Have you ever had a moment when you realise that the film brand you’ve grown to love has just completely sold its soul and left you feeling cold and bereft?

For me, those moments came with the Aliens / Predator mash-up and the Star Wars prequel films. Both brand examples sold part, or in the case of the first, all of their soul to make a few bucks… which left me angry­­–very angry.

So when I downloaded an update to one of my favourite smartphone apps, Angry Birds, and saw an in-game notice about a new app mash-up with an upcoming film, an unpleasant taste instantly filled my mouth.

But Rovio, the makers of Angry Birds, have consistently delivered a great product every time, so I felt obliged to give them the benefit of the doubt and downloaded the app. And I’m glad I did…

It combines the world, characters and gameplay of Angry Birds with the characters and storyline of the upcoming 20^th Century Fox animated film, Rio, whose main characters are mostly native South American birds. The game-play is essentially the same, but with subtle changes to the design and graphics which really makes it a slick gaming experience.

Take a look at the trailer for an idea of what to expect… Angry Birds Rio Trailer

The trailer for the app has already seen more than 3.6 million views on YouTube. By the way, those views are predominantly driven through in-game promotion and word-of-mouth alone.

What I LOVE about the way this app approaches the mash-up is that it has extreme respect for both brands that it represents. For example, the music combines the Angry Birds theme with a samba-style that matches Rio’s soundtrack. The usual ‘Angry Birds’ buttons and menu items are still there, but this time they have been stylised to fit in with the look and feel of the movie. The characters and storyline interweave seamlessly and all the elements that you’ve come to expect from the game-play are there, with a few minor stylised enhancements.

More importantly, the app has thought long and hard about how to engage its audience over a longer period of time, framed around the release of the film. The app was made available in March, while the film was open around the world early April. Ongoing updates throughout the rest of 2011 are already scheduled and highlighted in the app, so gamers know they can expect to download more fun and adventures in the months to come.

If birds of a feather really do flock together, then this avian mash-up has definitely earned a feather for its cap.

The Angry Birds Rio app is available for download on Android & iPhone/iPad

Marketers will probably face opportunities for cross promotion with the brands they work with. What can we learn from this app on how to approach a ‘brand mash’ successfully?

• Look for shared ‘brand’ values – the more in common, the more both brands have to gain from a joint venture. As with love, some brands just don’t make for good partners.
• Consider how your brand fans might react to a cross promotion – does the other brand fan-base have a footprint that matches, or complements your brand?
• Draw on the strength of existing audiences to credibly grow both brands
• Plan for engagement over a quick pay-off – leave your fans feeling rewarded by the shared brand experience. Loyal fans are a higher goal than just ‘fans on a page’
• And above all, retain the personality of both brands – after all, this is what your fans identify with.

Tagged as: Android, Angry Birds, app, brand, iPhone, Marketing, Rio