Empire’s biggest brand campaign since its 2005 breathing Darth Vader cover, the film magazine will publish five different cover editions, each featuring a lenticular image picked by The Hobbit director, Peter Jackson.
Empire’s special edition will be backed by an extensive brand marketing campaign. Activity to drive consumer awareness includes:
• 3D TV advertising space in Covent Garden
• DEP and LCD advertising space in Leicester Square underground
• High visibility promo bay space in all Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s and WH Smith Travel stores
• Hotspot in-category with POS in Sainsbury’s (additional to promo bay space)
• WH Smith High St POS signage on Newscube and in-category
• 30 seconds ads cross-promoted across Bauer radio and TV stations featuring the 5 collectable covers
Empire has planned an in-depth editorial special on ‘The Hobbit’ with an entire feature section dedicated to the film comprising film visuals, character portfolios and on location interviews. The US iPad edition will include additional content with additional marketing activity planned for the US.
Advertiser brands scheduled to feature in the special December issue include LG, Sky Movies and Call of Duty Black Ops 2. LG are using the December issue to kick-off a three-month partnership to support the launch of the new LG Smart Cinema 3D TV. Their activity across print, iPad and online is based around sponsorship of Empire’s Download Directory, providing a comprehensive guide to the best movies to enjoy at home with LG’s innovative Magic Remote Control.
The Call of Duty Black Ops 2 campaign is part of a cross-platform, multi-brand Bauer deal. Empire’s December issue contains a Gaming Special to support the launch of Activision’s latest version of the hugely popular Call of Duty franchise. The Empire team was pitted against their fellow Bauer Men’s titles - FHM, Kerrang and Zoo - in a battle of hardcore gaming skills, offering a unique blend of editorial coverage and commercial stand-out.
The December issue also sees the latest installment of Empire’s six-month partnership with Sky Movies to promote their range of products and services. Showcasing how movie fans can watch hundreds of movies at home or on the move via Sky Go, the promotion offers Empire readers exclusive screening tickets, as well as competitions with the chance to win a Sky subscription for a year.
Rimi Atwal, Publishing Director of Empire magazine, commented: “We’re hugely excited about the editorial and marketing activity planned for our celebratory edition of Empire. We have worked closely with Warner Bros on the selection of the imagery to feature on our front covers making December’s issue a hugely collectable edition. The option to collect one of five editions through print and digital is an exciting development which is sure to create a real buzz among consumers as the film launches.”
Mark Dinning, Editor, Empire Magazine, said: “It's been nearly 10 years since film fans were last able to enjoy the magic of Middle-earth, which makes this Christmas' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey the most anticipated movie of the year by a mile. With Peter Jackson once again in the director's chair, and with this movie the start of a brand new trilogy, we could not be more excited to be re-entering a world that we all fell in love with almost a decade ago and because of that we have dedicated an entire issue – and five covers – to celebrating this milestone moment for movie fans. From the set to the edit we have interviewed Jackson and all of his key cast and crew to bring readers the definitive, world-exclusive story on this epic new adventure."
Empire’s December issue is priced £4.99.
