Black Widow
07-13-2008, 09:54 PM
Source: bizjournals.com
The ripped and tattooed wrestler Batista and the soulful R&B singer Ne-Yo have something in common: both star in new TV commercials that make the f.y.e. music and video chain seem a lot edgier.
In one 30-second commercial, Batista and another WWE wrestler, MVP, drop-kick and body-slam each other in what seems like an impromptu fight inside an f.y.e. mall store. Bass-thumping rock music blares as fans cheer from outside the roll-down security gate.
In the other spot, teenage girls at an f.y.e. realize the chart-topping singer Ne-Yo is wearing headphones in the store, singing aloud to himself a cut from his yet-be-released album, "Year of the Gentleman."
That sets off a frenzy as word spreads in the mall and many girls rush in, snapping Ne-Yo's picture with their cell phones. He opens his eyes, surprised.
The ads were shot to make it seem like they were spontaneous, caught-on-tape live events that generated a lot of excitement at the mall and in the stores.
Both will begin airing July 14 in the Albany, N.Y., and Harrisburg, Pa., media markets, part of a costly, six-month campaign being launched by the chain store owner, Albany-based Trans World Entertainment Corp.
The campaign will also feature radio commercials, online ads and ads on pizza delivery boxes that include a coupon for f.y.e. merchandise.
Think of it as an extreme image makeover for the fairly staid Trans World.
"I think we're getting a little hipper," Chief Operating Officer James Litwak said today.
Each media market has 11 f.y.e. stores. The sales through December will be compared to similar markets. Depending on the results, the campaign may be extended nationally early next year to cover all of the nearly 800 stores in the chain.
This will be the first time in the 36-year history of Trans World that it's launching a regional branding campaign. Executives believe it will raise the company's profile and position it as the place to go for all kinds of entertainment.
Wrestling fans, for instance, can buy life-size cutouts of WWE stars, posters, action figures, hats and T-shirts.
Trans World needs to turn around a prolonged sales slump caused by the growing popularity of music downloading and competition from big-box retail stores. Trans World suffered a $99 million loss last year on sales of $1.2 billion. Sales in stores open at least a year fell 8.5 percent in fiscal 2007.
The company has spent the last year or so changing the names of most of its stores to f.y.e. The branding campaign is the next step in the turnaround strategy.
"The whole idea is not to sell products as much as to sell the brand and get people to remember it," Trans World Chairman and CEO Robert J. Higgins said during an ad preview for reporters at the company headquarters. "We think these will be talked about."
Officials would not say how much the campaign is costing, but made it clear it's a significant investment.
The ads were created by Full Contact Advertising in Boston. One of the partners at Full Contact, Tim Foley, was formerly a creative director of the Dunkin' Donuts account at Hill Holiday in Boston. That agency created the chain's successful "America Runs on Dunkin' " campaign.
Full Contact presented their ideas for the commercials to Trans World executives last August. It took a long time to line up the performers and coordinate the TV shoots, which were done in one day at the f.y.e. at a mall in Natick, Mass.
Some of those in the crowd watching the wrestling match and Ne-Yo singing were people who happened to be at the mall that day, but most were actors.
The ripped and tattooed wrestler Batista and the soulful R&B singer Ne-Yo have something in common: both star in new TV commercials that make the f.y.e. music and video chain seem a lot edgier.
In one 30-second commercial, Batista and another WWE wrestler, MVP, drop-kick and body-slam each other in what seems like an impromptu fight inside an f.y.e. mall store. Bass-thumping rock music blares as fans cheer from outside the roll-down security gate.
In the other spot, teenage girls at an f.y.e. realize the chart-topping singer Ne-Yo is wearing headphones in the store, singing aloud to himself a cut from his yet-be-released album, "Year of the Gentleman."
That sets off a frenzy as word spreads in the mall and many girls rush in, snapping Ne-Yo's picture with their cell phones. He opens his eyes, surprised.
The ads were shot to make it seem like they were spontaneous, caught-on-tape live events that generated a lot of excitement at the mall and in the stores.
Both will begin airing July 14 in the Albany, N.Y., and Harrisburg, Pa., media markets, part of a costly, six-month campaign being launched by the chain store owner, Albany-based Trans World Entertainment Corp.
The campaign will also feature radio commercials, online ads and ads on pizza delivery boxes that include a coupon for f.y.e. merchandise.
Think of it as an extreme image makeover for the fairly staid Trans World.
"I think we're getting a little hipper," Chief Operating Officer James Litwak said today.
Each media market has 11 f.y.e. stores. The sales through December will be compared to similar markets. Depending on the results, the campaign may be extended nationally early next year to cover all of the nearly 800 stores in the chain.
This will be the first time in the 36-year history of Trans World that it's launching a regional branding campaign. Executives believe it will raise the company's profile and position it as the place to go for all kinds of entertainment.
Wrestling fans, for instance, can buy life-size cutouts of WWE stars, posters, action figures, hats and T-shirts.
Trans World needs to turn around a prolonged sales slump caused by the growing popularity of music downloading and competition from big-box retail stores. Trans World suffered a $99 million loss last year on sales of $1.2 billion. Sales in stores open at least a year fell 8.5 percent in fiscal 2007.
The company has spent the last year or so changing the names of most of its stores to f.y.e. The branding campaign is the next step in the turnaround strategy.
"The whole idea is not to sell products as much as to sell the brand and get people to remember it," Trans World Chairman and CEO Robert J. Higgins said during an ad preview for reporters at the company headquarters. "We think these will be talked about."
Officials would not say how much the campaign is costing, but made it clear it's a significant investment.
The ads were created by Full Contact Advertising in Boston. One of the partners at Full Contact, Tim Foley, was formerly a creative director of the Dunkin' Donuts account at Hill Holiday in Boston. That agency created the chain's successful "America Runs on Dunkin' " campaign.
Full Contact presented their ideas for the commercials to Trans World executives last August. It took a long time to line up the performers and coordinate the TV shoots, which were done in one day at the f.y.e. at a mall in Natick, Mass.
Some of those in the crowd watching the wrestling match and Ne-Yo singing were people who happened to be at the mall that day, but most were actors.