The Cat in the Hat Nationwide Challenge, Universal Studios and First Book
With a total budget under $75,000, First Book and Universal managed to generated positive publicity for the launch of The Cat in the Hat movie and First Book’s child literacy efforts on news broadcasts in 25 markets plus The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Today Show. The hook? By wearing a Cat hat on the air, a news anchor could trigger a donation of 5,000 new Random House books to children in need in his or her community. (Katie & Oprah triggered donations of 50,000 books) In total, 31.5 million impressions were generated, 225,000 books with a retail value of $1 million were donated and the whole program was paid for by the Universal Studios Foundation and a movie premiere benefit.
