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Does Tesco have a role to play in steamy blockbusters?
Marketing: February 2010. By Ben Stephens, Managing partner, SFW.
Marketing: February 2010. By Ben Stephens, Managing partner, SFW.
Britain’s biggest supermarket has launched a multimillion-pound film production arm to adapt the novels of popular authors such as Jackie Collins for exclusive DVD distribution through its stores.
Well, not literally ‘yes’ – I can’t see Sir Terry Leahy moving in the same circles as the bed hopping, pill-popping tycoons, models, and heiresses who populate Jackie Collins’ novels – but the retailier has little to lose from this deal.
With the big brand-owners falling over themselves to get their products on Tesco’s shelves, space is not a premium. No doubt Amber Productions, the company making the films in collaboration with Tesco, will be shouldering most of the cost, so for the supermarket this is win-win partnership marketing, and another boost for its non-food offering. It sells TVs and DVD players; entertainment is a natural extension.
For real proof, just visit a Tesco outlet. The retailer sells £1.5m worth of books a week, most of which are in the Jackie Collins genre. What is the worst case scenario? Sex and supermarkets don’t mix? No problem. There are plenty more brand-owners out there who will take up that vacant shelf space.