Licensing: Putting film fans in the driving seat

There's nothing new about automotive brands tying in with films. The car sector was one of the first to understand the potential of product placement and how it could generate sales: think Austin Minis in The Italian Job and the Herbie films' Volkswagen Beetle.

The big deal this year links Audi with Iron Man. Other film/TV properties linked to car brands include the Simpsons with Renault and Jimmy Neutron with Daimler Chrysler. All these characters are targeted at both children and parents.

The reason behind the change in strategy is simple enough. Car marketers have noticed that buying a car is increasingly a family decision. Richard Gillingwater, founder of brand consultancy Arapaho, says that the image of it being left to dad is now outdated. "You're trying to keep everyone happy with the purchase and making the buying of cars a family thing. The car purchase has become a lifestyle decision."

Many of the promotions lead back to the showroom. Robert Harwood-Matthews, chief executive of Nissan agency TBWA Manchester, says the popularity with adults of characters such as Harry Potter has helped. "Although they are for kids, a lot of these films have adult humour, so there is a lot of crossover." The film themes can be used to create promotions for the family in the showroom.

Ian Field, OgilvyAction senior account director on Ford, says: "You can't go wrong with kids' movies because it's fun, less risky and will reflect well on the brand." But he counters this by saying the film needs to fit the car.

Nissan recently tied in with Ice Age 2: The Meltdown and Die Hard 4.0. But marketing manager John Parslow says the tie-ins have been mutually beneficial for both it and the studio, Fox. However, the automotive company has to be sure the film fits with the brand and that the car being promoted. "It goes wrong when the property values don't tie together. We've had some great films offered to us and have said, 'We'd love to do that, but in marketing terms it simply wouldn't work.'"

According to Gillingwater, another motivating factor has been a political struggle between marketing and sales, which has led to the majority of car marketing being based around product features. The use of licensing deals with films - especially animated ones - allows the marketers to spread their wings creatively. "The marketers are fighting an internal battle to get people to see cars in experiential terms. With films, all of a sudden marketers are saying we can have some fun here," he says.

Placement plays a strong part in this and is still popular but not essential. Parslow says Nissan was not interested in product placement and preferred straightforward promotional activity when using properties. Problematic timings and other studio stipulations make placement a difficult option.

Andrew Ryan, managing director of Universal UK, says there has always been a strong relationship between the studios and manufacturers, with many doing exclusive deals with one marque or another. "One of the attractions for studios is the car manufacturers have huge budgets and we can market our films on the back of their marketing." Despite the exit of FMCG manufacturers, it seems that there's life in licensed promotions after all.

THE NAME'S BOND

Ford launched its 007 Casino Royale promotion in October 2006. The company had a shared history with the James Bond property through the Aston Martin brand it then owned. However, for Casino Royale, it moved things on and had Bond driving a Ford Mondeo in one of the scenes - a first for Ford.

Following the film, Ford launched a promotion to capitalise on the Bond connection and entice consumers test drive the Mondeo. The highlight of the promotion, which ran in 23 markets, was a competition in which people could download codes from interactive posters via Bluetooth. Consumers could then enter the codes for a chance to win prizes.

FACT FILE

Licensed auto promotions for 2008

Iron Man Audi

The Simpsons Renault

Jimmy Neutron Daimler Chrysler.