LONDON -- According to a report in the London Times, family entertainment conglomerate Disney is considering promoting its next blockbuster film through promotional tie-ups with major UK banks.
"Pirates of the Caribbean," based on one of the most popular rides at Disney World, is scheduled for release in summer 2003, but the studio is already formulating a marketing plan.
Disney has held talks with a number of UK banks, believed to include Lloyds TSB, Barclays, HBOS and the Nationwide Building Society, according to the Times.
The joint promotion could include film trailers playing at branch ATMs, according to the Times, in addition to Disney characters making appearances at branches.
Ignacio Darnaude, senior vice-president of international marketing, told the Times that Disney would consider promotional partnerships if "it enhances the brand and is something fun and different. It is all about execution and being tasteful."
Disney has made only one deal before with a financial institution, the Italian bank BPVN, for the film Atlantis: the Lost Empire.
