Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

If 4 hours of Jack Bauer wasn't enough for you this weekend, check out this branded entertainment effort by Degree: "Rookie: CTU"

Its a series of side stories based on the 24/ CTU universe featuring "Jason Blaine," a rookie analyst/field agent. Chapter 1 launched last night and it seems we will have to wait a bit longer (about 19 more days) to see the continuation of the story. However, the stories will connect to cliff hanger commercials and be the basis for other Degree/24 promotions. More about the program can be found here.

This isn't the first time that 24 has ventured into branded partnerships, spin-offs or a combination of the two. "24: The Conspiracy," was a mobile video spinoff developed for exclusive distribution on select mobile carriers and Toyota recently sponsored the Season 6 prequel which was bundled into the Season 5 DVD set.

In other 24 news, Fox released a retail DVD of the first 4 hours of Season 6  for fans who may have missed this week's airings (this DVD may have been the source of this month's episode 1 leak on BitTorrent). This action follows the announcement by NBC and Netflix for an exclusive "season in review" DVD for its hit show, "Heroes." Both efforts represent a convenient on-ramp to lure late viewers into the programs.

While digital distribution offers new-media friendly fans the opportunity to catch up, will mid-season DVD releases appeal to traditional viewers who want content on a conventional home video format? 

And while we're on the subject, couldn't someone have bought Jack a cup of coffee after he came off that plane?

Chad Stoller