In a different type of crossover marketing, Indiana Jones' iconic
image has been popping up in an unexpected place -- on Major League
Baseball schedules. On the calendar for May 22nd, baseball fans
are seeing the image of Indy alongside information on their teams
schedule as a reminder that there is another way to pass some time.
Here is more on this new way to get fans to see the man with the
hat:
Official Major League Baseball team sites have long been home
for entertainment advertisers promoting sports flicks. A campaign
for Paramount's upcoming Indiana Jones movie is among the few
non-sports film related efforts seen on MLB.com
and its 30 team sites. And after launching Friday, one unique
component of the campaign already has the Web chattering.
Baseball fans checking their favorite team's schedules for the
month of May this past weekend were surprised to find Harrison
Ford in his signature adventure hero getup peering up at them
from the May 22nd calendar slot.
"This is the first time we've had
creative in the schedule section," said Jason Klein,
MLB.com's VP corporate partnerships for the Western region, adding,
"It kind of jumps out at you."
Tiny non-branded icons in some team schedules also link to deals
on Continental Airlines flights and stays at Holiday Inn hotels,
though.
The character's iconic image links nowhere, though the young
men frequenting MLB sites are bound to have heard by now that
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is
coming to theaters soon. Now they know when.
"It seemed like such a perfect fit
because people are constantly checking the schedule,"
continued Klein. He added that teams prefer to have game schedule
links limited to ticket sales pages.
In no time, the promo spurred Web buzz about the movie and the
calendar ads themselves. One witty post about the bullwhip-wielding
archaeologist to Fark.com,
a news aggregator site popular with younger men, stated, "I've
heard he has an awesome WHIP." WHIP is a stat used
to gauge pitching prowess.
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There you have it, we are sure that this promotion will be a homerun
for both baseball and Indy fans!
Source: ClickZ
