NY Times Launches Film Club With Four Sponsors
The New York Times is today launching the New York Times Film Club, a membership-based club created for an audience passionate about movies. The club will offer exclusive opportunities for members to attend screenings of digitally restored classic films and new movie previews in New York and Los Angeles.
Annual membership, which will run between $100 and $175, entitles members to attend two red-carpet viewings of remastered Hollywood classics followed by conversations with Times journalists, film talent and experts each year. Annual membership also includes six preview screenings from a selection of dozens of upcoming movie releases.
If the hybrid membership/sponsor exclusive event model sounds familiar, take a look at Gen Art, the hipster-targeted arts and entertainment organization that became insolvent earlier this year, filed for bankruptcy and recently was bought by CJ Follini of Ten Paces Media for a price in the "hundreds of thousands." Advertising and corporate sponsorship comprised 80% of its revenue. It is not clear what chunk of revenue the New York Times expects to garner from sponsorships in relation to membership fees, and they will presumably be able to use the inventory as a value-add for larger media buys.
"The New York Times Film Club provides advertisers with an attractive audience of smart, affluent and passionate consumers," said Denise Warren, senior vice president and chief advertising officer for The New York Times Media Group and general manager of NYTimes.com. "We are working closely with Premiere Previews to offer year-round branding opportunities for sponsors, including at red-carpet events, in New York Times print ads and online at NYTimes.com."
Four presenting sponsors join The New York Times Film Club at launch: Intel, Marc Jacobs, Nespresso and Tourneau/TAG Heuer.
"The response by sponsors to this unique marketing opportunity has been phenomenal," said Peter O. Price, chief executive of Premiere Previews.
Want to get on board with the NY Times Film Club? Ring up Lou Fabrizio, vice president of advertising for The New York Times Media Group, at 212-556-7528 and [email protected].
