Whopper Deals
Burger King Corp in October unveiled a long-term partnership with DreamWorks SKG to jointly promote the next five animated and live-action theatrical releases from the Glendale, CA studio.
The deal gives the QSR chain first rights to all live-action, TV, music, and home entertainment properties within the five-film time frame. It will kick off with the release of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron in May 2002, and will also include the studio’s sequel to Shrek, which proved to be a big hit both at the box office and at BK last spring. (The two are working together this month on the film’s home-video release.)
Separately, Miami-based Burger King enhanced its multi-platform alliance with New York City-based Nickelodeon by expanding plans for Kids Meal programs and other initiatives. Both deals are expected to last about four to five years, says Rob Doughty, BK’s vp-corporate communications.
“We have had tremendous success with Burger King as a partner — with Shrek this summer and Chicken Run last year,” says Anne Globe, head of marketing and national promotions for DreamWorks Consumer Products. The long-term alliance “was an opportunity to formalize a track record of successes. Plus, [BK has] a whole new management team with an inspiring vision of where to take the brand,” says Globe.
“We have done several projects with both DreamWorks and Nickelodeon, and we have found them to be quality, innovative partners,” Doughty says. “Together, we’ll be bringing new products and promotions that will excite our customers and provide them with the entertainment and value that they are looking for.”
This is the first time Burger King has locked into a single Hollywood studio. Rival McDonald’s Corp. has had an exclusive partnership with the Walt Disney Co. for the past five years. (Before that deal was struck, BK historically had tied into most of Disney’s theatrical releases on a by-film basis.)
Compared with the McD-Disney partnership, “ours is non-exclusive, so we are free to work with other entertainment companies, which gives us more flexibility and variety,” says Doughty.
The pact is also DreamWorks’ biggest — and first long-term — promotional alliance to date. “The spirit of the deal is to have a long-term commitment that allows for increased planning time and the chance for more innovation — so it’s not the same thing ever,” says Globe.
Meanwhile, BK bolstered its five-year, category-exclusive relationship with Nick, which has included tie-ins to films, TV series, and awards programs. Already on deck for 2002 are expanded Kids Meal and Big Kids Meal efforts, a multiple-market live entertainment tour, an integrated program around the Nick’s Kids Choice Awards and the Kids Choice Viewers Guide, and sponsorship of the two-year-old GAS (Games and Sports) Network.
