Gillette Profiles Gamers on Billboard in Times Square...

Gillette recently teamed up with EA Sports to create an online Champions of Gaming Tournament. To drive awareness for the event, Gillette is profiling the faces of gamers on a giant electronic billboard in Times Square. Gillette is rewarding each featured gamer with an email photo of their glorified Times Square presence as a memento.

Check out Gillette's execution below:

 

Sources: Cherryflava.com, Adrants.com

Billboard of the Week - Nike, Undefeated

Nike teamed up with Undefeated and Aaron Rose to create the Undefeated Billboard Project. The billboard project, perched above the Undefeated retail location in Los Angeles, CA is designed to reflect the store and the culture it represents.

Nike prominently featured a Neil Leifer shot of former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown as part of the ongoing project. The billboard does an excellent job capturing the emotion of the moment when the picture was taken. Check it out below:

The University of South Carolina Brings Signage to Life for Fans...

Are you looking for new ways to make your messaging relevant with fans?

Try experimenting with making your signage "real time". Eric Nichols and his group at the University of South Carolina created a unique billboard countdown campaign using digital technology to promote the start of the Gamecocks' men's basketball season. To drive fan awareness and excitement just prior to the season, Nichols' group displayed an outdoor digital billboard in Columbia, South Carolina that featured a countdown until the season's tipoff. The principle of using a countdown clock, an element commonly used on team webpages, serves as an effective awareness driver for fans.

The basketball themed billboard served as a great way for the USC athletic department to cut through the clutter of the ongoing SEC football season and remind fans that another great season of Gamecocks basketball was right around the corner. Check out how Eric's team used digital billboard messaging to illustrate the countdown:

Sports Viral Clip of the Year - Tiger Woods Walks on Water...

Are you looking for the best sports viral clip of the year? While many rank near the top (Kobe Bryant jumping over moving cars, Carmelo Anthony cutting his hair after losing a video game, etc.), the one that stands above and beyond the rest was EA Sports' "Tiger Woods Walks on Water" viral.

After users found a supposed glitch in the game Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09 where Tiger could walk on water to make a shot, the company actually called on Woods to "perform" the stunt. Check out the incredible viral piece below:

Billboard of the Week - Casio

Is your property looking to promote a watch partner? Is your watch brand looking to drive awareness in a BIG way?

Casio recently revealed a digital billboard in Japan promoting one of its new watches... A similar type of digital billboard would serve as a great piece to feature alongside a marathon roadcourse (alerting runners of their times, etc.)... Check out the billboard below: 

Billboard of the Week - Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola created a great billboard campaign that resonates well with University of Georgia fans in the Athens, GA marketplace:

Note: Copyright: D Nelson 2008 (Athens, GA - Clarke, County).

What Happens When Michael Jordan Takes on a CEO in a Game of Hoops?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see Michael Jordan battle some of the world's greatest businessmen in a game of basketball?

The Wall Street Journal recently released a great piece of footage from 2003 that shows Michael Jordan trying to teach Ariel Investments CEO and Chairman John Rogers a thing or two about basketball... the only problem is that Rogers actually is the one who takes Jordan to school.

Check it out below:

In sports business today, we repeatedly see companies spending large sums of dollars to align with the world's greatest athletes. Will we soon see similar viral pieces emerge on the web of athletes performing in 1-on-1 competitions with representatives from sponsoring partners? Tiger Woods playing a round of golf for an extra $50K? Probably not, but it would make for some great, authentic viral awareness!

A special thanks to Kynon Codrington of ESPNRise.com for passing this piece along...

New Adidas Soccer Viral...

Are you looking to create a unique in-game vignette? Are you looking to demonstrate athletes doing unusual stunts?

Adidas recently released a viral clip of Liverpool star Steven Gerrard kicking soccer balls at clay pigeons on at the team's training ground. The viral was created by Adidas to promote the company's line of Predator soccer cleats.

Adidas also recently released a Michael Ballack stunt gone bad... on purpose?

Creativity Captures the Attention of Passerby Traffic...

Are you looking for creative ways to capture the attention of passerby traffic? Is your brand looking for ways to engage fans who are waiting to enter a venue or tailgating in a nearby lot?

Molson Dry created a unique billboard that captivated the minds of consumers passing by... How did they do it? They created a gigantic crossword puzzle that put consumers in control of determining the message.

What's the relevance to sports marketers? Sports properties can consider creating similar initiatives that leverage supporting corporate partners:

• Create a large-sized crossword puzzle billboard that incorporates both team and brand content
• Distribute crossword puzzles to fans as they enter the game that incorporate both team and brand content
  • This would be a pretty cool feature if teams had fans fill out the crossword puzzle as the game progressed (i.e. fans would have to wait until the 3rd quarter to fill out certain lines of the crossword puzzle that pertained to halftime entertainment, video board vignettes, etc.)
  • Distributing crossword puzzles that include both team and brand content can serve as a way to provide sponsors with continued fan engagement throughout the course of a game (or it could be a way for a team to incorporate all of its corporate partners!)

Check out Molson Dry's unique billboard tactic below:

 

 

Billboard of the Week

Texas Tech University found a creative way to show that it is sitting on top of the world (or the state of Texas at least) after its 39-33 victory over the University of Texas...

Nike Soccer Viral

Over the past year, Nike has created an incredible viral campaign entitled, "Put It Where You Want It" to promote the company's new T90 soccer shoe. The videos, a parody of "soccer meets the MTV show Jackass", do an excellent job leveraging the talents of some of the world's finest soccer players. Check out the clips below - they are great!

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:

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!

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!

New Nike Viral - Use Messaging to Tell a Story...

Does your brand messaging tell a story?

Nike does a tremendous job painting a portrait of the lives of Ladanian Tomlison and Troy Polamalu in its most recent "Leave Nothing" viral piece entitled "Fate". The clip depicts how it was fate that the two (2) athletes would meet in the NFL, and does an excellent job showing how they grew up with Nike while entering different stages of their lives. Check it out below!

Notre Dame Soccer Drives Buzz With Skills Video...

Is your brand/organization looking to enter the viral space to promote its upcoming season?

The Notre Dame men's soccer team created a very cool (yet cost effective) viral clip to promote its 2008 soccer season. Members of the team videotaped themselves performing cool soccer tricks and stunts. The 2:04 clip was posted on YouTube in early August as a way to drive some national buzz about their talents, etc. It's only a matter of time before we see more tech-savvy student athletes creating similar "highlight" videos...Check it out below:

Looking to Create Content Without Rights to Marks?

Are you challenged with aligning your brand to a sports property, despite owning any proprietary rights? Are you looking for creative ways to derive entertainment in the sports space?

Carlsberg created a unique soccer campaign in 2006 that demonstrates a squirrel's soccer abilities after drinking some Carlsberg. The clip does a great job of integrating humor and sport and proved to be extremely popular with consumers despite Carlsberg's lack of affiliation with any sports properties.

Check out the clip below:

ESPN Amplifies Its Outdoor Branding...

Are you looking for an out-of-the-box outdoor branding idea?

In an effort to promote its 'Is it Monday Yet?' campaign, ESPN posted hundreds of turf-like branded mats in bus shelters and outdoor areas across the nation. Each of the branded mats featured a different football-related phrase, such as "T.G.I.M.N.F"., "Sack Monday's Doldrums", and "Stiff-Arm Monday's Suckery".

The outdoor branding campaign proved to be extremely popular... but actually too popular with fans. The issue? Consumers loved the turf-like mats so much that they started stealing them. Within the first week of the campaign, nearly 10% of the outdoor ads in New York City had been stolen (20 of 205). Thefts also occurred in Boston (3), Chicago (6), San Francisco (2), and Washington D.C. (5) despite the fact that some of the outdoor ads are 72"H x 96"W in size.

As a result, ESPN has temporarily halted the installation of more turf-like branded mats in major cities around the nation. While turf-like mat branding proved "too popular" for ESPN's tastes, it definitely is a promotional item that football teams (and other sports teams playing on turf) can consider creating to distribute to their supporting partners and select season ticket holders.

MIZZOU Gets Creative With Its Billboards...

Are you looking to implement a unique billboard campaign that drives eyeballs?

The University of Missouri recently created a unique billboard campaign in Kingdom City, Missouri that captures the attention of all passerby consumers. The University used six (6) billboards to spell out M-I-Z-Z-O-U along a half-mile stretch of I-70... one cannot help but look at the billboards.

The University of Missouri accompanied each of the prominently featured letters with a website, ticket hotline number, or motivational message.

Check out a video below of the view that drivers have of this classic billboard campaign along the highway!