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While brands will have been working on licensing partnerships with studios for months ahead of summer release dates, they now also have a winter opportunity to exploit film properties: the pre-Christmas DVD period.

Historically, the video slot has been seen as the poor relation to the theatrical release in terms of third-party promotional tie-ins. But the arrival of the DVD has created a new promotional opportunity for brands.

Rise in ownership

The marked increase in ownership of DVD players among UK households has been led by families with kids, for whom in-home entertainment and technology is adopted far earlier than households without kids. With the plummeting prices of DVD players in the UK, almost eight in every ten households with kids now have one (Carrick James Market Research).

So how will the rise of the DVD affect the entertainment industry? And how can promoters best tap into the opportunities?

There's no question that the DVD launch has become critical in driving commercial return on production and marketing investment for film studios, with the pre-Christmas DVD period particularly important. This increasing significance is reflected in the large marketing budgets that are now being allocated to support the DVD launch.

As movie studios seek to minimise their huge investment risk, many are looking to develop longer-term movie franchises, with sequels and series becoming commonplace. The DVD has assumed stra-tegic importance to property owners because it maintains interest in properties between film releases.

And there's also the trend for increasing numbers of direct-to-DVD films: last year, studios released nearly 700 DVD films that bypassed the cinema, including top sellers such as 102 Dalmations and Inspector Gadget 2.

Movies that circumvent the cinema can clearly offer promotional potential - assuming, of course, that the film itself is strong enough to garner interest among consumers. The production price of direct-to-DVD films is inexpensive - starting at $2 million compared with at least $30 million for a theatrical release - which brings down the cost for brands wanting to get involved.

If you need more proof of the impact of the DVD, it's evident in the toy market, which is notoriously dependent on licensed properties. The launch of Finding Nemo on DVD boosted Nemo toy sales during March, doubling the previous month's takings.

Barbie has also benefited in recent years with a strategy of special edition dolls such as Nutcracker Barbie, Rapunzel Barbie and Swan Lake Barbie, accompanied by direct-to-DVD releases to support the core product range.

This year's hot DVD picks for the children include Scooby Doo II, Monsters Unleashed, Gar-field and Spiderman II.

For promoters, the creative capabilities and enhancements of the DVD mean releases are eagerly anticipated by consumers, invariably making promotional tie-ins compelling.

Nowhere is this more evident than for brands targeting pre-school families, since the DVD/video represents the first real opportunity for younger children to experience the blockbuster family movies. Any parent with a four-year-old will readily acknowledge that their attention span makes a visit to the cinema less attractive than watching a DVD at home.

Sparking interest

In the US, the DVD release has been an established promotional slot for some time now. Disney has been the main catalyst with its big platinum classic re-releases. The high- quality Pixar movies have also added renewed momentum and interest among promotional players.

In the UK, we are slowly awakening to the DVD promotional opportunity with an increasing number of activities appearing on- shelf. Initially, the DVD slot was often taken by supermarket own-label products, especially cereals, because the cost for theatrical link-ups made it cost prohibitive to all except the major promoters such as Kellogg and Nestle. Tesco has linked its family cereal products with such blockbusters as Finding Nemo, Lilo & Stitch, Monsters Inc and Jungle Book 2, while Sainsbury and Asda have separately linked with Lord of the Rings.

But over recent years, brand owners such as Proctor & Gamble have tied into DVD releases with the likes of the Monsters Inc. Other examples include Cadbury's Animals' link with Disney's Lion King.

Typically, past promotions have focused on instant-win mechanics with the chance to win a main prize (typically a state-of-the-art TV) along with runner-up prizes of the DVD itself. Often the own-label promotion enables winners to redeem their prizes in the supermarket - it's worth noting that Tesco is the UK's largest DVD retailer, with 323,000 copies of Finding Nemo selling in the first 10 days of release.

Planned sufficiently well in advance, brand owners can also take advantage of the DVD link by including supporting promotional literature within the DVD case. This provides a strong opportunity to link directly with the movie and drive traffic and awareness for the promotion among the target audience.

We are also witnessing the inevitable trend towards DVDs as promotional premiums in their own right. The same universal penetration for UK households makes this a very compelling promotional option. Just consider the many insert activities of national newspapers, which are now including special edition DVDs, such as the News of the World offering the top goals scored by the England international team.

As well as being potentially more cost effective, licensees can also find that licensors can be more flexible and lenient in their terms for DVD tie-ins. For instance, film studios often specify that promotional partners require above-the-line support for tie-ins with theatrical films.

This is often relaxed for the DVD release, and the actual licence fee seems to be more favourable.

There's no doubt that the DVD market is re-shaping the promotional calendar.

They are no longer the poor alternative to box office releases, and they're developing a promotional identity of their own that brand owners overlook at their peril.

Adam Beswick is planner at Logistix.

DVD PENETRATION IN THE UK (in households with kids aged 7-14)

Mar 2000 4%

Apr 2001 12%

Jan 2002 21%

Feb 2003 48%

Mar 2004 77%

Source: Carrick James child track

TOP 10 DVDs - MAY 2004

1. Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King

2. Lord of the Rings - The Trilogy

3. Buffy - Season 7

4. Star Wars - Trilogy

5. Friends - Series 1

6. Friends - Series 2

7. The Last Samurai

8. Friends - Series 3

9. Girl With a Pearl Earring

10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Source: Amazon

TOP 10 PRE-SCHOOL DVDs

1. Tweenies - Colours Are Magic

2. Winnie the pooh - Stories from the Heart

3. Fimbles - Let's Find the Fimbles

4. Balamory - Mysteries with PC Plum

5. Thomas the Tank Engine - Engines to the Ready

6. Boohbah - Magic

7. Teletubbies - Dance with the Teletubbies

8. Pingu - A Very Special Wedding

9. Bob the Builder - Feast of Fun

10. Thomas the Tank Engine - Happy Little Engine

Source: Amazon