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Kobe Bryant and the folks creating KB24.com recently struck gold with a Nike-sponsored video that generated buzz across the globe. I am sure you have already seen the clip countless times - Bryant appears to jump over an Aston Martin that is speeding at him... An illusion? Probably (Most people think the car is driving next to where he is standing).
Nonetheless, this is a great example of how companies are using Youtube and creative viral messaging to drive buzz, web traffic, and in the end... incremental dollars (for Kobe's new shoe - the first Nike shoe to ever use a player's website as its first point-of-sale medium).
When marketers are trying to think creatively about a way to drive awareness for their brand, they often resort to reliable brainstorming strategies. Looking to build the Wildcat brand, the University of Kentucky developed the "Barn Storming Cats" program, an outdoor viral messaging campaign. The Barn Storming Cats initiative reaches out to UK loyalists throughout the state owning barns situated in high traffic areas. UK athletics offers these persons free tickets to a UK men's basketball game of their choice in exchange for the ability to brand their barn with a UK logo and the slogan, "Go Big Blue!". UK also provides barn donors with UK paraphernalia and recognition in numerous UK Athletics publications.
The program has proven to be a huge success and is a very efficient and effective way to drive the Wildcat brand throughout the state of Kentucky! For more information, refer to the UK athletics webpage.
Imagine driving through Times Square on NBA-All Star weekend and looking up to see Steve Nash delivering a bounce pass to teammate Amare Stoudamire. This doesn't sound breathtaking... until you consider the fact that both players are actually visualations featured 200 feet in the air on neighboring skyscrapers. While the idea (and its explanation) is somewhat hard to entertain, the future is just around the corner (see the video below). Now it's all about, who will make the first pass?
The enclosed video below captures an innovative billboard concept created by the WWF. With costs in mind, this outdoor messaging would be a pretty creative thought for a the Miami Heat, who could have heat (or flames) rise during the day as the sun passes across the sky. By using a little creativity, organizations need to do a more effective job driving viral buzz through outdoor messaging.
The sports marketplace is cluttered. Who are we kidding? Can consumers really differentiate among team sponsors, radio sponsors, television sponsors... the list goes on? Sponsors are continuously looking for new ways to escape the clutter but are repeatedly being sold the same, stale assets by properties. Here is a unique ambush/guerilla marketing tactic that can be used to drive brand awareness among large crowds at-venue:
The tactic, entitled Frozen Grand Central, demonstrates the power of an orchestrated group of individuals (207 to be exact) to immediately capture the attention of a mass group of people. As an avenue to integrate this "awareness measure" into the sports marketplace, sponsors can implement a similar guerilla/ambush marketing tactic at a racetrack's Speedway Boulevard, Home Depot's College Gameday set, or other crowded areas of venues.
How does this translate to sports?
Companies seeking brand awareness drivers (or ambush initiatives to break through exclusivity barriers) could implement a similar tactic within large crowds. Red Bull could stage 300+ persons in Speedway Boulevard of a race weekend to immediately stop and pause in their tracks.
After five minutes, branded Red Bull girls could come around and distribute product and give them wings (simulating the fact that they are receiving an energy boost). In the end though it comes down to "What does this do for the brand?" Unfortunately, this measure does not do more than drive awareness, although some creative thinking could make it a more impacting impression.
Industries/Companies for Consideration (among others):
Sprint/Alltel/Motorola/Verizon/AT&T (have actors stop in different conversation poses)
Energizer/Duracell (Plug in batteries to battery packs strapped on actors backs and they re-continue movement)
Red Bull/Monster/Amp (Energy drink example provided above)
Everybody loves buzz... But is it easy to spin someone else's negative buzz into positive buzz for your organization? Well, ask the Dallas Stars, who might tell you to proceed with caution. Shortly after the NBA was bombarded with the Tom Donaghy gambling scandal, the Dallas Stars released an innovative "Come into the Cold" branding scheme, with billboard messaging used as a focal point. The Stars collaborated with local advertising agency Door Number 3 to post billboards throughout town, with a variety of messaing:
"The Only Thing Our Refs Shave is the Ice"
"Ultimate Fighting". What a Friendly Little Sport
The ticket covers the hockey. THE BOXING IS A BONUS.
ONE GAME A WEEK? Is the N In NFL for NANCY?
Their Whole Paycheck is Hazard Pay
Meet Our Two Offenders: Assault and Battery
While the billboard campaign drew extensive media attention, is this effective in the marketer's realm? Is all publicity good publicity? This may draw attention, but does this drive a fanbase? There are many questions at large with this debate but in the end, one has to ask whether this campaign accomplish what it was intended to do, and I believe yes. Is it right? Not necessarily. But in a marketers world, this stands headstrong in terms of generating buzz for the franchise. See the photo gallery for pictures of the Stars' billboard activation: http://partnershipactivation.squarespace.com/activation-gallery/
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 06:44AM 
Looking to draw a herd of traffic to your new website?