Hallmark Media, the studio behind dozens of romantic and holiday films a year, is ramping up its output and experimenting with new forms of entertainment as demand for the brand reaches a fever pitch.
The Big Picture: While Hallmark can be the butt of a lot of jokes in media and entertainment circles, the brand’s expanding fanbase shows that catering to a niche community is a great business model and that family-friendly entertainment is underserved by Hollywood.
Behind The Scenes: Hallmark wants to entertain you on land, sea, and, we assume, one day, air.
It launched its Hallmark+ streaming service last month, which doles out Crown Rewards points by just watching content on the app.
It struck a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, culminating in the movie Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, which will feature Chiefs coach Andy Reid, several players, and even Travis Kelce’s mom, Donna. It premieres November 30th.
November 30th is also the beginning of Hallmark’s first “Christmas Experience” — a four-weekend-long extravaganza featuring a holiday market, product drops, and nightly tree lightings that’s expected to bring in 80,000 attendees.
Also, the maiden voyage of the “Hallmark Christmas Cruise” (a four-night trip from the Bahamas) kicks off in November. It sold out in hours and broke Norwegian Cruise Line records with 70,000 people on the waitlist — a second cruise sold out in under 24 hours.
Closing Credits: If you’re thinking, “That’s a lot of Hallmark,” well, that’s kind of the point. But it’s also strategic. Take the Chiefs partnership, for example. It’s common knowledge that the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift relationship brought in a huge number of new female fans for the team. But according to Chiefs president Mark Donovan, there are apparently more female Chiefs fans than male fans… and they have a huge crossover with Hallmark’s audience. Over half of the audience of Hallmark’s popular “Countdown to Christmas” movie series also watch sports.
In other words, watch as Hallmark becomes a Disney-like entertainment empire. Where do you think the company will build a theme park?
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