Disney partners with Kohl?s to drive launch of photo-contest app
Department store chain Kohl?s and media corporation Disney are relying on mobile in their collaboration to host a singing contest in preparation for a holiday commercial to be aired during the American Music Awards broadcast.
The winning submission will get the chance to be featured in Kohl?s holiday commercial to be aired during the American Music Awards broadcast. Knowing that consumers most frequently film and submit photos and videos using their mobile devices, Disney is aiming to provide a seamless platform for all Disney fans to use for these contests.
?Families will be sharing videos of their performances of the hit song Let It Go for a chance to star in our holiday campaign,? said Michelle Gass, chief customer officer at Kohl?s. ?We will also be engaging them through the selection process by providing them with opportunities to vote on which video will be included in the final spot."
Singing for fame
In part of the collaborative promotion, Kohl?s will be offering clothing and accessories and toy items that feature Frozen and its characters. When consumers purchase these items, Kohl?s is encouraging them to post photos of their new purchases on social networks by tagging @Kohls and using the hashtag #FrozenFunAtKohls.
For those participating in the singing contest, users are encouraged to submit their submissions via the Disney Applause app, which is available for free on all iOS and Android devices.
Disney?s introduction of Disney Applause aims to further connect with its audience on mobile by offering one easy place for fans to interact with the brand.
Disney Applause allows users to submit their photos and videos to Disney and Star Wars contests and sweepstakes. The app also contains recent Disney news and past winners.
Participants also have the option to submit via desktop or mobile Web at Disney.com/frozenfriday.
The finalist videos will be judged 60 percent on musical talent, 20 percent on personality and style and 20 percent on creativity, and the winning submission will get the chance to be a part of the Kohl?s commercial.
Participants can submit their videos any time through September 29. The AMAs are scheduled to air November 23.
Video-centric
User submissions involving video have been seen prevalently within the last few months.
Broadcasting company Fox readied fans for the premiere of the show Gotham with an interactive contest involving the movie trailer and mobile application SendUs.
Marketers within the entertainment industry hoped to keep the consumer?s ongoing attention through adding an interactive experience on mobile for smartphone users. Through these efforts, networks could use the power of user-generated content as brainpower for their own future initiatives (see story).
Online urban guide and review site Yelp now enables its application users to upload short-form video content directly on-page to fully capture the atmosphere of a restaurant, store or other small business.
Through video cloud platform Brightcove, consumers may post clips up to 12 seconds long. This evidences that brands are distancing themselves from traditional advertising, whose metrics are hard to calculate, and into original video content ? material that is created not to sell but to engage (see story).
"The American Music Awards kick off the most important time of the year for Kohl's, the holiday season," Ms. Gass said. "This year we are excited to build upon our successful partnership with Disney to connect with customers in a fresh, relevant and emotional way through the incredible phenomenon of the movie Frozen."
Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York