SneezeCast Viral Video Helps Harry Potter Books 'Fly' Off the Shelf

(PRWEB) July 6, 2007 -- SneezeCast, LLC, a newly formed viral video marketing agency with offices in Nashville, Tennessee and Grand Rapids, Michigan, today announced a campaign for Meijer (www.meijer.com), the supermarket chain based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to promote the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, releasing at 12:01am July 21, 2007.

The "customer inclusive" promotion allows individuals in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky to make a cameo appearance in a mini movie created for the web where they appear to fly on a broom. The movie's story begins at night in a Meijer parking lot where an employee checks his watch, looks to the sky, lights a roadside flare and bends to place it on the pavement. The video then cuts to kids around the world flying on brooms past landmarks like the Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, and Big Ben. It ends with thousands of kids on brooms landing at Meijer to be among the first to get the new Harry Potter book.

The film has the look and feel of a Potter movie "The film has the look and feel of a Potter movie," says Adam Stielstra, SneezeCast's Chief Film Officer, "Kids especially have loved it."

A SneezeCast crew takes a computerized green screen video recording system from city to city between June 28 and July 20 making stops at summer festivals, movie theaters, and professional baseball parks where people can straddle a Harry Potter -style broom, stand in front of a green screen (like your weatherman uses) and, through the magic of computer technology, appear to fly high above Stone Henge. The participant's 10 second clip is inserted into the 1 minute 50-second film and posted on the web (www.meijerpotter.com) where they can watch it, download it, paste it into a website like MySpace, or forward it to friends via email.

"Meijer challenged us to create a fun viral way to promote the new Harry Potter book," said Greg Stielstra, SneezeCast's Chief Viral Officer, "By letting people participate,the Meijer/Harry Potter film appeals to people's self-interest and that makes it very viral."

SneezeCast clients can monitor their videos as they propagate along social networks thanks to proprietary tracking technology and a password-protected campaign monitoring site. "We track typical 'node' metrics, like: views, downloads, and 'send to a friend' instances." Says Bob Hutchins, SneezeCast's chief technical officer, "But we also measure deeper metrics like partial views, complete views, and geographic location of viewer which is so important to viral promotions."

Schedule:
The Meijer/Harry Potter Movie Crew will land in the following cities:
June 28-July5 Muskegon Summer Celebration - Muskegon, Michigan
July 6 - Kane County Cougars - Geneva, Illinois
July 7 & 8 - Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati, Ohio
July 9, 2007 Lexington Legends - Lexington, KY
July 11-14 - Celebration Cinemas North, Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 20 - Meijer store #239 - Chicago, Illinois

SneezeCast is a collection of experts who build brands by creating, seeding, and tracking viral video campaigns for the web and other new media. Learn more at www.sneezecast.com.

-Bob Hutchins is an Internet marketing veteran with over 11 years experience. He also the founder of BuzzPlant (http://www.buzzplant.com), and a principal in Groundforce Network(http://www.groundforcenetwork.com  His expertise extends to online media, Email marketing and wireless messaging. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Inc. Magazine, and many other national media sources.

-Adam Stielstra is an 11-year advertising and filmmaking veteran who has written or directed hundreds of productions for film, television, and the web.

-Greg Stielstra is a word-of-mouth marketing expert, the author of PyroMarketing: The Four Step Strategy to Ignite Customer Evangelists and Keep Them For Life (HarperBusiness, September 2005), and was the marketing director for The Purpose Driven Life, the best-selling hardcover book in American history. He is also pricipal owner of PyroMarketing (www.pyromarketing.com) a marketing consultancy specializing in word-of-mouth and faith-based campaigns.