To Get People in Stores, Disney Offers ‘Star Wars’ Treasure Hunt
LOS ANGELES — Disney is billing a
new entertainment experience as a free “treasure hunt” for “Star Wars” fans.
With any luck, of course, Disney will be collecting the real loot.
Starting on Sept. 1, Disney will begin rolling out
merchandise tied to “Star
Wars: The Last Jedi,” which arrives in theaters on Dec. 15. To spur foot
traffic — no easy thing in this retail age, even for “Star Wars” — the company
has come up with a promotional stunt that is striking in its breadth: Some
20,000 stores in 30 countries will offer an augmented
realityevent that will allow participants to uncover “Last Jedi”
characters.
You download the “Star Wars” smartphone app and head to the
mall. Participating stores (the list is available on StarWars.com and includes
Best Buy, Apple, Kohl’s and Petco) will have a placard on display that says
“Find the Force.” Point your phone at the placard with the “Star Wars” app
open. One of 15 “Last Jedi” characters, including two never before seen, will
appear in the room. They might even talk.
If you come back the next day, the same display will reveal
a different character. The app allows you to take photos of the characters,
record videos and share the experience on social media. Anyone who does so via
Twitter or Instagram (using certain hashtags) by Sept. 3 is entered in a
sweepstakes. The grand prize is attending the “Last Jedi” premiere.
Disney, which announced the event in the middle of the night
on Thursday, is trying to do three things: sell a ton of “Star Wars”
merchandise; activate the “Star Wars” fan base in support of the new movie; and
draw in new fans, particularly younger ones captivated by technology. Augmented
reality had its breakout
moment last summer, when the smartphone game Pokémon Go became a
national craze.
“We are excited that augmented reality will allow fans to
experience the universe in a whole new way,” Kathleen Kennedy, the president of
Lucasfilm, said in a statement. Lucasfilm is the Disney-owned studio that
handles all “Star Wars” matters.
The effort illustrates what it now takes to generate
excitement at traditional retail outlets, many of which have been struggling
as online shoppingcontinues to soar.
This month, Disney Consumer Products & Interactive
Media, which is based in Glendale, Calif., reported $1.37 billion in profit for
its fiscal year to date, an 11 percent decline from the same period a year
earlier, which benefited from toy sales related to “Star Wars: The Force
Awakens.” For the most recent quarter, the unit reported profit of $362
million, a 12 percent increase driven primarily by cost-cutting.
The “Find the Force” campaign, which will remain active in
some stores until “Last Jedi” arrives in theaters, is a sequel. In September
2015, Disney staged a global promotional event called Force Friday for toys
tied to “The Force Awakens.” That one, however, did not bring people directly
into stores. Rather, social media stars in 15 cities and 12 countries opened “Star
Wars” items in succession over 18 hours; the “unboxing”
was streamed live.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com
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