A couple weeks back, Ad Age posted a great article discussing IRON MAN’s corporate partners, which added an estimated $100 million in media to the marketing campaign of the movie. But I wanted to dig a little deeper and examine how each partner used social media in their campaigns.

Now, when you are talking about a property this large, you want the big impressions to get a big box office, not necessarily shake hands with every fan on every social network. And how each partner is involved is the subject of intense negotiations, with very specific rules as to what the partners can and cannot do.

Many of these relationships were defined a while back, before having a tricked-out Facebook or Twitter presence were must-haves for many brands. And in some cases, it may be more essential to go for the mass impressions, instead of dealing with the granular engagement that social media provides. Oddly enough, almost all the partners involved use Flash intros to express the high-tech vision of Stark Enterprises, which requires longer-than-normal load times for many sites. So with that in mind, and let’s dig deeper into what is involved with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

AUDI
Tons of screen time for Tony Stark’s R8 Spyder convertible, as well as additional Audi lines.  Big TV ad buy, promos on Fandango & Movies.com. Online: Tony Stark Innovation Challenge, which encourages budding entrepreneurs to submit their ideas via YouTube + share on Facebook to compete for $15,000 + a trip to California and a hands-on tour of Audi’s facilities (plus a few Stark-sized perks like cocktail attire & spa treatments, all of which will be documented & posted on Audi’s us site.   Some mentions on Audi’s Facebook wall (600,000 followers).

BURGER KING
Returning partner, big media spend targeted towards kids & adults, the movie-branded Whiplash Whopper, some presence at CK kids site. ClubBk.com. No action on Facebook or Twitter (no official BK pages on  either).

7-ELEVEN
Returning partner, new series of branded drink cups & straws; cup rewards, flyaway “Live Like a Billionaire” Sweepstakes. Radio + TV + in-store signage and TV. 700 follower on Twitter, 1.2 million Slurpee fans on Facebook.

LAND O’FROST

What kid wouldn’t want the official sandwich meat of Iron Man? Return partner, big 2 ½ month campaign via POP standees / on-package signage (10 million packages), TV + family-oriented print mag buy, plus sweeps to win a family trip to San Diego / VIP access to marvel events.   Online: flash site, although not as heavy as others — trailers, download wallpapers & coloring sheets, links to games at Marvel Kids.  Zero Facebok presence.

DR PEPPER
3 month campaign, 14 collectible cans, major TV buy /  ads featuring creator Stan Lee.  According to Ad Age, director Jon Favreau even posted pictures of the cans on his Twitter feed.  Online: win LG products via code under bottle cap.  Facebook page has 1.6mm fans, lots of fun stuff far beyond iron man – really socially integrated (including 1 million fans photo contest).

LG ELECTRONICS
Return partner, tons of in-movie LG visibility. TV, in-store, circulars, retail incentives, digital & mobile ads. Comic book giveaway w/ purchase at Verizon Wireless stores.  Online: Augmented reality comic, flash-heavy “Inside the Suit” view to illustrate how LG phone tools can avert crises (heavy, lame).  Facebook page has 16,000 fans around the world.

HERSHEY’S
Heavy TV campaign, tons of instore & on-package visibility (according to Ad Age, in US + a dozen global territories through the end of September). Online: flash heavy, exclusive movie content, visit the Reese’s booth at Stark Expo, instant / enter to win walk-on role instant win sweeps (code under wrapper of branded packaging), place your face in Iron Man or War Machine suits. Promo mentions on Facebook wall (2 million followers).

ORACLE
Plenty of in-movie coverage, as well as a cameo by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.  Iron Man branding in business /  print / outdoor coincided with launch of iPad (for which Oracle / Sun power the Wall Street Journal  app).  “Software. Hardware. Complete” tagline.  Online:  Visit Oracle at Stark Expo to become a Master Cloud Operative (highlight security, troubleshooting, and operations). 37,000 Facebook fans, watch Oracle / Sun ad on YouTube.

ROYAL PURPLE
Return partner, preferred motor oil of Stark Motor Racing. Heavy traditional media presence – co-branded race cars + street teams at events, on-package visibility.  Online: Stark Motor Racing site, become a fan, request physical stickers (sent by mail), download wallpapers, view content, digital comic.  Limited corporate presence on Facebook and Twitter.

SYMANTEC
Focus of campaign is “eliminate online evils” for Norton Antivirus internet security products.  Custom comic book, in-store displays, print & online media buys, wrapped truck tour of car races, Office Depot, Fry’s Electronics stores. Facebook (16,000 fans) page is heavily integrated with Iron Man promo content, including Make Your Own Hero, pix from truck tour (win! yes!  viral!).

Sooooo, who did the best job?  Whose work could use a little work?  Did any of these efforts influence your decision to see the movie or buy the partner’s product?  Discuss below.