assign. #3: Luke, I am your Father

The article I chose from clickz.com was "Lucas Raises Curtain on Early 'Sith' Promotions"
Summary: Lucas has partnered with Cingular and Moviephone for exclusive promotional items/content for Episode 3. Examples: Moviephone users got the full length trailer about one week ahead of everyone else and Cingular has exclusive downloadables for sale such as movie quotes, mobile games, screensavers and animated wallpapers.

Why did I choose this? Mostly because I love Star Wars, partly because I love special effects (and anything lucas does will be full of them) and finally because Star Wars is a marketing phenomenon. If you want to talk brand loyalty, talk Star Wars. There is no other brand out there that I know of where the fan base is expecting the next installment to be crap, but absolutely can't wait to go see it anyway.

What does it have to do with ecommerce? It is ecommerce. These companies have combined to sell certain things online. The types of items have all been available for a long time, but it's got a new content/context related spin, it's about Star Wars. Cingular and Moviephone made a smart move in hooking up with Lucas because of the tramendous brand loyalty associated with Star Wars and the huge wide ranging (demographically) fan base. Being able to provide exclusive Star Wars stuff gives them a one up in the constant struggle online for the next new and exciting thing. The exclusivity also means they don't have to worry about there competitors offering the same stuff the next day.