'Regis & Kelly' join Walgreens for in-store promotion

Advertising Age has reported that daytime television sensation "Live with Regis and Kelly" is teaming up with Walgreens to promote their Halloween special.

According to the article, "The stars of "Live With Regis and Kelly" always dress up for its annual big Halloween show, but this year, the Oct. 31 episode will be broadcast in 3-D. Viewers will be able to enjoy the special effect if they pick up the required 3-D glasses at the photo department of a local Walgreens store as part of an advertising and promotional deal."

Older, retirement-aged audiences are the bread and butter of this promotion. They are the folks that spend a little more time in stores like Walgreens as they develop pictures of their grandchildren and search for bargains on bar soap and detergent. That same group also makes up a healthy (and growing) portion of the 'Regis' audience. By promoting the 3-D special on the show, the network can drive traffic to Walgreens (a current 'Regis' advertiser), with a specific call to action (who knows, it could be the deciding factor between a trip to Walgreens vs. CVS for some consumers). On the flip-side, Walgreens shoppers that don't normally watch the show might notice the 3-D glasses and associated POP and decide to check the episode out, completing the circle.

In addition, this is yet another example of how the entertainment industry is moving towards less-conventional out-of-home advertising techniques. It's becoming obvious that ad execs are paying more attention to OOH advertising in a serious way as they populate stores like CVS, Duane Reade and Walgreens with ads and feature billboards buses and all sorts of other things as part of integrated campaigns promoting the new fall network TV shows. Take a walk through the heart of Manhattan and you don't need to be a TV exec to know what shows are debuting and when... you just have to look around.

And while 'Regis and Kelly' is already an early morning staple with tons of brand equity, this move does help with brand reinforcement, and offers a longtime advertiser the chance to maybe gain even more of the audience's mindshare. If it works, and people respond positively, expect other similar promotions to pop up. After all, if an admittedly un-exciting store like Walgreens can successfully pull off something like this, then practically any store can.

Tags: out-of-home advertising, OOH advertising, Walgreens