Ultimate Movie Night
Photo credit: DreamWorks
Challenge:
In 2004, Shrek 2 had earned $929 million at the worldwide box office and was about to become the fastest-selling DVD in history. My job at DreamWorks Home Entertainment was to make sure that momentum carried all the way to the retail shelf — at Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, CVS, Blockbuster, Kmart, and beyond.
Every major retailer wanted something exclusive. That meant negotiating cross-promotional partnerships with brands like General Mills, M&M's, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Dial, and Hasbro — nearly 80 brand partners in total — and building programs tailored to what each retailer needed to win.
The result:
Shrek 2 sold over 33 million units worldwide in its first year, generating $458 million in domestic retail revenue and accounting for 80% of DreamWorks Animation's quarterly revenue. It was the top holiday sales leader of 2004 and a record-setter in international markets across more than a dozen countries. Combined with the original Shrek, the franchise crossed $1.6 billion in combined home video sales.
My favorite part:
The Kroger meeting. I flew from Los Angeles to Ohio to pitch their buyer. He was direct: don't show me what my competitors have. I want something bigger.
So I went back, negotiated with multiple brand partners, and came back with the Ultimate Movie Night — an exclusive bundle available only at Kroger: a Shrek 2 DVD, a Totino's Shrek-branded pizza, a bag of Ogre-sized M&M's, and a two-liter Pepsi. Nearly $15 in added value. Dinner, dessert, and a movie — in one cart.
No other retailer had it.
The DVD released November 5, 2004. The next morning, I was on a plane to New Zealand for twelve days of hiking. Timing felt about right.
What This Means For My Clients Today:
The best partnerships aren't about splitting costs — they're about creating something neither party could build alone. At DreamWorks, that meant understanding what a buyer actually needed to win, then working backward through every partner negotiation to make it possible. That's the same instinct I bring to clients today: find the insight, build around what the other person needs, and make it impossible to say no.
