Movielink, a studio-sponsored movie download site, tapped Donat/Wald, Santa Monica, CA, as agency of record.
Donat/Wald will handle radio, television, print and online marketing for its Santa Monica-based client. Team One, Los Angeles, was the incumbent.
“The mandate is to handle the announcement of download-to-own, which is really movie history — they’re the first to do it in the United States,” said Lucas Donat, CEO of Donat/Wald.
The agency looks particularly to expand Movielink’s advertising beyond print into radio and online.
“We’re looking for innovative strategies online,” Mr. Donat said. “We’re less interested in traditional advertising. There’s so much opportunity in the online channel and new media.”
Consumers visiting the site at www.movielink.com can download a movie on the same day as the DVD’s market release. The service is a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios. Movielink pulls its content from the libraries of those studios, plus Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax, Artisan and other film companies on a non-exclusive basis.
Donat/Wald won’t disclose the theme of its advertising for Movielink. But work has begun.
“Certainly, leveraging the celebrity of the movies is one of the core things we’ll be exploring,” Mr. Donat said.
