News
DreamWorks 'Panda' Website Takes On Disney
By Robert Marich
April 12, 2010-Here’s one big brand extension from a movie! DreamWorks Animation built a $10 million website with virtual world based on its Kung Fu Panda film as a destination for kids, where it will battle arch rival Walt Disney Studios.
KungFuPandaWorld.com is conceived as a place for users “to play elaborate games, chat with friends, learn kung fu styles and get a pet,” notes a New York Times article, which says DreamWorks Animation will be peddling $5.95 monthly subscriptions for premium online content.
The kids virtual world website business already has Club Penguin and Build-a-Bear Workshop that are owned by Walt Disney (which is DreamWorks Animation’s larger competitor), and NeoPets, which is from the same company that owns Paramount Pictures (Paramount distributes DreamWorks Animation films to theaters).
KungFuPandaWorld aims to entertain kids – with its prime demographic target ages 8-12—by awarding users access to higher levels as they master tasks within the website. There are 21 ranks—designated by colors—for users to ascend, which is like climbing a ladder. The website is based in the 2008 feature film that grossed a whopping $215.4 million domestically at the box office.
“DreamWorks is betting that there is a window of opportunity when it comes to slightly older children — after growing out of Club Penguin, where children dress and groom penguin characters, but before becoming interested in more mature online offerings like World of Warcraft, MySpace and Facebook,” notes the New York Times article by Brooks Barnes. “It’s not an easy road. A lavish ‘Pirates of the Caribbean world, an attempt by Disney to attract children 10 and older, has been a failure. Disney is expected to introduce another entry into this market in the coming months, a world built around (its movie) Cars.”
The reported $10 million for the website is 50 times larger than the more expensive, full-featured movie websites, according to Marketing To Moviegoers: Second Edition.
For full text, click links below:
www.marketingmovies.net/chapters/chapter-5-merchandising/
www.marketingmovies.net/news/pr-paramount-buys-ads-in-habbo-virtual-world/