Ford Signs Exclusive, Multi-Event Deal With Network Event Theater
30 March 1999
Ford Motor Company Signs Exclusive, Multi-Event Deal With Network Event Theater to Sponsor Its On-Campus Sneak Preview Film Series
NEW YORK--March 30, 1999--Ford Motor Co.
Network Event Theater, Inc. , the nation's leading campus media and marketing services company today announced that it has signed a multi-event deal with the Ford Motor Company to sponsor its sneak preview film series.
The kickoff event of the relationship was the sponsorship of NETS' marketing and promotion of the No. 1 box office hit "Analyze This" to more than 30 top college and university campuses throughout the country. Following the screening, students at each of the campuses where a screening took place, were invited to participate in a live Q&A discussion by satellite with the film's stars Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, and the film's Director Harold Ramis. The event was hosted by former MTV personality Chris Hardwick.
In order to promote the October 1999 release of the new Focus, Ford has committed to sponsor five sneak preview events this spring. NETS is the first national marketing partner that Ford has selected for its new model.
According to Lewis Sherr, vice president of NETS' theater division, "Our participating schools were thrilled that we were able to bring an event of this magnitude to their students as evidenced by the over-capacity crowds at our theaters across the country. The demand among students for these types of events is truly remarkable."
Movie studios can create powerful and targeted promotions for their films aimed at the college student marketplace by screening their film through Network Event Theater's nationwide network of on-campus theaters, and utilizing NET's extensive and integrated on-campus media and marketing capabilities. College students purchase more than 15 million movie tickets each month, and have significant disposable income making them a primary target for movie studios. In the past, NET has successfully marketed films such as Miramax's "Scream" and Sony's "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer."
In addition to screening the film, NETS supported the promotion through a national program utilizing its in-house capabilities to advertise through campus newspapers, place on-campus posters, flyers and banners, utilize its network of AdRax (the college newspaper stand locations), and its Pik:Nik postcard advertising division.
The growing success of NETS' on-campus film marketing and screening program reflects the substantial student demand for films and has led to additional commitments from both studios and sponsors. During the remainder of the spring academic semester, NETS has confirmed agreements to screen two much anticipated additional releases, "The Matrix" and "Lost & Found," along with several releases from Columbia/TriStar.
NETS is the nation's leading college campus media and marketing company. NETS is currently comprised of wholly-owned subsidiaries including American Passage(R), which among other things is the leading college newspaper advertising placement service, with a reach of more than 2,000 colleges and universities, and a leader in commercial postering on college campuses utilizing a national network of more than 300 representatives; Beyond the Wall(R) the largest four-color college publication reaching 600 campuses through a 4 million circulation; Campus Voice(R), a giant editorial wallboard network of 3,400 boards on over 400 campuses with more than 100 million monthly passers-by; and HotStamp(TM)the largest national free postcard advertising brand that distributes 6 million postcards through almost 2,000 locations each month.