Consumers are accustomed to paying a little extra to their cable TV providers to access video on demand (VOD) movies. Up until now, they usually have had to wait several months before they can access newly-released films. But all that may be about to change.

More movie producers and cable and satellite operations are discussing a premium VOD business model. In these cases, consumers would be expected to pay about $25 to watch a first-run movie at home, about 60 days after release. A recent Reuters report notes that the premium VOD options have been discussed before but the many parties involved have been unable to agree on a fair pricing structure. This year, it appears that companies like Disney are no longer willing to wait. Company chief Bob Iger recently said, “[w]e’re going to become aggressive in experimenting with new windows, including that one [meaning VOD].” Companies like Disney are looking for new growth vehicles now that the purchased DVD market is declining. As a result, options like premium VOD look attractive. Industry watchers expect that some form of premium VOD will be presented to consumers by the end of the year.

However, traditional movie theater owners stand to lose under this business arrangement. The trade association for this group,  National Association of Theater Owners, has already been advertising against the proposed changes by taking out ads in industry publications. But if premium VOD takes off, theater owners may need to explore other revenue channels and therefore adjust their own marketing campaigns.

There’s no denying that consumers like the flexibility of watching movies when and where they want. The movie industry may find itself in the same difficult position as the recorded music and published book sectors as consumers opt for entertainment options that are increasingly digital and mobile. As a result, the marketing of movies is certain to change.

[Sources: Zeidler, Sue. Adegoke, Yinka. Studios, cable closer to home movie deals. Reuters. 11 Aug. 2010. Web. 19 Aug. 2010]

Tight household budgets might have consumers cutting back on entertainment. But NASCAR fans appear to be motivated by ticket price discounts. And when the incentive for obtaining these discounted tickets is combined with the required purchase of their favorite CPGs, the marketing campaign can turn into a win for all vendors.  Late last year, NASCAR ran a test promotion combining the efforts of local speedways, grocers and CPG vendors. This spring, a larger program proved highly lucrative in Texas so NASCAR is looking to expand on its success.

Here’s how it works. Consumers spend up to $20 on CPG items like branded soda. In return, they’ll get a discount of up to 50% on the purchase of 4 race tickets at a local speedway, along with discounts on beverages and food at the park. They can also be entered into a sweepstakes program for a chance to win even larger prizes. Marketing for the program includes point of purchase displays in the grocery stores as well as TV and radio.  Some of the marketing costs were shared by all of the parties in this promotion.

Coca-Cola, a participant in the Texas program, reported significant sales increases up to 2 months after the 4-week promotion ended. The speedway and the grocery stores also reported positive results.  “We can help our partners by giving them a point of differentiation at retail,” explains Matt Shulman, NASCAR’s director of business solutions. The success of this program is leading NASCAR to look for other grocery partners for upcoming fall campaigns.

[Source: Smith, Michael. Promo moves products, race tickets. Sports Business Journal. 12 Jul. 2010. Web. 22 Jul 2010]

Marketers who want to connect with consumers emotionally often use event  sponsorship. Summer can be a particularly important time to invest in event marketing as more consumers are outside, enjoying the weather and attending a local concert or baseball game. Some events definitely attract larger crowds so marketers should strategically select which event to sponsor. In addition, marketers can use a number of ways to lengthen their association with a specific event and boost brand awareness. These topics were addressed by a recent Scarborough Research release and webinar.

 To begin, consumers have definite tendencies to attend some events more than others. According to Scarborough, here are the events and exhibits that adult U.S. consumers visited at least once in the past year:

•  Professional sporting event: 35%
• Zoo: 25%
• Live theater: 20%
• High school sports event: 16%
• Art museum: 13%
• Rock concert: 11%
• Symphony/concert/opera: 7%
• Dance/Ballet/Comedy club: 6%

Howard Goldberg, who conducted the Scarborough Research seminar noted that marketers can get pre-event exposure by promoting their name on pre-event flyers and other signage and advertising. Other strategies include developing packages with local vendors such as hotels and restaurants. Event sponsorship can work well at the local level, too. Marketers just need to be creative. As an example, Goldberg discussed a bank that sponsored a community yard sale and offered post-event services that allowed consumers to access coin counters to tally up their sales.

 Look for more marketers to invest in event sponsorship to make an impact with consumers. Annually, businesses spent $1.09 billion on music events and $3.37 billion on motorsports teams, tracks and sanctioning bodies. These large numbers indicate marketers believe in the power of event sponsorship.

 [Source: Goldberg, Howard. Count the Ways to Effective Sponsorship & Event Marketing. Scarborough Research and Arbitron. June 2010. Web. 15 Jul. 2010]

Marketers continue to turn to new channels to promote their products and services. One rapidly growing channel in the past 2 decades has been entertainment marketing spending. This group broadly includes event sponsorships and marketing and paid product placement. The channel generated $24.63 billion in 2009, a figure which represented a small drop (1.3%) from the previous year. However, PQ Media analysts expect growth to resume in 2010.

While many other media categories expect little growth or decreases in 2010, paid product placement will grow by 5.3% in the U.S. This growth rate would put category spending at $3.8 billion for the year. Examples of paid product placement include:

• TV shows and movies
• Internet webisodes
• Video games
• Print media such as newspapers, magazines or books – does not include advertorials
• Recorded music

The consumer event sponsorship and marketing category is much larger than paid product placement. Businesses poured $21.02 billion into the sponsorship bucket last year. PQ Media analysts are looking for a healthy growth rate in this category as well during 2010. Patrick Quinn, CEO of PQ Media, points out that consumers face a  “cascade of new media platforms and technologies” which has changed the way they use media. As a result, marketers are adjusting the way they connect with their target consumers.

Engaging these consumers in “captive locations for extended periods of time” reaches prospective buyers when the chance of making an emotional connection is high. Look for more marketers to exploit this channel as traditional media spaces grow more crowded.

[Source: Company release. PQ Media. 29 Jun. 2010. Web. 7 Jul. 2010]