cards will support the six-title series, due in stores Sept. 1, and priced at $12.98 each.

"Collectively, it's pretty compelling stuff," said Cindy Bresslet, senior vice president and general manager of the Golden Books audio/video division.

Titles in the series are "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," "Santa Clause Is Comin' to Town," "The Little Drummer Boy," "Cricket on the Hearth" and "Frosty Returns." They will sport new packaging that includes Golden Books' signature gold spine.

Under the M&M/Mars "Who Ate Santa's Miniatures?" promotion, 13 million packages of specially marked M&M/Mars miniatures -- including Snickers, Milky Way and Three Musketeers -- will highlight the Holiday Classics Collection. Consumers can win one of 250,000 prizes instantly by calling a toll-free number. Winners qualify to win one of four grand- prize $10,000 shopping sprees.

Displays will feature tearpads offering instant savings of $1 with the purchase of a Holiday Classics title and miniature.

More than 17,000 outlets will carry this promotion, which runs from late November through Christmas.

As part of the LCI International promotion, a 10-minute prepaid "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" phone card, valued at $2.50, will be packaged with each copy of the Rudolph title.

A specially created holiday-themed Hallmark card will be included with each package of "Frosty Returns."

Further support will stem from a multimillion-dollar broadcast advertising campaign in November.

Thirty-six-, 64- and 72-count point-of-purchase displays, as well as 180- and 360-piece palettes, are also available.

Golden Books is planning to release several titles, including the "Madeline" series on Sept. 1 through its audio/video division.