Downloads:

Balloons Mean More than Branding in Macy’s Parade

Four new balloon characters will join the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, according to The New York Times: Mr. Potato Head, Scooby-Doo, JoJo from the Disney Channel’s JoJo’s Circus, and Dora the Explorer, the parade’s first Latina character. The parade sees more than 2.5 million viewers lining the route from Central Park West to Herald Square, with more than 50 million watching on network television.

Increasingly, marketers are seeing the parade not simply as a way to reach a wide audience, but as a way to launch a promotional campaign, introducing a new character to the parade - such as SpongeBob Squarepants last year - to coincide with a major movie release. But perhaps more important, marketers see the parade as a way to make a statement to retailers and licensees that a company is in the business of franchising, writes Chief Marketer.

For example, the Disney Channel was able to get JoJo toys into the Toys ‘R’ Us holiday catalog because of the parade, and a 200 percent increase in sales has already resulted. According to Adam Sanderson, senior vp, brand marketing for Disney ABC Cable Networks Group, Disney’s association with the parade will be leveraged in ongoing deals with licensees and to win over potential advertisers.