Marks out of Ben 10?

As the summer gets into its stride broadcasters are starting to pad out the TV schedules with repeats in the expectation that we’re all out enjoying ourselves. But for those who broadcast to children the summer holidays bring a packed line up for bigger daytime audiences.
So the announcement that Turner Broadcasting and LegoLand were joining forces for the vacation caught my eye. Cartoon Network’s shows Ben 10 and Ben 10 Alien Force are being sponsored by Lego – just in time for the vacation. As the father of two small boys I can appreciate the potency of this combination. Both are adored by my sons and I can only assume research says there are countless thousands of other children who have the same opinion. The pairing seems to be a match made in heaven.
As with most sponsorship investments (and this one is no different) there is a dazzling array of activation potential. With such a compelling range between them (content, licences, venue, media channels and products) the permutations for cross fertilisation literally abound. The objectives for LegoLand must have been simple – boost ticket sales for the summer, shift product and build a database of children and parents for future marketing.
Unfortunately, it seems the best that could be done with the execution of this campaign was the creation of some sponsorship idents and a mini LegoLand site that is accessed via a large and rather clumsy button fly-posted randomly onto the Cartoon Network website in the vain hope that some will see through the camouflage and click it. Beyond that there is nothing. A suffocating vacuum of creative thought.
It’s a wonder Turner Media Innovations would allow, let alone create, this rather plain and uneventful association. I see none of the ‘brand integration’ or ‘innovation’ promised in their show reel. And also in line for interrogation should be Carat Sponsorship who, in trying to secure the best possible campaign for Lego evidently lost the initiative. And the degree to which this campaign works will be anyone’s guess (for that’s what the evaluation will be – a guess). It’s almost criminal that today, given the stifling squeeze on marketing budgets and our duty to be more accountable, that there is no apparent means of tracking response, sales or footfall. This campaign will deliver for LegoLand little more than hope.
In the press release the words ‘interact more deeply’ drew me like a magnet. I was expecting great things from this deal. I had visions of a brand and media union that took the thread of a great idea to stitch together the idents with added value footage on a digital platform, a special Ben 10 experience within LegoLand, a licensing deal to create a limited edition range of Lego Ben 10 characters and a special co-branded website bristling with great Ben 10/Lego content and game downloads on offer in exchange for consumer data, and an online store for Ben 10 Lego sets and merchandise.
This could have been a great partnership with so much more mileage. This is a deal that must have been done in the dark. The result is a union of two brands who appear very ill ease in each other’s company and who are behaving like they’ve just woken up from a one night stand. It’s certainly a holiday romance that won’t last.
Surely all sponsorships have hidden talent. The splicing together of a brand with a rights holder’s assets will always create something new, authentic and credible; something that’s unique and will work for both parties. But thinking creatively does require a little effort. It’s not easy or we’d all be doing it as regularly as switching on the TV.
But we can change the way we think. Our vertical posture and horizontal view means we automatically assign things tops, bottoms and sides. To even maintain our balance we have an instinctive preference for the way the world should look – neatly ordered and upright. Even a tilted picture provokes a sense of unease and an urge to straighten it. It’s even difficult to recognise a familiar face when we see it upside down.
Our view of the world and our appreciation of what’s in it is obscured if the rules and expectations that we have for it are broken. The Tower of Pisa, for example, is better known for its lean that its architectural merit.
So, the next time a golden sponsorship opportunity comes along, step back and see it not for the obvious. Don’t do it the way everyone else does it. Think business, think ideas and then think execution. Try to see things differently – the rights you hold, the way they can be changed, the way they can be communicated, the way an audience can interact.
By way of an analogy; although a square may be a square the simple act of rotating it through 45 degrees will make it look quite different. In fact we call it a diamond – it’s exactly the same shape of course but is an altogether different image. And naturally, a diamond has values that a square can only dream of. It has a vast array of alternative values, meanings and associations.
If Turner and Lego had sat back for a moment and turned their campaign through 45 degrees maybe they’d have seen the true value in what they had.
Marks out of 10? Five; for getting together in the first place. See Me after class.