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Big marketing campaign heralds Indiana Jones Adventure
Reprinted without Permission
Orange County Register
By JERRY HIRSCH
Late last year, Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner trumpeted that no
one living west of the Mississippi River would escape the marketing blitz
that heralds the March 3 opening of the Indiana Jones Adventure thrill
ride at Disneyland.
After reviewing all the pieces of Disney's promotional campaign,
Disneyland's marketing vice president, Michele Reese, has upgraded
Eisner's assessment to simply "no one alive."
One thing is for certain: The campaign as the biggest ever for the theme
park.
Disney won't talk numbers, but the budget for the campaign is likely to
range as high as $20 million, said Lee Isgur, an industry analyst at
Jefferies & Co.
That's about 20 percent of the $100 million Disney has invested in the
new attraction, estimates Jeffrey Logsdon, an analyst at the Seidler Cos.
in Los Angeles.
Certainly, anyone who watches television will know something big is
happening at Disneyland this year.
The company already has placed Indiana Jones Adventure segments in six
television specials since Thanksgiving, including such events as the
Macy's Christmas Parade.
For several months, National Rental Car commercials have featured scenes
from the attraction, which takes visitors careening on a Jeep-style
vehicle through the "cursed" Temple of the Forbidden Eye, only to be
rescued by Indiana Jones, the fictional archaeologist-adventurer from the
movie trilogy.
CBS television will air a special on the making of the ride in tandem
with the final of the Steven Spielberg-directed Indiana Jones films,
"Indiana Jones, the Last Crusade," on March 7, just a few days after the
ride opens.
In a coup that will deliver the largest TV audience of the year, Disney
is completing the final touches on an Indiana Jones Adventure song and
stunt show that will air to more than 100 million viewers on ABC TV as the
half-time show of the Super Bowl at the end of this month. And that
doesn't include what's picked up on foreign broadcasts.
And just to be sure, Disney is buying network television advertising for
the theme park for the first time in years, Reese said.
In its marketing campaign, Disney is doing:
The obvious - a promotion with a fast-food chain will be announced soon.
The subtle - hustling bellhops and concierges at nearby hotels onto the
attraction to start the buzz in the local tourism industry.
And the clever - Disney picked out a Jones family in Indiana, who will
lead a parade of about 750 Southern California Jones families on a special
preview of the ride Feb. 4.
The company also is paying to bring hundreds of international journalists
and television crews to the park to preview and report on the ride.
Reese said Disney believes the ride's marketing area extends from Canada
to South America, and to Japan and parts of Asia.
Southern California gets its own blitz - heavy advertising on the
Disney-owned channel KCAL and a billboard campaign.
In a promotion starting Saturday at Disneyland and lasting the 40 days
leading up to the ride's opening, guests will receive a special-edition
trading card commemorating an event in each of the park's 40 years.
The cards, 5,000 sets of which were sold with annual passes earlier this
month, already have become hot items on the collectibles market.
"There are a lot of people who would rather have a Mickey Mouse than a
Mickey Mantle," said Edward Labet, owner of Edwards Sports Cards Plus in
Anaheim.
Finally, Disney will use its other operations to promote the Indiana
Jones Adventure.
Indiana Jones displays will grace the windows of Disney's 348 retail
stores. Inside, customers will be able to purchase Indiana Jones items,
such as his famous hat.
In the Western United States, Disney will produce a traveling Indiana
Jones display and mini-stunt show that will stop at many of the malls
where the stores are located, starting in February.
Finally, the Disney Channel, the company's cable television station, will
air several Indiana Jones Adventure programs, including short promotions
that will air in between regular programming.
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