Walt Disney Studios Canada and the Calgary Stampede have partnered up for a one-of-a-kind cross-promotion that tells tourists to “Kick off your Stampede by seeing The Lone Ranger on July 3rd.”
The movie premieres just two days before the Stampede begins. That gave Disney a golden opportunity, said Greg Mason, Canadian VP marketing for Walt Disney Studios Canada.
“The theme lends itself incredibly well with the whole Western theme of The Lone Ranger, and the white hats—nobody does the white hats better than the Calgary Stampede,” said Mason. “Not only was the theme great, but the timing was impeccable.”
To promote the Stampede outside of its core market in Western Canada, Stampede Royalty will be giving out cowboy hats at advance screenings of the Lone Ranger all across the country, and two all-accommodations-paid trips to the Stampede will be given out in Disney contests at Goodlife Fitness and Empire Theatres.
On the other side of the deal, Disney will get exposure at the Stampede when Silver, the Ranger’s horse, appears in the parade. Leading up to the event, Disney will run a Calgary-focused campaign of digital, TV and billboard ads sporting the Stampede logo and the “Kick Off Your Stampede” tie-in.
Disney and the Stampede have a long partnership dating back to 1965, when Walt Disney was one of the first parade marshals. Mason said Disney usually has a presence at the Stampede, but this is the first time they’ve attempted an integrated campaign on this scale.
The film remake of the 1950s TV Lone Ranger series is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking duo behind the action-fantasy hit Pirates of the Carribean. It stars Armie Hammer as a masked ex-Texas Ranger and John Depp as Native American sidekick Tonto.
