KidsWish.com, a Web site that lets children create wish lists and e-mail them to friends and relatives, launches today backed by a marketing campaign that includes ads in family-oriented e-mail newsletters and a Pokémon promotion.
The ads will reach 1 million parents in e-mail newsletters published by Warner Bros., MamaMedia.com and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.”
“In certain newsletters, we will have more space than others, but we are going to be testing offers with this initial campaign,” said Eran Fields, chairman/CEO of KidsWish.com. “We have also purchased some lists and will be doing e-mail campaigns to families that have purchased kids products.”
The newsletter campaign will last four weeks, giving it time to test various offers. “We will see what tests best and then from there decide what we should use in future campaigns,” Fields said.
The hottest promotion involves a sponsorship deal with Warner Bros. for “Pokémon: The First Movie,” which hit theaters Nov. 12. Any child who creates a wish list will receive a free movie poster. Other offers to spur children to use the site include the chance to win a free pack of Pokémon cards, a $1,000 weekly giveaway and 20 percent off all purchases of media products.
KidsWish.com, New York, will run animated banner ads on the Warner Bros., MamaMedia.com and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” Web sites and radio ads that will play predominantly in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Children who want to use the site, which is targeted at 2- to10-year-olds, will be asked to provide a user name, password and e-mail address. Fields said children will be instructed to have their parents present when providing the information, and registrants will be able to decide whether they want to receive other marketing offers.
The site contains eight categories – such as books, music, videos and toys – with numerous subcategories for each. There are seven partners that supply products to the site, including Art.com, furniture.com, ToyTime, Discovery and The Learning Company. Fields said he hopes to have five more by the end of the year. When children click on a product they want to ad to their list, they receive an enlarged image of the product with more detailed information.
Once recipients receive the e-mail, they can browse the list and then click on the gift they want to purchase. Depending on the gift, they will either be taken to the shopping cart on KidsWish.com or to the participating retailer’s Web site.
