FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT TO A WHOLE NEW WONDERLAND AS SYFY KICKS OFF MARKETING CAMPAIGN BEHIND FOUR HOUR MOVIE EVENT ALICE, PREMIERING SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, AT 9PM
50 White Rabbits Hunt for Alice and the Hatter Aboard New York City Buses, Subways and Commuter Rail Lines on Friday, December 4
New York, NY � December 3, 2009 � On Friday, December 4, if you're riding the New York City subways, buses or commuter rail lines -- or near historic landmarks such as the Empire State Building -- you just might meet a White Rabbit in business attire. Please don't panic. You haven't fallen down the rabbit hole!
Instead, you have entered Syfy's Wonderland of innovative multi-media marketing behind the four-hour movie event Alice, premiering Sunday, December 6, at 9PM (ET/PT) and starring Academy Award-winner Kathy Bates (Misery) as the Queen of Hearts and Caterina Scorsone (Crash television series) as Alice.
During the morning commute in New York, on Friday, December 4, 50 White Rabbits hunt across the city for Alice and the Hatter, handing out Alice playing cards displaying their faces containing the text, "Have you seen this pair?" At 12:30PM, all 50 White Rabbits converge on Union Square, where they hope to finally meet Alice and the Hatter � along with performing a choreographed "step" dance routine.
Said Blake Callaway, Vice President, Brand Marketing, Syfy: "Classic tales retold with a twist are uniquely Syfy. We want to create a new memory of Alice in Wonderland just as we did so successfully with Tin Man and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. By tapping into pop music, literature and even a white rabbit on the run to make the connections to our Alice, the marketing campaign for Alice highlights the familiar icons associated with Wonderland and gives them a contemporary spin. This major television event provides a fitting conclusion to what has been an extraordinary year."
Syfy developed the promotion with long-time agency partner, Fallon Minneapolis. Fallon conducted primary research to probe consumers' relationship with the classic tale and uncovered a strong association with the character of The White Rabbit, which inspired the marketing concept.
The experience starts on the web the week before premiere, where Twitter users are urged to "Follow the White Rabbit @WhiteRabbitinc" � a specially created Twitter account that provides updates throughout the week as the White Rabbit pursues Alice and the Hatter.
Starting on December 1, online banners that feature the White Rabbit causing mischief on popular websites � such as USAToday.com (12/4) and YouTube (12/6) � urge users to follow the White Rabbit by clicking on the ad unit. This sends users through a trail of websites, each grounded in themes from Syfy's Alice re-imagination, like the Wonderland Tea Shop and the Happy Hearts Casino, before finally landing at the Alice show page on Syfy.com. Users can also access the site trail directly, starting December 1, through the URL: http://thewhiterabbitinc.com/
Syfy.com also provides behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with the cast, as well as Wonderland items from Alice's Jewelry Box, sponsored by Kay Jewelers.
To tap into pop music culture, the on-air, online and out-of-home campaign also features select radio stations, in 10 of the top markets, promoting songs inspired by the Alice story (ie, Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit), with listeners voting for their favorite Alice themed song of all time.
Syfy Alice Marketing Campaign Includes:
Kay Jewelers serves as presenting sponsor of Alice
Partnerships with Time Inc publication, featuring a first-ever creative unit within Entertainment Weekly (What to Watch Section)
Partnerships with Virgin Airlines and American Airlines
Universal Theme Park Video Screens
Outdoor advertising on Hotel Sofitel in Los Angeles
Local radio promotion in 10 markets
National cable schedule
Local cable schedule in 10 markets
In addition to Bates and Scorsone, the stellar cast of Syfy's contemporary re-imagined spin on the Lewis Carroll classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland includes Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Dodo, Harry Dean Stanton (Big Love) as Caterpillar, Colm Meaney (Law Abiding Citizen) as the King of Hearts, Andrew-Lee Potts (Primeval) as the Hatter, Matt Frewer (Watchmen) as the White Knight and Philip Winchester (Crusoe) as Jack Chase.
Alice writer/director Nick Willing also directed the record-breaking, Emmy-winning miniseries Tin Man for Syfy in 2007. Serving as executive producers are Matthew O'Connor and Lisa Richardson from Reunion Pictures, Jamie Brown from Studio Eight and RHI Entertainment's Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr.
RHI Entertainment (NASDAQ: RHIE) develops, produces and distributes made-for-television movies, miniseries and other television programming worldwide, and is the leading provider of new long-form television content in the United States. Under the leadership of Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., RHI has produced and distributed thousands of hours of quality television programming, and RHI's productions have received more than 100 Emmy Awards. In addition to the development, production and distribution of new content, RHI owns rights to more than 1,000 titles, or over 3,500 broadcast hours of long-form television programming, which are licensed to broadcast and cable networks and new media outlets globally. For more consumer information visit www.rhitv.com.
Reunion Pictures (www.reunionpictures.ca) is a Canadian-based company that develops and finances high quality television and multi-platform properties. Launched in 2004 with the partners' experience of having collectively produced over a billion dollars worth of award-winning filmed entertainment, Reunion Pictures has received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and has won Genies and Gemini's as well as the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Television, a #1 US network mini-series (10.5), and two #1 cable mini-series (Tin Man and Earthsea, both produced with RHI Entertainment for SCI FI Channel).
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
Fallon Minneapolis is a division of Fallon Worldwide, a part of Publicis Groupe S.A., based in Paris. Fallon Minneapolis' clients include: Travelers, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, TIME Magazine, Nestl� Purina, Nestl� Beverage, NBC Universal, General Mills, TheLadders.com and Boston Market. Fallon Worldwide is one of the world's most critically acclaimed creativity companies, delivering innovative strategic business solutions for some of the world's leading brands. Additional information can be found at www.fallon.com.
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