Nike and Team England Give Mount Rushmore a New Look

Nike is celebrating Team England's 2010 World Cup run with one of the most unique outdoor billboard adverts seen to date. Nike recently unveiled a giant billboard emulating Mount Rushmore that featured the faces of four (4) of England's prominently known soccer players. The billboard, completely made of rock, is the largest billboard in the UK, measuring 75m x 16m x 2m. The massive billboard, which supports Nike's "Write the Future" campaign, is expected to be seen by an astounding six (6) million consumers.

The only issue?

Three (3) of the players featured in the billboard campaign - Wayne Rooney, James Milner, and Rio Ferdinand - made the England World Cup team. However the 4th - Theo Walcott - did not. Ironically, Walcott's face will be featured in the rock sculpture display next to the word's "Play to be Remembered", but he will actually not be playing in the World Cup at all.

Nonetheless, the billboard serves as one of the greatest outdoor spectacles in sports and will be forever remembered by many in England and across the world for years to come... Not bad for a non-Official World Cup sponsor!

Check out the billboard campaign below:

Source: EPL Talk

Give Fans an Experience They will Never Forget

Are you looking for new ways to connect with consumers via grassroots campaigns? Are you looking to re-energize a brand?

Too often we see sponsorship programs created with the consumer in mind that lack one integral component... the experience. The following clip for Converse Sport, which is actually a parody filmed for the 4As 2010 Institute of Advanced Advertising Studies, does a tremendous job demonstrating how companies can re-energize their brands by creating/re-creating a memorable experience for consumers:

Carlsberg Takes You Behind the Scenes with Team England

Carlsberg recently unveiled a tremendous viral piece in anticipation of England's 2010 World Cup appearance. The piece takes viewers behind the scenes and into the locker room and tunnel where they can feel the pre-game excitement and butterflies on game day.

Check out the terrific piece below:

Coors Light Makes Golf Cooler With New Viral Ads

Are you looking for new ways to drive mainstream interest in the game of golf? Are you looking to benchmark creative viral campaigns across sports?

The Coors Light Golf Experience is returning for yet another year and Molson Coors is driving increased awareness for this year's event with three (3) new viral pieces that are pretty entertaining. While many details regarding the event have yet to be released, the company's new viral ads (via the official YouTube page) are beginning to game some traction in the viral space. Check them out below:

CHICKEN

JUGGLERS

SKEET

Puma Celebrates the Game of Soccer in Africa

Are you searching for new campaigns centered around the World Cup? Are you looking for new, compelling soccer campaigns?

Puma recently released an outstanding World Cup advertising campaign entitled The Journey of Football. The spot, created by Syrup, showcases the impact that soccer has had across Africa and celebrates the origins of the game and its ability to unite nations.

Puma's campaign serves as a great example of ways that non-Official brands can still create captivating campaigns that energize consumers around the world. 

There's no question that this Puma spot, to the tune of Gnarls Barkley's hit song 'Going On' will get you excited about the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Check it out below: 

 

Leverage Players to Promote Non-Profits

Are you looking for new ways to promote non-profit organizations and charitable partners? Are you looking to new ways to create an enticing call-to-action for fans?

FC Barcelona star Lionel Leo Messi recently teamed up with UNICEF, the team's jersey naming rights partner, to create a powerful viral piece designed to drive awareness and participation in support of a good cause. The 22-year old footballer recently signed a 2-year commitment with UNICEF to work on behalf of the world's most vunerable children and created the viral spot to encouage others to join him in his efforts.

The piece is powerful and extremely well done. Check it out:

Who in the World Can Challenge Cristiano Ronaldo?

Check out this really cool Joga TV piece by Nike that features Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic challenging one another in a skills showdown. It is pretty interesting to see how Nike is beginning to incorporate more and more technology into their productions...

Nike Welcomes Action Sports Enthusiasts to "The Farm"

Are you looking to feature action sports in non-traditional settings? Are you looking for new ways to incorporate action sports?

Nike continues to revolutionize the action sports space by refurbishing non-traditional areas into ultimate attractions for skateboard/snowboard enthusiasts. Nike recently ventured to the German countryside to create its newest action sports spectacle, "The Farm".

Once the project was complete, Nike invited some of the world's greatest action sports enthusiasts to try out all of the new toys it had to offer... Check out the viral piece below!

Nike Shows What it Takes to Bleed as One...

Are you looking to create a viral campaign that emphasizes team unity and focus? Are you looking for new ways to engage fans on one united front?

Nike recently released a powerful viral piece that demonstrates the things the Dutch National Team will need to effectively do during the 2010 World Cup to realize their full potential. The piece, entitled "Bleed as One" is very interesting because it uses some unusual imagery to demonstrate how the team will need to compete as a united front with with resolve and focus, not just their brilliant style of play.

Check out the piece below:

Billboard of the Week - Lotto (Soccer)

Are you looking for new, creative ways to promote the game of soccer? Are you looking to feature a non-traditional outdoor campaign in select markets?

Soccer properties looking for new ways to market their organization should consider benchmarking an outdoor marketing tactic Lotto used around the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The company creatively branded the side of an overpass to resemble a soccer goal that fans walked under towards one of the site locations where a World Cup match was being played.

Check it out below:

Red Bull Drives Interest with F1 on Ice Viral

Are you looking for new ways to attract casual sports fans and non-traditional consumers to your sport? Are you looking for unique ways to promote motorsports?

Red Bull recently unveiled a really cool viral piece that features the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team testing the agility and speed of its cars in non-traditional, wintry conditions. The clip, created to celebrate the return of the Canadian Grand Prix, led Red Bull F1 driver Sebastien Buemi and his counterparts to Canada for a test run.

The unique viral piece demonstrates the out-of-the-box thing that needs to become more prevalent in the sport of NASCAR. After all, who wouldn't want to see high-speed racing on ice in the Great North?

Check out Red Bull's creative piece below:

Nike Does it Again with the Human Chain

Are you looking for unique ways to align multiple sports sponsorships? Are you looking for ways to highlight the perseverance required of elite athletes?

Nike has created yet another captivating viral campaign - this one entitled the Human Chain. The clip demonstrates Nike's impact across multiple sports disciplines and really helps showcase the brand's depth on a global scale across a wide variety of athletic events.

The spot, created by Wieden + Kennedy, provides a glimpse of a wide range of Nike ambassadors. For more information, check out this tremendous writeup by The Inspiration Room. 

Check out Nike's newest viral piece below!

Nike Creates Viral to Go Red and Save Lives

What happens when you create an epic campaign that combines the world's best footballers with Kobe Bryant and Maria Sharapova? It's Nike's hope that it will help save lives.

Nike recently launched a really cool viral piece in support of its Nike Soccer Red Campaign to fight HIV/Aids in Africa. Check it out below and be sure to stop by their official Red microsite to learn more about some of the cool initiatives taking place (Nikesoccer.com/red):

Target Brings Shaun White to New York City...

Are you looking for new ways to leverage athlete endorsers? Are you looking for ways to drive awareness without having rights to marks?

Target, a longtime sponsor of Olympian gold medalist Shaun White, recently unveiled a terrific billboard messaging campaign in Times Square in anticipation of the 2010 Vancouver Oympics. The billboards, a creative collaboration between Target, White, and his brother Jesse, were unveiled on January 15th and are set to be changed as the Games near closer.

Target's massive billboard campaign (a combination of nine (9) individual outdoor adverts) serves as a great way to provide Shaun White with a good-luck sendoff, drive awareness for the retailer's exclusive Shaun White 4 Target clothing line, and leverage consumer affinity for the Olympic Games without having rights to marks...

Check out the campaign below:

 

Source: BrandFreak, FreshnessMag.com 

It's Time for the Dancin' Dawgs...

Are you looking for new ways to entertain your fan base? Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness for your organization's players?

The folks at the University of Washington are constantly pushing the envelope with new, creative marketing and sales tactics. The UW marketing team recently created an entertaining "Dancin' Dawgs" piece that is played on the video board when the men's basketball team develops a sizeable lead in the final minutes of play.

The clip is terrific in that it allows the athletes to demonstrate some of their personalities and it is a simple, yet very entertaining fan pleaser. Why not remind fans late in the game about how great their experience was?

Check it out below:

Source: Husky Men's Basketball Blog

Nike is On Target with its Latest Soccer Viral

Nike recently teamed up with Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres to create a cool new viral piece. The clip, entitled "Master Accuracy" demonstrates the skills that players can develop while wearing the new Nike Total 90 III soccer cleats.

The advert features Torres challenging Rooney to shoot balls through laser-based targets. Check it out below:

Bring Your Out-of-Home Campaigns to Life with Steam!

Are you looking for new ways to leverage team partners? Are you looking for ways to bring the excitement of your games to life for fans during the work week?

McDonald's recently teamed up with Cossette, an advertising agency based out of Vancouver, Canada to create a stimulating out-of-home campaign designed to drive awareness for the chain's coffee offerings. Cossette built a steam machine to fit inside a bus shelter that let off periodic bursts of steam, revealing a hidden message about a McDonald's free coffee promotion.

The creative outdoor campaign, executed to perfection, offers some parallels for sports marketers looking for new ways to stimulate consumer awareness:

• Teams can promote an upcoming season (and leverage a home improvement/grill partner) by featuring a branded miniature grill giving off steam that reveals the slogan, "It's Time to Kickoff the Season... Are You Ready?"
• NASCAR (and/or participating teams/sponsors) can feature a visual of a car smoking with a captivating message
• Teams can feature of a picture of players running out of the tunnel with smoke (e.g. steam) exploding from the visual (think of the Miami Hurricanes running out of the tunnel with the steam)
• The Miami Heat (and teams with related fire monikers) could feature an outdoor ad with steam to show opponents cooling off
• Teams can leverage coffee vendors (as seen in the ad) by touting exclusive season-long promotional offers

Join the EA Sports Blindfolded Keepie Uppie Challenge...

Are you looking to create a captivating viral campaign that will attract the attention of consumers from across the globe? Are you looking for new ways to leverage athlete endorsers?

Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam teamed up with EA Sports to create a sticky 'keepie uppie challenge' viral marketing campaign designed to promote the company's new game title FIFA10. The creative campaign features the world's greatest soccer players testing their juggling skills while blindfolded. The humorous campaign was designed to entertain and provides an influencial call-to-action for fans to submit videos of their own juggling talents on the promotional microsite.

Check out W+K's creative Blindfolded Keepie Uppie Challenge below, which launched today (12/14/09):  

How is Social Media Impacting Our Lives?

Watch the video enclosed below and you may have a new outlook on how social media is rapidly changing the world that we live in.

For those operating/marketing sports organizations, time is of the essence - there isn't time to resist technology. Find ways that social media makes sense for your organization and can drive value for all stakeholders involved!

U.S. Soccer Tests the Skills of an NFL Kicker

Are you looking for new ways to promote the athleticsm of your organization's athletes? Are you looking to cross-promote with another sports organization in your local marketplace?

In July 2009, Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers made an appearance at the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team's practice as they prepared for a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals match at Lincoln Financial Field. Akers' appearance made for some quality footage for U.S. Soccer to feature in the viral space.

Members of the U.S. Soccer team battled it out with Akers in a variety of kicking contests, using both footballs and soccer balls. The video below demonstrates how skillful soccer players and NFL kickers actually are, and serves as a great benchmark for:

• Soccer organizations looking to align with other sports organizations in the local marketplace to promote their sport
• College athletic departments looking to showcase a collection of their student-athletes
• Professional organizations looking to showcase the skills of specialty players (kickers, punters, etc.)
• Brands looking to promote multiple athlete endorsers

Check it out below: