Hi. I read this article in today’s Marketing Magazine Online and thought of our evening of video games in Banff. Some of us spent time at the Habbo Hotel that night. If you got a taste for the Habbo life then, consider going back for ballroom dancing lessons with Antonio Banderas. Ooh la la!
j.
Dancing Habbos promote new movie
Fans of the smooth moves of Antonio Banderas can soon dance with a look-alike, online, in a new promotion for his new film Take the Lead, debuting April 7.
The drama is inspired by the true story of a Manhattan dance teacher who teaches dancing to a group of inner-city youth from New York.
A sponsorship agreement between CHUM Interactive and Alliance Atlantis’ Motion Picture Distribution, in association with interactive gaming company Sulake Canada, will integrate the film’s ballroom dancing theme into CHUM’s Habbo Hotel online community. The online game environment for teens allows participants to move their virtual characters, or “Habbos,” through rooms and interact with each other.
As part of the movie promotion, players can partner their Habbos with other players across Canada to learn “Habbo-style” ballroom dancing from an instructor who resembles Banderas. The four-week campaign involves a virtual dance competition in which players practice and audition to be one of 10 finalist couples. Once selected, they learn new dance steps and compete in a “Take the Lead” competition on April 5 in front of a live Habbo audience. Habbos across Canada can then view video clips for the next week and vote for a winner, to be announced April 12.
“It’s a great example of immersive advertising,” says Heather Gordon, sales manager at CHUM Interactive in Toronto. “All of a sudden the movie-going experience becomes a little less passive and more interactive because they are part of a virtual version of this film.”
The target audience of both properties fit well, she says, as Habbo Hotel’s main demographic is 13- to 20-year-olds who are extremely loyal. “They live for this. They don’t consider brands a negative in the hotel, they actually consider them heroes.”
As part of the campaign, Alliance will own a virtual disco in the Hotel, to be renamed “Take the Lead Dance Hall,” and a billboard inside will link to the film’s website.
