Iomega and Independent Pictures Partner to Pre-Load Digitized Movie Trailers On 150,000 High-Capacity Jaz Computer Disks

Business Wire, Nov 1, 2000

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NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2000

Campaign Inaugurates Bundling Free "Coming Attractions" On

Removable Storage Media

Cary Woods' Independent Pictures will be the first motion picture production company to pre-load movie trailers on blank high-capacity computer disks manufactured by industry leader Iomega Corporation. (NYSE: IOM).

Consumers who buy specially-marked Iomega(R) Jaz(R) disks will soon be able to view a "coming attraction" of Independent Pictures' upcoming film noir "The Prime Gig" straight off the disk without having to log on the Internet. At the end of the two-minute video presentation, users will be able to easily erase the trailer, watch it again, or link to an Iomega contest Web site and register to win one of five pairs of tickets to the film's premiere in February.

Independent Pictures, a small New York-based film company, will benefit from the promotion of its film, (which stars Vince Vaughn, Julia Ormond and Ed Harris) in computer stores across the country, including CompUSA, Office Depot, Staples, Fry's Electronics, and Micro Center Computer Department Stores. Iomega will use the venture to showcase its drives' ability to handle full-motion video, to explore a new source of advertising revenue, and to add value for its customers.

"The volume of blank Jaz and Zip disks Iomega sells each month essentially mirrors the circulation of a major national magazine like Glamour or GQ," said Woods, producer of the original "Scream," "KIDS" and "So I Married An Axe Murderer," among others. "It makes sense to fill the space they have available with free content so that consumers will look forward to buying new blank disks. By the same token, as one of the few independent film companies that creates its own marketing materials and ad campaigns, it behooves us to reach out to as many partnership resources as possible."

Following the success of Artisan Entertainment's "The Blair Witch Project" in 1999, Hollywood studios made Internet marketing a top priority, digitizing movie trailers and making publicity stills available for Web surfers. However, technological limitations have made digitized trailers and film clips cumbersome for most users to download. Additionally, increasingly complicated Web addresses like that of "Coyote Ugly," located at http://studio.go.com/movies/coyoteugly/intro.html, have proven discouraging to movie fans forced to remember long URL's.

With the trailers pre-loaded onto 150,000 Jaz disks, usable on Mac and PC platforms, executives at Independent Pictures and Iomega believe that more potential moviegoers will actually view the "Prime Gig" trailer and be inspired to learn more about the film. "We applaud Iomega's farsightedness and enthusiasm in responding to our overtures," said Woods. "We also appreciate a company of their stature being sensitive to the needs of an independent film studio in helping us publicize `The Prime Gig' in a novel way."

Furthermore, Independent Pictures and Iomega feel a correlation exists between their target audiences. As the popularity of MP3 music and digital video editing at home have caught on, Jaz disks have become one of the storage transportation methods of choice among young, tech-savvy consumers.

"Not only are Jaz users the right demographic to be interested in the movie, but they are generally comfortable with e-mail, instant message services, and online tools that can quickly spread the word about the film," said Bruce Albertson, president and chief executive officer, Iomega Corporation. "This promotion demonstrates Iomega's unique opportunity to offer value-added content to a highly targeted group of consumers."

This entertainment-focused demographic is widely-credited with helping "The X-Men," "The Matrix," "Blair Witch," and "Blade" get a leg up at the box office. Greg Bartels, Worldwide Director, Jaz and Accessories Product Management at Iomega believes the "Find Your Own Prime Gig" promotion will strike a chord with this highly sought-after group as well.

"We are very excited to be partnering with a film company that like us, has a reputation for defining the cutting edge," said Bartels. "Trailers have been available on the Internet for some time but movie fans have had to endure glacial download times and unstable modem connections. The Jaz drive can play back full-motion video at a maximum sustained transfer rate of eight megabytes per second or a burst rate as high as twenty megabytes per second."

Anyone accessing the "Find Your Own Prime Gig" sweepstakes at www.iomega.com/promos/sweepstakes.html, can enter to win one of 35 copies of "The Prime Gig" on videocassette, one of 25 blank Jaz disks, one of 15 new Iomega(R) HipZip(TM) digital audio players, one of five Iomega(R) FotoShow(TM) digital image centers, or one of the five grand prizes, which include airfare to New York courtesy of Northwest Airlines, a weekend at the luxurious "W" Hotel Union Square - New York, and two VIP passes to the "Prime Gig" premiere. (No purchase necessary, void where prohibited, open to U.S. and Canadian residents (except residents of Quebec) 18 years of age or older as of November 1, 2000, sweepstakes must be entered online, all entries for grand prize must be received by December 21, 2000, see Official Rules for details.)