To celebrate the highly anticipated release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Weather Network and Warner Bros. Pictures Canada have partnered to reveal an unexpected collaboration. A new web campaign allows fans to check the weather forecasts for Middle-earth, the fictional universe in which The Hobbit is set.
The cross-platform project assigns dynamic weather information to key locations from The Hobbit, and showcases it using main characters from the film. Fans can download a photo app and view the campaign online or through The Weather Network’s mobile site. Currently, fans can click through forecasts on TheWeatherNetwork.com to find the campaign. On Thursday, takeover ads will appear on the site.
Amanda Ploughman, chief marketing officer for The Weather Network, said the campaign is “all part of a plan to increase embedded content,” and a good way to remind advertisers that The Weather Network has a wide audience. (Ploughman said that The Weather Network’s website attracts 10 million unique hits per month.)
“We’re trying to build stronger relationships with advertising communities,” said Ploughman. “As people see we’re willing to use our content in unique ways to reach consumers, they’ll be more inclined to call and partner with us.”
Ploughman also noted that OMD, the communications agency that handled the media buy, approached The Weather Network to discuss the possibility of a Hobbit-themed promotion.
In a statement, OMD strategy supervisor Daniela Marlin said The Weather Network was “the ideal property” to partner with. “With this campaign, we wanted to push the limits of standard, conventional media placements and create an environment that focuses not only on the film’s characters, but highlights aspects of the fictional world that play just as much of an integral role in the film.”
Middle-earth locations featured include Rivendell, Misty Mountains and Bag End – all of which are central to the film’s plot. Josh Siegal, trade marketing manager at The Weather Network, said that the forecast information was derived from the story’s plot, with creative weather conditions “tied into what the area is known for.” Instead of saying “moderate,” for example, they chose to say “mystic fog.” The weather forecast changes three times a day.
An online ROS campaign with co-branded banners will run on web and mobile from Dec. 11-15, with an additional Facebook component also being launched.
