Bridgestone and TPC Give Entourage Fans A Chance to Hit the Links

Sports organizations looking for new ways to align with entertainment entities should consider benchmarking a recent sweepstakes promotion that TPC and Bridgestone ran on the Official Facebook page of HBO's hit show Entourage.

To help drive buzz for the show's season premiere on Sunday, HBO officials were running a five (5) day sweepstakes on the show's Official Facebook fan page that gave all participants a chance to win some extremely amazing prizes.

On Wednesday, June 23rd, Bridgestone & TPC Golf Courses teamed up with HBO to feature a sweepstakes prize package on the fan page that offered consumers the chance to win a Professional Staff Bag autographed by Fred Couples, a set of Cavity Back Irons, and two (2) rounds of golf at any TPC Course (excluding transportation to and from). The winner of the sweepstakes will be announced live by Emmanuelle during the Live Stream event on Sunday at 8pm EST / 11pm PST, which will be made available live on Entourage Facebook page through a special application and on LiveStream.com.

The Facebook fan page cross-promotion served as a terrific way for the PGA Tour, Bridgestone, and TPC Officials to target a large segment of young male consumers. The Official Entourage Facebook fan page has attracted 1.6MM avid followers and is widely recognized as a terrific entertainment platform to reach the male demo. The PGA Tour also capitalized on the unique cross-promotional opportunity by having the Golf Channel feature a segment on it on Inside the PGA Tour.

Check out a visual of the promotional execution below:

The Wizards Welcome John Wall to Washington D.C.

Sports organizations looking for new ways to drive awareness around the signings up marquee draft picks and free agents should check out a recent piece the Washington Wizards featured on their team website to welcome rookie PG John Wall to the city.

The piece is extremely well done - incorporating Ted Leonsis, members of the Wizards/Mystics organization, fans in the local community, and the most recognizable local athletes (McNabb, Ovechkin, Stasburg), and celebrities in Washington D.C. Check it out here!

A special thanks to Mike Rodriguez for his insights and contributions to this column! 

Live on Social Blueprint Connect!

If you are looking for social media insights, case studies, and personal success stories using social media, you need to check out some of the terrific things that Trevor Turnbull is doing with Social Connect Blueprint. The online social media focused platform serves as a terrific resource that is both educational and interactive.

On the site, Turnbull delivers a number of "How-To" training videos and live interactive webinars for individuals to enhance their social media knowledge and skill sets. In addition, he has featured a number of live interviews with social media professionals and recently incorporated eWayDirect's Jason Peck, Laura Gainor, and myself into the mix.

Take a moment to check out our interviews below and all of the additional content featured on Social Connect Blueprint here!

Brian Gainor Live on Social Blueprint Connect

Jason Peck Live on Social Blueprint Connect

June 2010 Partnership Activation 2.0 Newsletter

Thank you for coming here to check out the June 2010 Partnership Activation 2.0 newsletter. I promise that there will be no mentions of vuvuzelas as best practices this month. As you tune in to some incredible sports coverage this weekend (World Cup, Wimbledon, etc.), please feel free to send along any unique activation tactics that may catch your eye.

Click here to check out the new June 2010 Partnership Activation 2.0 monthly newsletter. This month I would love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at bgainor@partnershipactivation.com.

This month's newsletter features a collection of insights, including:

• Innovative Mobile Tours
• Ten Sports Business Trends to Keep an Eye On
• Leveraging the World Cup
• The Heineken Stadium of Stars
• World Cup Activation and Branding
• The Ohio University Professional Master of Sports Administration Program
• Creativity in the Sports Marketplace
• June 2010 Partnership Activation Rising Stars
• A Compilation of the 2009-2010 Partnership Activation Rising Stars
• Sports Social Media Watch
• Facts and Insights About the 2010 French Open
• Creative Ways to Leverage Trading Card Partners
• Idea Box

If you are interested in signing up for the newsletter, please send an email with "Subscribe" in the subject line to newsletter@partnershipactivation.com. In the body of the email, please include your name, company affiliation, and contact information when subscribing.

Check out the June 2010 Issue now... and please feel free to send along any feedback or suggestions you have this month!

Vodafone Emphasizes Teamwork with F1 Viral

Vodafone recently unveiled a tremendous viral piece that features its star F1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, scrambling to put together the pieces of their car after their pit crew team decides to leave. The viral piece does a great job emphasizing the integral role that all team members play on the Vodafone race team. No star is bigger than the teammates and personnel that support him/her. 

Check out the piece below!

World Cup Viewing Parties From Across the Globe

The Slideshare deck below provides a compilation of photos from 2010 World Cup Watch Parties from major cities across the globe. Fifa Fan Fests and other Watch Party events have attracted thousands of fans by offering an ultimate soccer festival experience.

The deck provides a nice visual of the powerful affinity that consumers across have for the game of football. Feel free to check it out and lend your thoughts in the comments section below!

Note: Click the "View on Slideshare" buttom in the bottom right corner of the slideshow to see the images featured in the powerpoint deck enlarged.

Vitamin Water Gives Its Virals a Dose of Humor

Quickly ask yourself, "Which brands are currently dominating the athlete endorsement landscape?"

It may take you a moment to think through the thousands of commercials, print adverts, and banner ads that you have been exposed to in just the past few days but you likely will net out on the likes of Nike, adidas, and Red Bull. But what other brands come to mind? Gatorade? Gillette? Subway? DirecTV? Pepsi? ... The question may be a little tougher than you originally thought because not enough brands are doing it well.

One brand that has emerged in the athlete endorsement space over the past few years is Vitamin Water. While the brand has aligned with some of sports' biggest stars (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, etc.) it's not the athletes themselves that have driven Vitamin Water's notability in the space. More so, it's the brand's fundamental strategy of leveraging athlete endorsers by showing their true personalities on-camera.

While some companies get lost in the struggle of trying to force-fit an athlete endorser to align with the attributes of its brand, Vitamin Water does a tremendous job showcasing the true personalities of its athlete endorsers first (after all, that's what consumers really want to see) and then finding a unique way to tie their brand into the mix. The end result? Vitamin Water's viral spots are humorous, educational, and remarkably unforgettable.

Check out a terrific viral spot the brand recently unveiled starring Kobe Bryant (luckily before his subpar Game 7 performance during the 2010 NBA Finals). Nonetheless, the viral is extremely well done and is exactly what fans want - Kobe's true personality off the court!

Leverage Airline Partners with Special Video Shoots

Sports properties looking for new ways to leverage airline partners should consider sending a team of athletes to an airplane hanger for an exclusive video shoot. Here, players can perform tricks, stunts, and show a little enthusiasm for fans to enjoy.

By simply using an airplane as a backdrop (or prop), teams can create a highlight video that can be shown on the scoreboard during a game or on its homepage to help drive affiliation awareness. Airline partners can even consider bringing this to life by running a sweepstakes that allows a few select fans the chance to take part in the filming of the shoot live in person (and receive a behind-the-scenes tour, etc.)

Check out the video below, which should help reinforce the opportunity at-hand!

The Parking Spot Shuttles Fans in Style

Sports organizations looking for new ways to drive awareness in high-traffic destinations should take a close look at some recent partnerships between The Parking Spot and a number of notable sports properties.

The Parking Spot, the nation's leading near-airport parking company, devised a terrific strategy to align with some of the country's finest athletic departments to wrap their airport shuttles with the colors, logos, and flair of competing schools in specific markets. In 2009, the Parking Spot added the University of Texas and their biggest in-state rivals, Texas A&M University (a rivalry that dates back 115+ years).

The Parking Spot wrapped six (6) total shuttles in operation at three of Texas' largest airports (Houston, DFW, Austin) with logos, verbiage, and the athletic department's official website. The shuttle operator even allowed the University of Texas to add temporary peel off banners that incorporated their national championship logo prior to their appearance in the 2010 BCS National Championship.  Inside the shuttles, travelers are provided a chance to see recent highlights on flat screen monitors, season ticket information, updates about future events, and related University messages.

The partnership is significant because it provides the Universities with increased brand exposure in high-traffic destinations while The Parking Spot benefits from travelers recognizing and preferring their airport service due to the company's affiliation with their favorite University. Founded in 2008, The Parking Spot now operates 18 locations serving 12 major airports (4 of which are situated in the state of Texas). The Parking Spot is partnering with a number of other sports properties, including: USC, UCLA, TCU, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Central Florida, Saint Louis University, the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues, and the Houston Aeros.

Check out some pictures of The Parking Spot's unique collegiate branding below:

A special thanks to Jake Baskin of the Longhorn Sports Network (IMG College) for his insights and contributions to this column.

Source: GuidryNews.com

Chick-fil-A Drives Eyeballs with Creative Signage

Chick-fil-A, the nation's second-largest chicken-based fast food chain in the United States, has done a tremendous job driving eyeballs at The Ballpark at Arlington with some captivating signage at Texas Rangers games. Chick-fil-A replaced a piece of iconic signage that Southwest Airlines had featured in deep left center field of the ballpark for a number of years, with a signage campaign that creatively ties its cow-driven marketing campaign to baseball.  

Check out the two (2) different signage pieces they have featured at The Ballpark at Arlington below: 

"Eat Chikin or We'll Charge Tha Mownd"

"Retire Sum "ChicKin" 

Source: JoWiJo's Flickr Stream 

140 Reasons Sports Teams Should Use Twitter

Coca-Cola Generates World Cup Excitement with CrateFan Statue

Per CherryFlava.com, Coca-Cola teamed up with Animal Farm to create a terrific "CrateFan" statue in Johannesburg that will surely turn some heads during the next four weeks of World Cup competition taking place. The statue, made entirely of 2,500 standard Coca-Cola bottle crates, stands 16.5 meters high and weights approximately 25 tons.

How did they do it? The Cratefan statue is part of a recycling project on behalf of Coca-Cola. Animal created a scaffolding clad that could hold 2,500 bottle crates and a few workers were assigned to complete the job, stacking crates one on top of another.  All of the materials will be either recycled or reused once the unique statue is taken down.

Check out some pictures of the final "CrateFan" project below:

Puma Challenges Runners to Take on the Dubai Vertical Marathon

GulfNews.comMarketers looking for new ideas to execute in the running space should take a close look at the Dubai Vertical Marathon, a terrific charity event that Puma recently hosted on May 28th.

Here's a quick breakdown of the event's festivities, which benefited Medecins Sans Frontieres:

• Puma outfitted 200+ participants with exclusive t-shirts and prepped them for the endurance event with organized group stretching exercises after the registration process began at 6:30am of the Godolphin Ballroom at the foot of the Emirates Towers in Dubai
• After the stretching exercise occurred, the participants scaled the 350 metre high tower (1,334 stairs - totaling 52 floors)
  • Puma placed shoes along the course up the tower and offered a free Puma bag to whichever participant could correctly guess the number of shoes along the way 
• Puma rewarded all of the participants with a party on the top floor, which included dancers, disco lights, and music

The results? The event raised over 29,486 euros for MSF... a terrific event! It would be really amazing to see the New York Road Runners or another running organization offer this in one of New York City's tallest skyscrapers!

Check out a video of the action below:

Source: Dubai City Guide

Nike Takes You Inside Their 2010 OOH World Cup Execution

With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa just a few days away, Nike recently released a really cool viral piece that demonstrates how they wrapped the side of the Southern Life building in Johannesburg with an inspiring campaign.

Check out the viral piece below... It does a terrific job providing an inside look at their behind-the-scenes execution!

Kevin Durant Takes You Along On His Journey to China

Kevin Durant truly understands what it takes to become a global icon. The superstar forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder recently toured China with the support of Nike basketball and chronicled his experiences along the way with a series of shorts that he recently featured on his Official YouTube Channel - OfficialKevinDurant. Durant also posted a collection of photos from his journey on Facebook here.

The short YouTube viral pieces help Durant demonstrate that he's more than just a superstar athlete that is touring the world for all of the fame and glory. The vignettes show Durant interacting with Chinese consumers 1-to-1 and via social media, playing pickup games of hoops with aspiring players, expressing his thoughts on the country of China as a whole, and visiting their traditional locales.

Durant's terrific viral  pieces will hopefully serve as a benchmark for sports marketers looking for new ways to take their organizations and brands global through true, personal interaction.

Check out the clips below:

adidas Generates World Cup Buzz in Hong Kong with Giant Soccer Playground

As an Official Sponsor of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, adidas is using a variety of tactics in a number of major markets across the globe to generate buzz for the game of soccer and its brand. In Hong Kong, adidas created a massive soccer playground and featured some tremendous product displays in retail settings.

Check out a quick video that captures adidas' World Cup activation in Hong Kong below:

Nike Welcomes Rafael Nadal Fans to "The Club"

Nike recently celebrated the launch of its new tennis sportswear line by hosting an exclusive tennis exhibition featuring tennis star Rafael Nadal at the Piscine Molitor, an abandoned art deco swimming pool and leisure complex in Paris.

The event was held at "The Club", an area at the Piscine Molitor that served as a tennis club and social venue for fans attending the 2010 French Open at Roland Garros between May 20 - June 6. Nike showcases the unique setting of the venue by having the world's leading tennis stars, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, pick up their new gear for the French Open there and spend a few moments teaching a group of aspiring tennis players a few tips and techniques.

Check out a video detailing the event below, at least for the intro video of "The Club's" setting, which is truly unique:

Click here to see a collection of photos from the event.

Bertucci's Hits a Home Run with Boston Billboard

Small businesses looking for ways to leverage local sports properties without owning rights to marks just need to think creatively to capitalize on fan affinity   

Bertucci's, a Northborough, MA company that runs a chain of Italian restaurants, recently found a unique way to capitalize on it's restaurants proximity to Fenway Park. The company is featuring a giant billboard under the iconic Citgo sign just two blocks behind Fenway Park that says, "Free Dinner for Everyone at the Ballpark If a Homerun Hits This Billboard (If Not, Distinctive Deals Start at Just $9.99)".

While the billboard's claim is outlandish (because a home run would never travel that far), it is an extremely relevant messaging piece to thousands of Red Sox fans passing by the sign to hop on the subway after taking in a game at Fenway. The piece demonstrates how local businesses can capitalize on professional/collegiate sports taking place nearby without owning rights to marks or mentioning affiliated terms (e.g. Red Sox, Fenway, etc.). Check out the creative billboard campaign below:

 

Whoever is behind Bertucci's outdoor campaigns is a pure marketing genius. In 2007, the chain featured a billboard that mirrored the look of the city's transit signs, subconsciously drawing the eye of consumers passing by. It was an extremely creative tactic that attracted the attention of several media outlets, including Adrants.com.

  

Source: PCE 2210 Flickr Page

Create Moments of Opportunity for Fans In-Game

Sports organizations looking for new ways to reward fans attending their games should consider creating "moments of opportunity" for fans. These moments, driven by corporate partner-led promotions, are terrific because they can generate excitement during dull moments in the action and can occur at any point during the game.

As teams look for new ways to generate interest and excitement amongst fans, more are turning to these type of rewarding moments. As an example, check out a "Bud Light Quench Time" promotion recently offered by the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. The Steelheads identified a three (3) minute period in the game where if the team scored, all fans in attendance would be treated to a discounted price on Anheuser-Busch products for the rest of the game.

The Lotte Giants' Mascots Gone Wild...

Sports organizations looking for new ways to incorporate music into their games should check out a tactic the Lotte Giants, a professional Korean Baseball team, recently implemented as a case study of what NOT to do.

The Lotte Giants organization allowed three of its mascots to get on the dugout and reenact the music video of a recent hit song in Korea. The only problem? The performance called for one of the mascots to strip out of his costume and serenade a female mascot laying on top of the dugout. While the performance was probably a hit amongst many in attendance, it's a wonder what was going through the minds of young fans watching on...

The team, which plays its games at Sajik Baseball Stadium, is one of the most popular teams in the Korean Baseball Organization, drawing 1.38MM fans per year.

Take a quick moment to watch the enclosed video... it will be one that you never forget!