Barq's Bites into Buffy for H'ween; Olds to Intrigue Ladies at People Bash - includes brief articles on company marketing

Brandweek, August 23, 1999 by T.L. Stanley

Coca-Cola's Barq's root beer wants to sink its teeth further into the 18-34 demographic with a Halloween-themed watch-and-win promotion around Buffy the Vampire Slayer, via a deal with Fox Licensing & Merchandising and the WB Network. Barq's, known for its quirky teen-targeted marketing and its vamp-friendly "Barq's has bite" tagline, will put the show's main characters on 15 million collectible cans beginning in mid-September, aiming to draw in both the core Buffy high school fan and its older devotees.

"The show naturally lends itself to this holiday," and fits Barq's edgy brand personality, said Sabrina Ironsides, Fox's executive director-worldwide TV promotions. Barq's, the top-selling root beer taken into the Coke stable in '95, focuses its promotional activity at Halloween. Game pieces will be attached to multi-packs of root beer; Barq's bottles get under-the-cap info. Consumers who match their game pieces with the character name revealed during a break in the Oct. 12 episode win trips to Hollywood for a party with the cast and a private screening of the Halloween-themed Oct. 26 show. Instant-win game pieces give away Buffy Goth-inspired apparel, accessories and other licensed merchandise, and Barq's product. WB affiliates and Barq's bottlers plan local Halloween parties and giveaways around the "Barq's And Buffy Halloween Bash." Barq's also supports the promotion via 30second TV ads featuring Nicholas Brendon (Xander), tags on regular Barq's ads, radio contests, POP and Web site.

BMG Music Service, aiming to raise the profile of country music among its 10 million members, will sponsor the live pay-per-view broadcast CMA Backstage Pass and its Web simulcast next month, launching a celeb-centric cable TV ad campaign, radio spots and contests in the top 35 markets, and rebates and value- added consumer offers. The marketers have linked twice before, with executives crediting the partnerships with increasing sales of both current and catalog product of featured artists Usher and Alabama. "We've found it drives people to the TV event, it benefits the band and the label," said president/CEO George McMillan. Spring Communications, L.A., bartered the deals. BMG, a direct music retailer, will highlight the behind-the-scenes pay-per-view event, held the night before the Country Music Association's annual awards in Nashville, Tenn., in 8 million-plus catalogs in September and via its Web site. Members who order get rebates on a BMG-sponsored October pay-per-view and savings on country music purchases. TV ads, via The Gary Group, Santa Monica, Calif., feature such artists as Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill and Faith Hill, and will air on E!, CNN, The Nashville Network and others.

Trying to grab the kids of world-music-loving baby boomers, Putumayo launches its first kids CD and an accompanying education division that will create a multicultural music curriculum for elementary schools. A TV show is in development, with African performer Ricardo Lemvo signed to host. World Playground: A Musical Adventure for Kids releases this week, packed with kid-friendly liner notes, Putumayo stickers and, at some retailers, poster giveaways. Support from tie-in partner Remo, a drum maker, includes events at children's museums and key retailers, mirroring drum circles held in New York's Central Park this summer. Fourth-quarter radio promotions on the Putumayo World Music Hour also support.

GM's Oldsmobile continues its female-friendly, community-centered, younger-and-hipper focus with sponsorship of People's 25th anniversary benefit concert "Carole King: Making Music With Friends" at New York's Madison Square Garden. The October event, benefitting Communities in Schools, The National Women's Cancer Research Alliance and The Wilderness Society, will feature King, Boyz II Men, Chrissie Hynde, James Taylor, Reba McEntire and 98[degrees]. Olds' Intrigue will be the centerpiece of the sponsorship, which "fits with the overall divisional philosophy of trying to make Oldsmobile cool again," said Larry Pryg, Intrigue's assistant brand manager-marketing. People first staged a benefit concert for its 20th anniversary, and this year hopes to further cement its brand with its core readers: women with kids. American Airlines is a secondary sponsor, with others still in negotiation.