Until this summer, I was only vaguely aware of Nickelodeon’s animated show “Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius.” My five year-old son had just been allowed to watch commercial TV, and even then was limited to SpongeBob or Rugrats.

So when he started asking to go on the Nick Web site to “play with Jimmy Neutron,” I wondered why.

The reason literally hit me in the face a few days later. I opened the kitchen cabinet and out fell a box of Quaker Chewy Granola bars.

Not just any box of Quaker Granola Bars. Noooo. This box had the secret game code for the Jimmy Neutron “Gotta Blast Rocket Game.”

Here’s how it worked:
Participants were told via TV commercials and the Nick Web site to get a game code for “exclusive access” to Jimmy’s Rocket Lab. Once logged in, they built a virtual rocket which was then registered.

Then, every Friday night between August 23 and September 13, Nickelodeon randomly chose five rockets and raced them during the televised “Gotta Blast Rocket Race Game.”

Can you say, way cool marketing genius?

The promotion is integrated marketing at its best. Why? Because it gave members of Nick’s audience three ways for interacting with the TV show and each medium is tied to the other:

• The Web site listed where to find the access codes.

• The product tie-ins had the codes, listed the TV times, and promoted the game that could only be played on the Web site.

• Nickelodeon broadcast the game and the product commercials.

Marketing genius is often found in the most unexpected places. Sometimes it’s as easy as reading your SPAM e-mail or watching TV with your children. Pay attention to products you don’t normally use or industries you’re not a participant of. You’ll be surprised at what you find.

Talk back! Have you had an unexpected encounter with a great marketing idea? Send your comments to me at linda@enricodesign.com. Let’s see what we find.

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Hope you enjoyed GIVING THANKS.

We’re GRATEFUL FOR YOU, our clients, suppliers and friends.

Linda E.

For more information on our results-oriented
marketing communications services,
log on to http://www.enricodesign.com/
call (781) 631-2520 or contact us by e-mail.

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Many thanks to Dianna Huff who wrote and holds the copyright on this article. © 2002. All rights reserved. Feel free to contact us for help incorporating these ideas into your marketing communications projects.