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Disney gives $150 mln send-off to 'Cinderella'

Posted on: Sunday, 2 October 2005, 13:21 CDT

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co is unleashing a $150 million marketing blitz for the release of its "Cinderella Special Edition" DVD this week in what one toy industry analyst called "a smart strategic move" for a holiday season where consumers may be pinching pennies.

The massive campaign rivals advertising to support theatrical releases of Disney-Pixar hits "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles."

The royal roll-out is for Disney's Princesses -- the media company's brand that combines the heroines from many different tales, such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast's Belle, and Aladdin's Jasmine.

Despite early fears that mixing heroines from different stories would dilute their power, the Princess line is closing in on the popularity of Disney icons Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.

Targeted at girls ages 4 to 6, the line launched in 2001 has grown to nearly $3 billion in annual worldwide retail sales, Mary Beech, vice president of Girls Franchise Brands for Disney's Consumer Products Division, told Reuters.

She called it the Cinderella marketing plan a model for Disney. "It's strategies like this that we use to grow the brand," she said.

Campaigns between divisions such as home video and toys are uniquely coordinated, including a theme -- "Magic Lights" -- and box art, for hundreds of licensed items such as toys, clothing and furniture that will be sold alongside the DVD,

The campaign begins on Sunday with the Disney-sponsored "Cinderella Ball," complete with a pumpkin carriage and horses for tiny "princesses" at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

It peaks in Los Angeles on Tuesday with a screening of "Cinderella" at a Hollywood theater and the release of the $29.99 DVD and a $49.99 Collector's Gift Set.

"I think the Princess line has been the single strongest initiative Disney has done in years," toy analyst Christopher Byrne said on Friday. "(The campaign) is a really strong strategic move."

Cinderella items hit most store shelves last week, and Disney asked retailers to group the items with the DVD, Beech said.

"It will all look like one consistent look and be a very powerful statement," Beech said. "All early indications are that the merchandise is flying off the shelves."

Byrne said that could pay off well for Disney in what is shaping up to be "a very competitive season for parents' dollars."

"There are a lot of families that are going to go out and buy these (DVDs) because it's the platinum edition," he said. "You're getting not only the DVD purchase, which is a planned purchase, but some impulse purchases (of other Cinderella merchandise)."

The campaign also featured six weeks of billboard and TV ads ahead of the DVD release and includes product giveaways backed by Procter & Gamble Co's Swiffer Wet Jet brand.

"Cinderella," available on home video for the first time in 10 years and the first time ever on DVD, will be released globally through mid-November, Disney officials said.

Source: REUTERS

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