What Time Are You Sending Out Emails/Newsletters?

Is your organization looking to generate more interest and responses from newsletters and other email publications? Has your property considered how the time of day emails are distributed can affect the overall response/acceptance rate?

MediaPost recently featured a great article written by Morgan Stewart on the “Best Time of Day” to send emails. The article featured some strong points with key implications for sports marketers:

When is the best time of day to distribute newsletters?

Arriving Early Morning – Many users start their day sorting through their email inboxes. Mornings allow email users to spend uninterrupted time in their inbox. During this time, users usually have a single episode of a considerable amount of time to check their inboxes.

Because there are fewer interruptions and more continuous time spent in the email inbox, mornings are a more logical choice for the delivery of newsletters and long copy emails that require more time for the subscriber to read.

When is the best time of day to send promotional offers?

Arrive Early Afternoon – During the afternoon, consumers have more email episodes, but these episodes are shorter in duration. Between 2pm and 3pm, users are likely to have five (5) individual episodes of 2-3 minutes apiece.

Because consumers during the afternoon are often in a “quick-hit” mode, properties should use the afternoon periods to send out promotions and invitations.

Stewart found through research that email makes up between 30% and 35% of the average user’s media exposure between the hours of 8am and 3pm. This figure drops off during the late afternoon and early evening, only to peak again in the late evening, between 8pm and 9pm.

While the focus of this column was to provide some general insights on email consumption habits, each organization should test the delivery of their distribution methods to ultimately determine what time/style work best to drive fan/consumer response.

Teams Can Benchmark BK's "Wallets of Value"...

Is your organization looking to implement a unique guerrilla marketing strategy? Are you looking to drive attendance at your games in a way that gives back to the community?

With current economic conditions forcing consumers to become increasingly price-conscious, Burger King has rolled out a new "Reverse Pick-Pocketing" campaign designed to heighten awareness for its value meal menu. To support the initiative (and BK's classic media campaign around the King), the QSR chain has reached out to its agency partners to execute a unique guerrilla marketing campaign.  

As part of the "Reverse Pickpocketing" guerrilla campaign, agency partners are calling on each of their employees to drop five (5) wallets around major cities and high-traffic areas. The employees are asked to drop the wallets on buses, trains, sidewalks, etc. and gauge the reaction of consumers when they pick the wallet up. Inside each wallet, agency partners included a BK gift card, a fake ID of the King, between $1-$10 cash, and a fake dry cleaning receipt.  In total, 5,000 wallets were dropped in high-traffic areas of the city of Chicago alone.

Thus far, the guerrilla marketing campaign has proven to be a huge success with citygoers and the media. The campaign has created tremendous BK buzz in each of the executed markets and consumers are even tracking their discoveries on Twitter, blogs, and, Facebook.

So what does all this have to do with sports and partnerships?

Burger King's "Reverse Pick-pocketing" guerrilla strategy is a great example of an initiative that teams can implement to drive ticket sales and awareness. Team representatives can create a similar campaign (integrating coupons of corporate partners in the wallets) that entice people to come to the team's games. The team can "drop" wallets around their local city that include two (2) free ticket vouchers (good for any date between XXX and XXX), $10 in concessions dollars, etc.

By integrating supporting corporate partners into the mix, these "dropped" wallets could become a very hot commodity. Properties could mirror BK's strategy by placing a mascot's picture and information in the wallet. To accomodate the promotional tactic in-venue, teams can use one a tier of 50-100 seats, an unused suite, or standing room only passes in-venue.

On a smaller scale, teams could implement said promotion in and around their venues. To drive concessions and merchandise sales, teams could drop wallets in the concourse level that contain "Buy 1 Get 1 Free offers", coupons ($2 off any purchase of a hot dog), promotional tools (Buy a team jersey and receive a plush toy), free ticket vouchers to a future game, etc.

It's all about driving the value in the current economy. Consider creating similar value-based initiatives that drive brand buzz and demonstrate ways that your property gives back to its fan base and the local community!

A special thanks to Josh Hafer of the Columbus Blue Jackets for his contributions to the column. I also want to direct attention to Ted.me, who posted the pictures of the BK wallet on the Web.

San Jose and Seagate Create BlackArmor...

Are you looking for new ways to leverage supporting corporate partners? Are you looking for unique ways to incorporate 3rd jerseys?

The San Jose recently partnered with Seagate, the world leader in storage solutions, on an unprecedented sponsorship idea. The Sharks and Seagate partnered to create and name the team's Rbk 3rd jersey "Blackarmor" for the 2008-09 season. What's unique about the name is that it coincides with Seagate's new BlackArmor product, the world's first safe portable hard drive.

To promote the launch of the jersey, the San Jose Sharks are featuring a debut countdown for 30 days (leading up to the Sharks' matchup against the Washington Capitals on November 22nd) and are enabling fans to pre-order the new jersey online or at the Sharks store.

With jersey naming rights commanding high-dollar figures, the idea of creating a jersey moniker that associates with a company product/brand provides teams with a new inventory piece to own and create revenue streams from.

The Shark's BlackArmor jersey promotion caps off a 12-year relationship with Seagate. To drive awareness for the partnership, Seagate will also host "BlackArmor Nights" and currently sponsors the Seagate "Sharks Player of the Month" and the Seagate "Sharks Player of the Year".

The San Jose Sharks will wear the BlackArmor 3rd team jerseys on 14 occasions (12 of which will be played at home) during the 2008-09 season. The team is confident that its fan base will be drawn to the distinctive look of the BlackArmor jerseys and it will result in a big win-win for both parties!

A special thanks to Kristin Toth of the San Jose Sharks for her contributions to this column.

EA Sports Creates a Story to Sell NBA Live '09

Is your organization looking to create a story around a brand in an effort to drive sales at retail? Are you looking for unique ways to leverage professional athletes?

EA Sports collaborated with Carmelo Anthony to create a storyline behind its NBA Live '09 product. The two (2) parties agreed to create a viral piece where Carmelo Anthony would need to cut his hair if he lost in a head-to-head matchup against an opponent in NBA Live '09. As a result of this strategy, gamers across the nation will say, "Did you know Carmelo cut his hair because he lost a bet playing NBA Live '09?"

What a great viral play (a special thanks to David Yu of the University of Oregon Warsaw Sports Marketing Program for sending it along). Check it out below:

PartnershipActivation.net is CNBC.com Bound...

Dear Avid Supporters of PartnershipActivation.net,

First off, I want to thank you for all of your support. Secondly, I wanted to quickly mention that I will be filling in for Darren Rovell as the CNBC.com Sports Biz beat writer from Monday, November 10th through Thursday, November 13th. Please check out my featured articles all week on CNBC.com - http://www.cnbc.com/id/15837629.

I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity to showcase my work on Darren's high-profiled CNBC.com Sports Biz column. It is my hope that the extended coverage will drive more readership and attention to PartnershipActivation.net and we can use this site as a platform to drive knowledge and creativity in the global sports marketplace. If you can, please take a moment to check out the articles and and pass along word about the site to colleagues and friends in the industry.

If you are looking for ways to connect with other PartnershipActivation.net users, please join the "Partnership Activation - Users Connect!" Group on Linked In and/or join the Partnership Activation 2.0 monthly newsletter distribution list by sending an email to bgainor@partnershipactivation.net with "Subscribe" in the subject line and your name, title, and contact information in the body of the email.

I will be returning to action on PartnershipActivation.net on Friday, November 14th.

Thanks again for all of your support and please let me know if I can ever be of assistance!

Regards,

Brian 

VitaminWater Introduces You to the Real Steve Nash...

VitaminWater recently launched a new campaign starring Steve Nash... The ads, a far cry from traditional athlete endorsement pieces, do a great job capturing Nash's humorous personality... Check out the viral ads below - they are probably unlike anything that you have ever seen before!

Drive Sales With Unique Retail Displays...

Are you looking for new ways to have an impression on consumers at retail? Are you looking for ways to differentiate your products at point of sale?

Enclosed below are two (2) examples of unique retail displays designed to stimulate consumer interest and product sales: 

• The first two (2) pictures detail a "VitaminWater Stadium" display from the Shoreline Central Market
• The latter picture is a Sobe/Pepsi display at a Food City location that was designed to capitalize on consumer interest in the Super Bowl (as you might remember, Sobe served as the presenting sponsor of the SB halftime show)

VITAMINWATER - SHORELINE CENTRAL MARKET

    

SOBE/PEPSI (FOOD CITY)

Looking to Drive Concessions or Merchandise Sales?

Are you looking for new ways to drive concessions and merchandise sales? Are you looking to leverage a partnership with a movie theater chain in the local marketplace?

McDonalds recently collaborated with operators from 225 cinemas across the UK to implement a unique promotion designed to drive consumers to purchase large sized meals and premium salads. The promotion enables all McDonalds consumers who purchase one of the two (2) aforementioned items to receive a free 2 for 1 cinema ticket voucher.

Upon ordering, consumers receive a peel off card with a unique 8 digit voucher code which can be redeemed online at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/cinema.Whenconsumers print out the voucher, they simply have to provide their registered address and select a local cinema to redeem the coupon.The voucher can be redeemed for up to six months.

What are the implications here for sports franchises?

Sports organizations can create a similar promotion with a movie theater/theme park/entertainment property to help drive sales of a specific concessions item or designated merchandise itemin the team gift shop. Teams can create a simple promotional offer (offering coupons next to the cashier that can be distributed upon purchase of select items) or utilizetechnology (e.g.using anonline voucher redemption process) to drive web traffic and consumer engagement through multiple channels.

When would it be appropriate for a sports organization to implement such a promotion?

• Whena sports property is in the last year of a contractual agreement with a concessions provider (e.g. Pepsi, etc.) and needs to drive gameday sales of a particular product
• When a sports property is looking to sell new team merchandise (new jersey sales, etc.)
• When a sports property is looking to drive ticket sales in a particular section (e.g. upper deck corners) and wants to find a unique way to leverage a retail/entertainment partner

Interested in Selling Sponsorships for Water Polo Events?

Is your organization considering the thought of selling sponsorships for upcoming water polo events? Are you looking for inventory that you can sell poolside?

T-Mobile recently served as the presenting sponsor of a major water polo event that took place in Budapest and they branded just about every piece of inventory possible around the pool.

While these pictures do not demonstrate a sponsorship "best practice" in the water polo space (can you say cluttered?), they do provide a clear view of the available inventory that organizers of the sport can sell to prospective partners.

Check out the two (2) pictures below. It is interesting to see what appears to be LED technology featured poolside!

Sky Sports Is the Place to Watch Golf and Cricket...

Is your network looking for creative ways to promote its coverage of multiple sporting events?

Sky Sports created an incredible advertising campaign to promote its coverage of golf (the U.S. Open) and cricket (the Natwest International). The memorable spot effectively incorporates action from the two (2) aforementioned sports with a little bit of humor. Check out the clips below:

Keep An Eye On... Digital Out-of-Home Signage

Are you looking to capitalize on new trends in the marketplace? Are you looking for new ways to leverage messaging at retail?

Marketing Daily recently featured a great article on the future impact of digital out-of-home signage. As advertisers and retailers search for new, interactive ways to connect with consumers, digital out-of-home signage will continue to surface as an effective medium.

Retailers are beginning to feature digital screens throughout their stores which can key up digital signage to display relevant messages when a consumer picks up an RFID-tagged product from the shelf. In other words, if a consumer picks up a case of Pepsi with Super Bowl packaging, a digital screen above the retail display will cue up a :30 message promoting Pepsi's sponsorship of the big game and an adjoining sweepstakes.

As a result, sports properties need to begin strengthening their relationships with retailers (especially ones at a national level). As consumer engagement becomes a more critical component at retail, sports properties must work to better understand how retailers implement programs and how consumers purchase goods are retail... because for retailers, in the end it's all about selling product off the shelves.

What are the forecasts for digital out-of-home signage?

• The Digital out-of-home advertising market is currently valued at $2.43BN, up 11% from 2007 (the market tripled in size from 2002-07)
• The forecast for digital out-of-home advertising has ad revenue growing at a annual rate of 12% from 2007-2012, putting it at just under $3.9BN in 2010

Capitalize on Billboard Creativity...

Are you looking for non-traditional ways to market your brand/property via billboards? Are you looking to implement signage that will drive the attention of consumers?

Here are seven (7) unique billboards that recently hit the streets:

Texas Stars - The Texas Stars created an incredible billboard campaign to promote the launch of their AHL franchise in 2009... Check out the team's new webpage here.

Miller Lite - Miller Lite created an out-of-the-box billboard in Columbus, OH that effectively draws consumer eyeballs... Hopefully sports business professionals will begin implementing similar billboard concepts in-venue to escape stadium clutter!

McDonalds - Professional/collegiate organizations should look to mirror a recent McDonalds branding strategy to drive awareness for discounted ticket offerings. A billboard with, "Live Basketball. Less Bucks." or "More Basketball. Less Bucks." would serve as great ways to position discounted tickets in the minds of consumers. Properties can support the messaging with a creative URL (i.e. BucksBasketballForLess.com) and a captivating picture to drive consumer interest.

Philadelphia Phillies - Numerous companies/media outlets created unique billboard campaigns to support/salute the Philadelphia Phillies during the postseason.

Bahrain Bay - Bahrain Bay created a captivating billboard to promote its Formula 1 racing events. It would be great to see a NASCAR sponsor create a similar advertising platform at racetracks around the country (either supporting their sponsored driver or promoting their brand through a reflection in the driver's helmet)...

Washington Wizards - The Washington Wizards recently hit the streets with a branding campaign that promotes their organization's community-based inititatives. The Wizards' billboard campaign serves as a great benchmark for organizations looking to demonstrate to their loyalty and support for the local community!

Kevin Love Shows Off His Talents...

Are you looking for for new ideas of unique content that you can offer your fan base?

Kevin Love put on one heck of a show at the NCAA Tournament prior to the UCLA Bruins' 1st round tournament game. Love put on a shooting clinic during warmups and his performance was captured by numerous media outlets.

Check out the unique footage below, which resembles the creative commercials that PowerAde created a few short years ago with Michael Vick and LeBron James!

Would You Like to Bowl With Peja?

Is your organization looking to drive awareness for an upcoming charitable event? Has your organization considered using the webpages of its star athletes as messaging portals?

The New Orleans Hornets recently used some unique in-game messaging to drive awareness for "Peja's Charitabowl", an upcoming fund raiser that Peja Stojakovic is hosting at the All Star Lanes in Kenner, LA. The team featured a video board vignette featuring a picture of Stojakovic bowling and a link to his personal webpage, www.peja16.com, for fans to learn more (as demonstrated in the picture below).

It is still uncommon to see teams openly refer to the websites of players as communication portals. But in this case, it was a seamless way to help promote the event. As more sponsors utilize athlete websites as mediums for engaging with consumers, this practice should become more common.

The charity bowling event will benefit Peja's "Courts for Kids", a project of the Peja Stojakovic Children's Foundation with a mission to promote health and fitness eduation through the game of basketball. Lane sponsorships for the event start at $1,500 for one lane and $2,5000 for two lanes. Each lane includes bowling for four, one celebrity bowler, four bowling shirts, dinner, and a special gift bag.

Hornets' players, Honeybee dancers, Hugo the mascot, and other local celebrities will also be in attendance for the event. The inaugural "Charitabowl" event raised over $45,000 and Peja Stojakovic matched that amount... a great cause!

Will Ferrell's Trip To USC Drives Media Attention...

Are you looking to cross-promote an upcoming film? Are you looking for ways to shift media attention from your W-L record?

With dozens of media reporters on-hand for USC's football practice last week, Will Ferrell (aka Captain Compete) made a suprise appearance to teach the USC team a thing or two. The publicity stunt was a hit and quickly became extremely popular in the viral world, generating significant incremental publicity for the USC team.

Which leads to the thought... With dozens of media on-hand for football practice at major college/pro football programs across the nation, ample opportunities exist for movie companies to use these mediums to drive buzz for their upcoming flicks. Professional/collegiate organizations can work with movie producers to create unique ways to integrate characters and movie personalities into practice sessions (whether it's a post-practice pep talk, appearance on-site, or a stunt as seen below).

While most celebrities do not command the attention that Will Ferrell receives anywhere he goes, their suprise appearances at practice will generate incremental media attention and awareness, especially amongst the hard-to-reach 18-30 year old male demographic!

The Titans Use Online Coupons to Drive Merchandise Sales...

Are you looking for new ways to drive team merchandise sales? Are you looking for ways to encourage fans to buy into your team's new branding campaign?

Prior to its MNF matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, the Tennessee Titans created a "Titans Code Blue" promotion to drive fan loyalty and sales of the team's new Code Blue merchandise. The Titans' Code Blue promotion asked Titans fans throughout the region to wear light blue to school, work, and the team's Monday Night game.

To spur fan interest and sales of the Code Blue merchandise, the Titans offered an online coupon on the team website good for a 15% discount at the Titans Pro Shop at LP Field. 

The Titans spurred their fan base to purchase the team's new Code Blue merchandise with a unique call-to-action:

"Be One Of Nearly 70,000 Fans Wearing Titans Light Blue And Become A Part Of Monday Night Football History! Stop by the Titans Pro Shop with this coupon or visit any other area retailer to get your Titans light blue gear."

The team partnered with LP Building Products and CMT to provide light blue t-shirts to all fans attending the game and drove awareness fro the promotion through a theme-specific webpage, video board signage and graphics.

Take Team Sponsorships on the Road...

Is your organization looking to sell additional inventory to team partners? Are you looking for ways to drive brand affiliation out-of-venue?

European soccer clubs have found a new way to capitalize on their modes of transportation. Teams are now beginning to spend large sums of dollars to brand their team buses, which are often used to travel to various matches, etc.

In doing so, teams have now begun to feature the logos of their supporting partners on the team bus. In other words, these soccer clubs are taking their supporting brands with them when they take on opponents on the road (or the logos of their partnering brands at least).

As an example, check out the FC Koln soccer club's team bus below: 

Fans Enjoy Pitchers of Beer at Games in Cologne...

When attending sporting events, do you wish you were getting more bang for your buck at the concessions stand? Do you feel that sports organizations are ripping you off when you pay $7.00 for a beer inside the stadium/arena gates?

The Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany offers its fanbase an alternative concessions experience. Instead of having fans leave their seats throughout the game to purchase more beverages, the arena (formerly the Kolnarena) sells beer to fans in pitchers. Yes, full pitchers of beer at a time. The arena even promotes pitcher purchases by featuring pitcher holders on each of the chairbacks (check out the pictures below).

While this practice could not be implemented in the United States due to various alcohol restrictions, it is very interesting to see sports organizations from across the globe implement various processes to spur beverage sales in-venue!

   

  

Michigan State Fans Get Payback...

Are you looking for a creative way to capitalize on a big victory over a major opponent?

A few Michigan State fans found a way to express their bragging rights in a big way. After defeating their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, in the Big House, the founders of www.MichiganIsOurLittleSister.com (a site run by Big Rivals, Inc.) utilized two (2) digital video boards in East Lansing and Novi, Michigan to send some messages to their Ann Arbor foes. The messages included:

• "Where's the Arrogance Now?"
• "Holy Toledo! Bye Bye, Bowl Streak."
• "Pride Comes Before the Fall ... He Tried to Warn You."
• "It's Not Over, and It'll Never Be Over Here. It's Just Starting."
• "Oh, Well, There's Always Men's Basketball. Sorry, My Bad."

Check out a picture of the digital billboard below:

How Seriously Do You Promote Responsible Drinking?

Are you looking for new ways to alert fans in-venue that they should drink responsibly when attending games at your venue? Are you looking to implement new performance level signage to promote important messaging?

The Vancouver Canucks feature a unique piece of rinkside signage that is used to effectively promote responsible drinking (the messaging reads, "Plan Ahead. Drink Responsibly"). The signage is located two (2) rows behind one of the goals inside their home arena, General Motors Place.

Using signage that is prominently positioned behind one of the nets (drawing eyeballs), the team is doing an effective job reminding fans of the team's stance on a serious fan-related issue. Consider implementing a similar signage piece in your venue!