A Match Made In Monkey Heaven
So I’m at a friend’s house for a Fat Tuesday celebration, and as I’m hovering over the pot of jambalaya I noticed something interesting on his kitchen counter. First off, he has a banana rack (not to be confused with a banana hammock) to display his fresh bananas. I found that very intriguing and very metrosexual. Secondly, the Chiquita bananas had little monkey stickers on them. What happened to the traditional, blue banana sticker that I subconsciously equate with a fresher, superior tasting banana? Oh, that sticker is on the bananas in a new video game for the Wii.
It appears as though Chiquita and Sega have teamed up for a little cross promotion. The famous blue-stickered banana will be featured in the new “Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll” game for the Nintendo Wii. In exchange, Chiquita is promoting the game release on 180 million bananas in grocery stores (and on banana racks) near you.
Pulled from an article at Cincinnati.com, the Chiquita people describe the relationship like so:
“We feel that this is a natural fit – to promote healthy and fresh snacking while exercising on a fun game,” Chiquita Brands International spokesman Ed Loyd said. “We’ll obviously be tracking any changes in volume, but the key thing for us is to build the brand.”
It seems like a “natural fit” indeed, Ed. You got my attention.
The deal, which does not involve money changing hands, follows last fall’s national TV ad campaign, Chiquita’s first in more than 20 years. In addition, the company is said to be aggressively pursuing other brand licensing deals for products such as its frozen fruit smoothie concentrate and banana bread mix.
The Chiquita presence adds to a growing list of in-game ads. Well-known titles such as EA’s Madden NFL football franchise and even the space opera “Halo 3” now routinely include in-game ads or product tie-ins.
Tags: Chiquita Bananas, Cross Promotion, food, marketing, Product Placement, products
Categories: Miscellaneous.
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