( Reported by Black Talent News) Our Stories Films, the film studio owned by BET founder and Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson and run by Tracey Edmonds, has entered into a multi-year marketing partnership with Cricket Communications to leverage each brand’s core target audience of urban consumers. Our Stories Films develops and produces comedies for African-American and urban audiences. The studio's first release -- "Who's Your Caddy?" -- debuted in theaters July 27. Cricket Communications is a unit of the San Diego-based Leap Wireless International Inc. “Our partnership with Cricket will enable OSF to promote new movie releases to millions of moviegoers through their cell phones,” said Johnson, Chairman and CEO of The RLJ Companies, the parent company of OSF. “As wireless devices continue to become the information and entertainment source of choice for many people, we are excited to create a footprint for OSF with Cricket.”

The multi-layered partnership will include the integration of Cricket wireless products into OSF films and events, along with exclusive promotions designed for Cricket customers. Cricket will leverage its growing national retail network to execute in-store OSF promotions. The Cricket and OSF partnership will kick off with the release of the next OSF film which is scheduled for 2008.

“Movies are an important part of the lifestyle of our Cricket customers and our partnership with OSF will allow Cricket to deliver exclusive Hollywood insider access to our customers,” said Doug Hutcheson, CEO and President of Leap Wireless International, Inc. “From exclusive film content to Hollywood premieres, the OSF and Cricket alliance will deliver a unique experience to our customers.”

In addition to the Cricket partnership OSF announced a major marketing alliance with The Ford Motor Company in July. Both partnerships were negotiated by Maven Strategies, the marketing agency of record for The RLJ Companies.