Household towel brand Plenty is collaborating with Disney ahead of the hotly-anticipated launch of the Disney∙Pixar film Incredibles 2, which will be released in UK cinemas on July 13^th.

Manchester-based marketing agency Blue Chip has created an on-pack promotion for Plenty which runs across two million Plenty ‘The Stylish One ‘packs. The activity aims to recruit younger families into the category by offering the chance to instantly win one of 10,000 Incredibles 2 plush toys. Plus there is a prize draw to win an adventure holiday for a family of five to visit Queenstown, New Zealand.

To enter, consumers must visit www.plentywins.co.uk/incredibles2 and provide their full name, contact telephone number and a genuine email address along with the unique code found on the inside of every promotional pack. There are 10,000 Disney∙Pixar Incredibles 2 plush toys to be won instantly online. The toys are around 7 inches tall and represent the main characters of the Incredibles 2 film – Bob Parr (Mr Incredible), Helen Parr (Elastigirl), and their children Dash, Violet and Jack Jack.

Winner selection is via ‘winning moments’.

In addition to the instant win, everyone who enters their unique code online at the microsite, whether they have won a toy or not, will be put into a random prize draw to win a holiday to Queenstown, New Zealand for a family of five.

There is a No Purchase Necessary entry route for Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, where the law requires that brands operating prize draws where consumers have to buy a product to enter must partner with a charity which has been granted a lottery license, Plenty is working with LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.

The promotion went live this week and will be supported with a full media campaign including TV, social and in-store throughout the summer months.

Jess Harper, Account Director at Blue Chip, says: “This promotion will really inject some fun and excitement into the Household Towel category, not only by adding value with every pack, but also through recruiting younger families into the category and ultimately driving incremental volume.”

The release of the Incredibles 2 film sees Helen (voiced by Holly Hunter) being called on to help bring Supers back, while Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson) navigates the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life at home. Meanwhile, a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot that only the Incredibles, working together, can overcome.

Consumers can enter on the microsite until 30^th November 2018. All valid entrants will be submitted into the prize draw for the holiday prize, the winner of which will be drawn on 3^rd December 2018.

The Plenty brand is owned by Essity, formerly part of SCA, the giant Swedish paper products group. Other Essity brands include Cushelle paper towels and the TENA range of personal hygiene products.

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Magic Light Pictures, which manages children’s brand The Gruffalo, has appointed entertainment marketing specialists Brand & Deliver to secure UK brand partnerships.

Independent production company and Intellectual Property owner Magic Light Pictures is a BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated creator of family entertainment and brands, managing production, distribution, licensing and marketing from its London headquarters. It works with The Gruffalo creators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler to manage their portfolio of children’s brands, which also includes The Gruffalo’s Child, Zog, Room on the Broom, Stick Man and The Highway Rat.

B&D has been tasked with using its data-driven approach to sourcing and activating commercial partners across its brand portfolio. It will build on the reputation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s characters and use its expertise in entertainment partnerships to help bring them to a new range of fans, driving awareness and revenue along with helping stimulate children’s imaginations across the UK.

Aidan Taylor-Gooby, Licensing Manager at Magic Light Pictures, says: “We want to bring our IPs to a wider audience by partnering with leading brands that share our passion for creativity, especially in run up to 2019 when we are celebrating 20 years of The Gruffalo.”

Ros Carmoody, Partnerships Director at Brand & Deliver, comments: “We’re really excited to develop partnerships with Magic Light Pictures’ beloved portfolio of characters. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s picture books help foster creativity in children and we’re looking to create partnerships that stay true to this ideal.”

Brand & Deliver is a full service creative marketing agency delivering experiential, digital, film, design, partnerships/promotions and marketing to a range of organisations from blue chips to start ups. Current clients include Radeon Technologies Group, Rovio Global, Warner Brothers, LG, and Three.

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Tough new rules banning ads and promotions for food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) from appearing in children’s non-broadcast media come into effect on Saturday 1 July.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body which writes the CAP Code – the rules which marketers in the UK are required to follow, under the country’s highly-regarded self-regulatory system for advertising and marketing – has made the changes to bring the rules covering non-broadcast media (which include the vast majority of promotional campaigns) into line with the rules covering broadcast (TV and radio).

Laura Kelly, Regulatory Adviser at the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM), says: “The CAP Code changes affect the way we promote HFSS (high fat, salt or sugar) products to children and families. These changes are a result of industry-wide consultation and represent a significant shift in the way responsible promoters want to market their brands. Agencies need to understand the impacts on campaign planning and make sure they take into account the changes when considering campaigns around HFSS brands. We are ready to advise brands and agencies that plan to use promotional campaigns which are likely to be seen by large number of under-16s on how the rules affect them.”

The IPM is a stakeholder in CAP and is represented on the CAP Committee. It has been closely involved in the process of drafting the latest changes to the CAP Code.

The changes will apply to media targeted at under-16s and will mean a major reduction in the number of ads children see for HFSS products, according to CAP. Where media targets under-12s, then there are even stricter rules which must be followed.

The IPM’s Laura Kelly adds that the new rules are complex and promoters must make sure they understand them. She has written a blog post for the IPM’s website highlighting some of the main issues and also providing links to advice from CAP and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the body which investigates complaints about marketing in the UK, on the new rules.

Particular areas of concern exist around brands where more than half the products count as HFSS (which under the new rules mean even non-HFSS products are subject to the same restrictions) and on-pack and in-store promotions.

HFSS products can still use on-pack and in-store promotions, but any promotional activity must not then appear in broadcast or non-broadcast media advertising.

While the new rules impose new curbs on how HFSS products may be marketed to under-12s, they also relax the rules for products which can be classified as healthy.

So while ads and promotional marketing for HFSS products will not be allowed to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children, marketers will now be able to use these techniques to better promote healthier options.

Carey Trevill, Managing Director of the IPM, is the organisation’s representative on the CAP Committee. She comments: “Government has rightly addressed the issue of obesity in this country, asking the marketing community to step up to the plate over the way we self-regulate. The consultation with the advertising and marketing community proactively set in motion the changes we see in the CAP Code now and address how we promote to children and their families. With both CAP and BCAP Members and the wider industry collaborating, consumers and shoppers will see a healthier approach to the way HFSS brands approach campaigns through the new rules.”

Trevill adds: “The industry and the IPM have been communicating this change for some months now and of course we want to ensure our Members are able to translate the new rules to their campaigns without encountering issues. We welcome the changes and look forward to seeing the resulting campaigns that embrace the new ways of working.”

The new rules were created following a full public consultation last year by CAP, and reflect restrictions already in place on TV. The new rules apply to children’s non-broadcast media (including print, posters, cinema, online and in social media). Crucially, ads for HFSS products will no longer be allowed to appear around TV-like content online, such as video-sharing platforms, if it is directed at children.
The new rules come in response to changing media habits amongst young people, with research showing that youngsters aged 5-15 are spending around 15 hours each week online – overtaking time spent watching a TV set. They also respond to wider concerns in society about the public health challenges surrounding childhood obesity and what part the advertising industry can play in helping to change our children’s relationship with less healthy foods.

In summary, the new rules state:

• Ads that directly or indirectly promote an HFSS product cannot appear in children’s media.
• Ads for HFSS products cannot appear in other media where children make up over 25% of the audience.
• If the content targets under-12s, ads for HFSS products will not be allowed to use promotions, licensed characters and celebrities popular with children; advertisers may now use those techniques to better promote healthier options.
• The Department of Health nutrient profiling model will be used to classify which products are HFSS.

CAP recognises the multiple and complex factors, beyond advertising, that can be instrumental in childhood obesity; including parental influence, sedentary lifestyles and education.  While the evidence shows that advertising has a modest effect on children’s food preferences, CAP believes the new ad restrictions will still have a positive impact in reducing harm to children.

Chairman of CAP, James Best said: “The tougher new advertising food rules are a significant and positive change designed to help protect the health and wellbeing of children. These measures demonstrate the advertising industry’s continuing commitment to putting the protection of children at the heart of its work. The new rules will alter the nature and balance of food advertising seen by children and play a meaningful part in helping change their relationship with less healthy foods.”

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The entry deadline for the Institute of Promotional Marketing Awards 2017 is in less than three weeks on February 28^th – and agencies and brand owners who want to enter their promotional campaigns from 2016 are being encouraged to get their submissions together now.

The IPM Awards 2017 Call for Entries booklet plus top tips on how to write entries and examples of ‘best-in-class’ award-winning campaigns can be found in the awards section of the IPM website.

Richard Pink, the IPM’s Head of Awards, Judging & Entries, says: “Our judges are looking to reward campaigns that stood out in an incredibly competitive market during 2016, that worked hard for the brand and that delivered exceptional results. Tell us your stories and let us know why you deserve to win!”

The IPM is the industry body for promotional marketing, and its awards, which have been running for 40 years, have been created to showcase and champion the best work created in the previous year.

Any campaign which included a promotional element and which ran in the UK during 2016 is eligible for entry. Campaigns which ran outside the UK are also eligible, if they were created by a UK agency or for a UK-based brand or company.

To qualify, campaigns must have been running at some point during 2016; they can have started in 2015 and carried on into 2016, or they can have started in 2016 and run on into 2017. While the IPM would ideally like to see full results, Pink acknowledges that that may not be possible for campaigns which continued into 2017 (or which are still going).

He says: “Obviously, we’d ideally like to see full results, but we realise that, particularly with campaigns which are still live in January and February, that isn’t always going to be possible. In cases like that, we’re encouraging people to enter and explain clearly why they can’t provide absolute results. The judges will understand.”

Further information and advice on this topic is available on Richard Pink’s LinkedIn page.

The IPM also has its own YouTube channel, which features videos from a number of this year’s judges providing their Top Tips on how to create the best possible award entry.

Brands and agencies do not have to be members of the IPM to enter, although IPM members get discounts on their entry fees.

The trophies will be presented at the IPM Awards 2017 Gala Dinner on June 7^th 2017 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The headline sponsor for the IPM Awards 2017 is SODEXO and its subsidiaries Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice. Other partners include Promotional Handling Ltd, Sykes and i-movo.

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The entry deadline for the Institute of Promotional Marketing Awards 2017 is in just 40 days’ time – and agencies and brand owners who want to enter their promotional campaigns from 2016 are being encouraged to get their submissions together now.

The IPM Awards 2017 Call for Entries booklet plus top tips on how to write entries and examples of ‘best-in-class’ award-winning campaigns can be found in the awards section of the IPM website.

Richard Pink, the IPM’s Head of Awards, Judging & Entries, says: “It’s time for brands and agencies to submit their Awards entries and help us celebrate the amazing talent, the hard work and the promotional successes of 2016! As the industry body for promotional marketing, the IPM is here to proudly showcase and champion your work over the past year, and ensure you and your peers receive the industry-wide recognition you deserve.”

The IPM has just run an online Masterclass on crafting the perfect IPM Awards entry, hosted by Richard Pink, which attracted nearly 100 attendees from agency, service companies and brands.

One issue which the Masterclass highlighted was a concern over results from campaigns which started in 2016 but which continued on into 2017 and either finished close to the February 28^th entry deadline, or which will still be running after that.

Pink says: “Obviously, we’d ideally like to see full results, but we realise that, particularly with campaigns which are still live in January and February, that isn’t always going to be possible. In cases like that, we’re encouraging people to enter and explain clearly why they can’t provide absolute results. The judges will understand.”

Further information and advice on this topic is available on Richard Pink’s LinkedIn page.

The IPM also has its own YouTube channel, which features videos from a number of this year’s judges providing their Top Tips on how to create the best possible award entry.

Marketing campaigns which ran anywhere in the world are eligible for entry to the IPM Awards 2017, so long as they included a promotional element and they were created and run either by an agency based in the UK or on behalf of a brand based in the UK.

Brands and agencies do not have to be members of the IPM to enter, although IPM members get discounts on their entry fees.

The trophies will be presented at the IPM Awards 2017 Gala Dinner on June 7^th 2017 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The headline sponsor for the IPM Awards 2017 is SODEXO and its subsidiaries Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice. Other partners include Promotional Handling Ltd, Sykes and i-movo.

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Award winning prize and promotions specialist The IMS Agency is extending its service offering with the creation of a new division, IMS Partnerships, and the appointment of Jonathan Bonnett, former Director of International Promotions at Paramount Pictures International and Head of Group Marketing Partnerships at Merlin Entertainments, to run it.

IMS, which has just celebrated its 16th birthday, is launching the division to meet demand from its extensive client base for innovative partnerships that can influence behaviour, drive performance and build relationships between brands, films, TV shows and other Intellectual Property products.

Bonnett brings with him a wealth of experience in planning and facilitating brand partnerships within entertainment and leisure. The new division will have a partnerships focus in travel, tourism, destinations, and hospitality and leisure, drawing on IMS’ extensive network of suppliers in the industry built over 16 years of trading.

Simone Moretta, Managing Director at The IMS Agency, says: “We are thrilled that The IMS Agency continues to go from strength to strength. The existing prize and promotions division of our agency complements IMS Partnerships, ensuring that clients receive integrated strategic thinking that drives consumer awareness and action. “

Jonathan Bonnett, Brand Partnerships Director at The IMS Agency, adds: “We’re excited to be able to extend the services of The IMS Agency by sourcing like-minded brand partners to create impactful and mutually beneficial collaborations with upcoming movies, TV shows and IPs, and where possible utilise the aspirational prize solutions which we’ll manage and fulfil all under one roof.”

Past IMS clients have included McDonald’s, Kelloggs, O2, SAB Miller, Universal, Lions Gate, Sky, MasterCard, Heineken, Nestle and P&G.

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Meat snack brand Peperami has linked up with the new Angry Birds movie in an on-pack prize promotion with Angry Birds merchandise and weekend trips to Barcelona as prizes.

The UK campaign positions Peperami’s brand ambassador, the Animal, as ‘Official Stunt Animal of The Angry Birds Movie’, undertaking really dangerous stunts that even Angry Birds cannot do.

There are two Barcelona breaks to be won, one for a family of four and the other for two adults; both include various adventure activities, and the family trip includes accommodation in an Angry Birds-style tree-house hotel.

A new bespoke Peperami TV ad supports the partnership.

In addition, Peperami and the Animal also feature in Rovio’s classic Angry Birds 2 game where a Peperami-branded ‘spell’ can be called upon to defeat the Piggies. The TV ad can be viewed to earn extra lives. Furthermore, a new game, Angry Birds Action, launches on April 28th and consumers can scan a ‘birdcode’ from their Peperami packs to gain additional content and lives in this game.

The promotional period kicked off at the end of March and runs until June 30th 2016. There are two elements to the prize promotion, an instant win and a prize draw.

Entry to the prize promotion is online; consumers have to enter a code from their Peperami packaging and their contact details at www.peperami-angrybirds.com. 2,000 instant win prizes have been allocated according to ‘winning moments’, and entrants will be told immediately if they have won one. All entrants will be entered into a prize draw for the two holidays which will take place after the promotional period ends.

In the instant win game, prizes include The Angry Birds Movie keyrings, 3D Piggy Puzzles, tube scarves and drawstring bags. The prize draw prizes are one trip to Barcelona for a family of four, including flights, three nights in a luxury tree house, and an Adventure Forest stunt course, and a trip for two adults to Bareclona including flights, two nights at a luxury hotel and a flyboarding (water powered stunt surfboard) experience.

The Peperami brand was sold along with BiFi, a very similar product sold in Germany and other European countries, to US snack foods company Jack Link’s in April 2014. Jack Link’s will be running the Angry Birds promotion in 11 countries where it sells the product under either the Peperami or BiFi brand names.

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Black taxi booking app Gett has linked with Warner Bros. Pictures UK for a promotion offering people the chance to win tickets to the London premiere of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

For one week only, from 10.00am Friday March 11th to 11.59pm Thursday March 17th, anyone using the Gett app to book a black cab in London will see the red BATMAN v SUPERMAN glyph icon at the top of the home screen, entitled ‘B v S’. When booking a taxi ride using the icon, users will get a fixed fare black cab, only available through Gett, as well as automatic entry into the competition.

One lucky winner will be awarded a pair of tickets to the film’s star-studded red carpet premiere in London’s world-renowned Leicester Square on March 22nd, which will be attended by cast and filmmakers including Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot and director Zack Snyder.

In addition, 100 branded goody bags containing film merchandise will be placed in select Gett cabs around the capital, allowing anyone who books a Gett ride to receive the chance to win instant rewards throughout the week.

This competition is exclusive to Gett and Warner Bros. Pictures UK and marks the first entertainment promotion of its kind in the UK for the transport and lifestyle app.

The Gett app is free to download on iOS and Android. Competition Terms and Conditions can be found by visiting Gett.com/uk.

Founded in 2010, Gett is an on-demand app that lets people instantly book a licensed black cab with their mobile phone, and is available for both consumers and corporations. Gett is a $207m funded company and the largest international on-demand player by revenues. It is available in 50 cities, including New York, London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Moscow, St Petersburg and Tel-Aviv.

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Comparethemarket.com has linked up with Warner Bros. Pictures to offer limited edition Aleksandr and Sergei toys with the two brand characters as Batman and Superman respectively.

The promotion, which celebrates the upcoming release of the new film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, opening in UK cinemas on March 25^th. It neatly links the long-running and highly successful Meerkat toy promotion with Comparethemarket.com’s more recent Meerkat Mondays two for one cinema ticket promotion.

In addition to a year’s worth of 2 for 1 cinema tickets, for a limited time customers can also get their hands on a Limited Edition Meerkat Movies Toys inspired by either Batman or Superman when they buy insurance or switch energy with comparethemarket.com.

The Aleksandr toy is dressed in Batman’s trademark suit, complete with cape and mask, while Sergei is transformed into Superman, the Man of Steel, complete with biceps and sixpack.

Mark Vile, Marketing Director at comparethemarket.com, says: “Since launching Meerkat Movies in March last year, we have seen over a million members enjoy the magic of the movies for less. We’ve now super-charged our rewards offering, Meerkat Movies, by partnering with Warner Bros. Pictures and one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year.”

A new TV ad shows the two characters having to find their inner superheroes as car problems put them in danger of missing the film.

Meerkat Movies was unveiled to the nation last year, with 2 for 1 cinema ticket redemption available across the UK via a voucher code on the Meerkat Movies app, which is available to Apple and Android users, or via the comparethemarket.com website.

Since then, it has been promoted with TV ads featuring cameos by Hollywood stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nicole Kidman.

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To celebrate the Romanian cinema release of Star Wars Episode VII “The Force Awakens” before Christmas, French-owned supermarket chain Carrefour Romania put interactive billboards into 150 of its outlets which allowed customers to use Jedi-like gestures to buy products.

The stunt was part of a longer running loyalty promotion, where Carrefour shoppers are being rewarded with collectable ‘shells’ or cards featuring characters from the new Star Wars film. There are 72 characters to collect, plus a special album to keep them in.

The interactive billboards featured pictures of a range of goods, interspersed with Star Wars toys and merchandise. Using Kinect technology connected to an iPad, the billboards tracked shoppers’ gestures and let them ‘grab’ images of the products they wanted and drag them into a virtual shopping trolley icon.

They could then make their way to a special counter where a real trolley with the products they had selected was waiting for them, along with money-off vouchers.

The “Shop With The Force” promotion also rewarded shoppers with extra collectable cards when they bought certain items.

The fully integrated campaign, created by Publicis Romania, was promoted across all media. A TV ad for the loyalty campaign featured the famous Star Wars main theme recreated using sounds that can be found every day in Carrefour stores.

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