Specialty Products; Oz-Style!

While on the hunt for a lunch venue in Disney's California Adventure park, I came across a hotdog stand called Award Wieners. The stand looked promising by the long line of people waiting to order and the extensive menu specialty hotdogs above the ordering windows.

While at the ordering window I noticed that Award Wieners was offering something very special; a lunch themed around the movie, "Oz the Great and Powerful."

The hotdog was called the "Yellow Brick Roll" and was made of a Kobe all-beef Chicago-style hotdog. It is served with cheddar-poppy yellow roll with dill pickles, tomatoes, onions, pepperoncini and sweet emerald green relish.

The "yellow-brick" roll makes reference to the yellow-brick road that leads to the Emerald City. The roll also has poppy-seeds in it, which in the movie, the poppy field causes visitors to fall fast asleep. The Emerald City is also represented by the emerald green relishes.

The specialty drink was called the "Wizard Blizzard", which was a concoction of lemonade, granny smith apple flavoring, and was topped with a citrus foam. Oh, and the entire drink glowed!

By offering a special product to advertise a movie, it not only attracts those who like the movie to the product, but also attract those who like the product to the movie. Disney thought outside of the box and created a way to weave in the "Oz" movie in an unexpected but pleasant place. This is marketing genius. The public expects to be able to buy movie merchandise and to see commercials promoting the movie on TV. By offering this product, Disney not only increases their chances to make a sale, but also increases awareness of the movie.

Check out this link to Disney's food blog post featuring these specialty products:
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/04/16/dining-in-disneyland-award-wieners-serving-up-oz-themed-menu-items/

A Sneak Peek!

While in Disneyland, I came across a giant billboard-like cut out for "Oz the Great and Powerful" in the Disney's California Adventure park.

The giant sign was not only a great photo-op for tourists, but also a sign advertising that the park hosts a 4-D Sneak Peek of the movie. Any guest who visited the attraction "Muppet*Vision 3-D" got this sneak peak of the movie.

A 4-D attraction in Disneyland or Disney World is usually a 3-D movie with extra elements that make it 4-D. For example, if a character in the movie sneezes towards the camera, the audience may get sprinkled with water. This technique makes the audience feel like they are in the movie being sneezed on.

Disney advertises this movie to not only Disney-lovers who are visiting the park, but also to families and individuals who like the Muppets and visit that attraction. Disney took advantage of the audience that was already sitting, waiting for the attraction to start. This raises awareness of the movie to the audience and also gives the audience a sample of the movie to entice them to want more of it. This is similar to the goal of a movie trailer or a commercial.

Check out the Disney Parks Blog featuring this exclusive 4-D sneak peek!
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/02/get-a-sneak-peek-at-oz-the-great-and-powerful-at-disney-california-adventure-park-during-limited-time-magic/

Hi, I'm Victoria Lamanna, a public relations student at Utica College. The purpose of this blog will be to follow the many ways that the Disney Company promotes their new movie "Oz the Great and Powerful". So far, they have played commercials, released merchandise, and much more. Check back for my next post where I will be observing how the Disney Company promotes "Oz" in their theme parks. Yes, that's right! My next stop is Disneyland in Anaheim, California.