More than two decades after its arrival and with countless toys sold through, Transformers has  become one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time and woven into the global pop culture.

The June 24th release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro will create a new level of interest in the brand and the accompanying widespread licensing programme, spearheaded by the toy range. 

Licensing
To give fans of all ages a fully immersive Transformers experience, Hasbro, together with its toy development team, Digitial Media, and Entertainment and Licensing groups, has pulled together a comprehensive program that will offer a wide range of products across all major lifestyle categories. 

More than 230 licensees worldwide are signed including Activision and Glu Mobile (video and mobile gaming), Harper Collins (publishing), Rubies (dress up), Smith & Brooks (apparel), GB Eye (posters) and Alpha (back-to-school) to name just a few. 

All of these licensees will be bringing their own marketing and PR campaigns to the table which will dovetail nicely into Hasbro’s own toy campaign centred around the film.

Marketing
The franchise is the key focus within Hasbro’s boys toys range in 2009, with a full marketing campaign to reflect this. The onslaught started at the beginning of the year but the heavyweight media campaign kicks off on May 30th to celebrate the toy launch and continues through to Christmas Day.  The media mix includes kids consumer print, PR, POS, collector/fan focused activity and TV. 

TV
The TV campaign will focus on all key segments within the toy line which includes core action figures and role play. Special promotions are also planned including a tour of the Bumblebee Camaro seen in the film. 

Though the toys launch one month prior to the movie release, select retailers will pre-sell key items from May 1st. These are Optimus Prime (Leader), Bumblebee helmet, Bumblebee arm blaster along with a special Preview wave of Deluxe featuring Bumblebee and Soundwave. Although retailers can pre-order, the items will not ship until the May 30th on-shelf date.

In addition to Hasbro and other licensee marketing campaigns, Paramount Pictures has a stellar line-up of promotional partners on-board to promote the film beginning in late-May, including General Motors and LG Mobile Phones.