Are Your Fans' Birthdays Worth Free Admission?

Are you looking for new ways to stimulate fan attendance? Are you looking for new fan promotions that can tie in corporate partners?

In September, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced a new promotion that enables guests to get into one of their parks for FREE on their birthday. All visitors have to do is show valid identification and proof of birthday to qualify at the ticket office or online. The promotion is part of Disney's ongoing "What Will You Celebrate" thematic to drive traffic/interest in the Disney parks in 2009.

Which leads to the question, can't this promotion also serve as an effective traffic driver in the sports marketplace? All teams are risking by implementing such a promotion is the revenue from those people whose birthdays it is that might have come to the game/event anyway.

Teams can view the promotion as a way to drive incremental attendance and revenue streams from concessions/merchandise/parking, figuring that when a consumer decides to celebrate his/her birthday at the game, they will never come alone (they will bring their spouse, friends, and/or family members).

Organizations can consider tying in a number of corporate sponsors to a birthday-incentive promotion (after all, who doesn't remember receiving a razor from the Army when they turned 18?):

• Retailers (Target, Best Buy, etc.) may be interested in offering such a promotion to target a general consumer base
• A company like Anheuser-Busch may be interested in rewarding consumers on their 21st birthday with a special admission/exclusive experience package
• Build-A-Bear may find it to be a great way to drive awareness for their products amongst young consumers and their families.
• Auto companies and life insurance firms may be interested in using such a promotional concept to target Baby Boomers.
• QSR's offering special discounts for senior citizens (senior coffee) may be interested in targeting an aging group of consumers

Who Doesn't Love a Good Prank?

Are you looking for a creative :60 vignette concept that will drive in-game attention to your brand? Is your organization looking for a new, unique way to engage corporate partners?

Consumers love seeing a good prank... After all, Ashton Kutcher made a living off of pranks with his hit reality show Punk'd from 2003-07. If great pranks are so popular with people, why can't this idea translate in the sports marketplace?

Sponsors looking to drive attention to their brand in-game should consider working with team personnel to create a :60 vignette featuring a team prank that incorporates their brand. There are a variety of ways that teams and their supporting partners could collaborate on such an idea (rookies have to serve burgers at QSR partner, athlete has a unique experience at auto dealership, player receives a large amount of cases of XXX product delivered to his/her house, etc.).

The Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia Phillies are two (2) organizations who effectively created a "prank video" that generated some buzz across the web. While neither organization's video incorporated a corporate partner, they do an effective job demonstrating ways that teams can consider incorporating sponsored products, etc. (e.g. the Sacramento Kings could have staged a player prank using a corporate partner's product (instead of popcorn); the Philadelphia Phillies could have a partner's product in the trade discussions/locker room placement). Check out the two (2) videos below:

Text Qwest and Receive a Personalized Adrian Peterson Photo...

Is your brand looking to reach consumers via text messaging? Are you looking to provide consumers with a personalized giveaway?

Qwest is currently a very cool promotional offer that enables consumers to receive a free personalized Adrian Peterson photo in their inbox. According to Mylocalpub.wordpress.com, consumers simply have to:

1) Text Adrian (add a space) Your First Name (add a space) Your Email Address to the Qwest shortcode: 95495

2) Consumers with a compatible smartphone may click the URL in Qwest’s response text message to see their personalized digital autograph photo. Otherwise, they will will receive a personalized digital autographed photo in their email inbox momentarily.

The text promotion serves as a great way for Qwest to connect with Vikings fans throughout the Minnesota/Dakotas region. With fans looking for personalized content, this is a very effective messaging tool if consumers are willing to click through to Qwest's content. Thus far, the program has proven to be widely successful.

Here is a quick snapshot of the personalized photo that consumers receive in their inbox shortly after texting in their promotional code:

Remind Soccer Fans Why Dental Care/Healthcare is Necessary...

Is your organization looking to drive awareness for a dental care/health care provider?

Creating an in-game :30 vignette that resonates with fans might just do the trick. To drive in-venue awareness, consider creating short guerrilla-style videos that demonstrate different scenarios in soccer where plays can go wrong and affect one's dental/health status (as shown in the video below): 

Need a few other ideas? Search for videos that detail:

• A soccer kick that doesn't make it past the wall (and one player feels the pain for his teammates)
• Two (2) players go up for a header and both come down with injuries
• An errant shot hits a fan in the stands

Remember, in-game messaging needs to resonate with fans. The more unique ways that organizations can effectively connect with the mindset of fans, the better off all parties will be in the end (a more educated/driven fanbase, more results for supporting partners, and higher credibility for the property to deliver).

Cricket Wireless Teams Up with Greg Oden To Reward O-Fōn Owners...

Is your brand looking for new messaging channels to drive awareness for a product endorsed by a professional athlete? Is your brand looking for new ways to reach fans in-venue and in other public areas?

In October 2008, Cricket Wireless signed a PSA agreement with Greg Oden to produce the O-Fōn (pronounced O-Phone), a limited edition mobile product targeting sports fans in the Oregon and Southwest Washington marketplace. As a way to drive awareness for the new O-Fōn hitting the market, Cricket Wireless wrapped several elevators in the local Portland marketplace (malls, etc.) with Oden's picture and the product.

But that's not it. Cricket Wireless created a captivating program to support sales of the O-Fōn device (a product that began selling on the shelves for $279.99 on November 7th):

• Cricket Wireless is donating $80 from every Greg Oden O-Fon sold to Oregon Mentors, a local non-profit organization that Oden strongly supports
• Cricket Wireless is providing each consumer who purchases an O-Fōn with a variety of exclusive materials, including:
  • A limited-edition Greg Oden O-Fōn handset etched with Oden’s autograph and jersey
  • A Greg Oden Topps rookie card designed exclusively for Cricket
  • Text messages from Greg throughout the season, sent exclusively to O-Fōn owners
  • An exclusive discount on Trail Blazers merchandise
  • Coupons for discounted Cricket accessories, including accessories for the O-Fōn
• Cricket Wireless also threw a VIP launch party at a local retail outlet for any consumer who purchased an O-Fōn or received an exclusive invitation. The wireless company featured Oden at the party to personally thank and mingle with O-Fōn owners and fans and partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings to cater the event
• Cricket Wireless recently held an Oden O-Fōn karaoke contest offering fans the chance to win an O-Fōn and three (3) free months of wireless. All fans had to do was download the MP3 of the O-Fōn anthem, videotape their karaoke version of the song, and upload it through OregonLive.com's community videos portal.  

A special thanks to Chris Lindauer of Sports Career Consulting for his contributions to this column.

In-Stadium Turns Stadium TV's into Sony PSP Branding Pieces...

Are you looking for ways to derive value out of the hundreds of televisions situated throughout your venue? Are you looking for new opportunities to leverage partners looking to drive awareness for their products?

Dave Dressman and his group at InStadium created an incredible in-venue branding campaign designed to drive awareness for Sony PSP's "Madden Entertainment Bundle" among males 12-34 years of age. InStadium worked with Sony PSP to develop a life-size Sony PSP prop that turned flat screen televisions into giant advertising pieces. The props were attached to strategically located televisions in the concourses, pro shops and bar/lounge areas of four (4) NFL venues:

• Cleveland (featured at five (5) home games utilizing sixteen PSP wraps)
• San Diego (featured at four (4) home games utilizing 18 PSP wraps)
• Dallas (featured at five (5) home games utilizing 17 PSP wraps)
• Oakland (featured at four (4) Raiders games and ten (10) A's games utilizing 10 PSP wraps)

InStadium and Sony collaborated to feature the campaign over a three (3) month stretch. The parties complemented the concourse/Pro Shop/lounge branding with a video board "Play of the Game" sponsorship. In total, the unique branding campaign generated nearly 1.7MM impressions.

A special thanks to InStadium's Dave Dressman for his contributions to this column. For more information, please reach out to Dave at ddressman@instadium.com. 

Check out some additional pictures of the unique branding campaign below:

Looking to Promote a New Shoe to Fans?

Adidas could have distributed miniature premiums to promote Chauncey Billup's select Adidas TS Creater shoe.Is your brand looking to distribute a premium in-venue to drive consumer awareness and interest for a new shoe product? Is your brand looking to promote an athlete's new shoe in the marketplace?

To drive an increased level of awareness in-venue when star athlete's are wearing select models of new shoes, footwear companies should consider distributing miniature sized versions to fans. A similar tactic was created by Adidas, who was looking to promote its various lines of footwear for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China. 

Footwear/apparel companies could also consider distributing similar premium items to runners at marathons. If Asics was looking to drive awareness for a new shoe model, it could distribute similar premium items (a container filled with a packet of information detailing the benefits/attributes of the shoe and a product model on top) to all runners participating in a marathon.

Consider new ways to drive awareness for your brand's attributes to consumers in a valuable way!

The Peach Belt Conference Specializes in Community Outreach...

Is your property looking to incorporate community involvement and corporate support at a nuetral site event? Is your property looking to build a "community focused" brand and develop an avid fan base in a new community outside of its market? Are you looking for ways to leverage your athletes in the local community?

Properties looking to implement effective outreach programs which directly impact the community should consider benchmarking the efforts of the Peach Belt Conference. John Semeraro and his counterparts at the Peach Belt Conference have done an incredible job leveraging student-athletes and committed corporate partners in outreach efforts that give back to the community.

As part of its soccer championship weekend, the Peach Belt Conference recently held a neutral site "Breakfast with the Champions" event that called on 150 Division II student-athletes to host a free soccer clinic and breakfast for a few hundred resident youth ages 7-12 in Augusta, GA. Coaches and athletes from six (6) PBC member institutions put on the event, teaching children the fundamentals of soccer and teamwork and signing autographs afterwards.

Local youth were also provided the opportunity to participate in an international walk-out and stand by student-athletes prior to the start of each game during the championship weekend for the announcement of the starting lineups and the national anthem.

By offering residents a chance to directly engage with the Conference's student-athletes, the Peach Belt Conference was able to offer Publix and Coca-Cola (the event's two Presenting Sponsors) an effective way to directly connect with the local community. Representatives from each of the companies provided in-kind trade and t-shirts for the participants.

To drive awareness for the "Breakfast with the Champions" event amongst residents in the Augusta community, representatives from the Peach Belt Conference reached out to key contacts from local recreation departments, elementary schools, competitive soccer clubs, and Boys and Girls clubs.

Through its execution of the "Breakfast with the Champions" event, the Peach Belt Conference effectively:

• Demonstrated how the conference community can unite off the field (despite competing on the field)
• Established an identity for the PBC in the Augusta marketplace
• Utilized local sponsors to purchase ticket backs at a relatively low price to provide tickets to a youth organization of their choice. As a result, the initiative helped customers not have to purchase tickets and provided a goodwill/promotional opportunity for various companies

Hats off to John Semeraro and his team at the Peach Belt Conference for a job well done in Augusta!

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.

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!

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: 

The Celtics and Dunkin' Donuts Team Up at Retail...

 Are you looking to leverage a sports partnership at retail? Are you looking for new ways to leverage a championship season?

The Boston Celtics recently collaborated with Dunkin' Donuts to create a unique offer and experience for fans at retail chains across the Boston DMA. To celebrate the team's 17th NBA Championship, Dunkin' Donuts offered customers a 17-cent doughnut with the purchase of any coffee on Opening Day of the 2008-09 NBA season.

In an effort to drive incremental interest for the promotion at retail, the collaborating parties agreed to have Paul Pierce appear at three (3) Dunkin' Donuts locations to operate the cash register and sell extra doughnuts to fans. On the day, Dunkin' Donuts also raffled off free tickets to the team's home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers and 'Free Doughnuts For A Year' to one (1) lucky winner.

Talk about an incredible retail experience for Dunkin' Donuts customers! 

Can State Farm Take their Signage to the Next Level?

Are you looking for unique ways to take your signage to the next level?

With LED and static signage becoming so common in today's sports marketplace at all levels of play, it's easy to see how fans attending games can tune it out. Sports marketers are now being tasked with creating new ways to utilize these branding pieces to escape from the clutter and engage consumers.

State Farm and other insurance companies that spend large sums of dollars on sports sponsorships (Allstate, Geico, etc.) have a unique opportunity to engage consumers by making their field signage an interactive component. State Farm can create a promotion that rewards one (1) lucky fan with free insurance coverage for a year if a player in the outfield makes a catch while crashing into the State Farm signage (as demonstrated in the picture to the right, simulating that State Farm is there when a player crashes into the wall.

To drive awareness for the offer, State Farm can create custom signage (e.g. "Be Alert Before Crashing, State Farm is Here") and utilize the video board and/or a stadium emcee to promote the incentive for fans. The insurance company can simulate the experience for fans by offering a "soft wall" in the concourse level that fans can crash into while trying to catch a ball (or offer a green screen opportunity for fans to have their picture taken looking like they are crashing into a State Farm sign on an outfield wall). 

If the company wants to open up an offer to a group of fans, every time a player crashes into a State Farm sign, a designated section can win an exclusive prize from State Farm (autographed State Farm baseball, State Farm-branded rally towels, exclusive meet-n-greet with the player who crashed into the signage, etc.)   

The same promotional positioning can be applied to NASCAR (ifa drivercrashes into the State Farm branded secton of the wall) and hockey(if a player gets hit into a State Farm dasherboard).

Looking to Drive Awareness for a Realtor?

Is your organization looking for new ways to leverage a realtor?

The Philadelphia Eagles collaborated with Pulte Homes to feature an on-field "Take it to the House" promotion, offering three (3) fans the chance to throw a football for a new Pulte Home. The select contestants must throw a football 25 yards to hit a 10x4 target on a model home set up at the goal line to win the free home (worth $300,000).

Through the promotion, Pulte is doing an excellent job redefining the home game experience. The company is running its next on-field "Take it to the House" promotion during halftime of the Eagles' Monday Night football matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Decembr 15, 2008. The promotion rewards three (3) select contestants with two (2) tickets and an Eagles gift pack, which includes an Eagles hat, Eagles Yearbook, and an autographed Eagles football.

Check out the promotion below:

Looking to Leverage a Deodorant Brand?

Are you looking for a unique way to promote a deodorant brand?

Sure Sport for Men created a unique watch party for fans in England to watch the World Cup. The company built the Sure Fan Zone, an exclusive venue created to enable English soccer fans to go wild during games. The Sure Fan Zone footprint spanned 800 square meters and held 150 fans per match. The setup was located at Potter's Field, across from the Tower of London.

The Sure FanZone featured six (6) million strands of confetti (which appeared like falling deodorant flakes in the sky), 160 light strobes, 2,000 liters of dry ice, and 16,000+liters of smoke to drive England fans wild. In addition, the company incorporated 850 different sound effects, recorded in four (4) different continents around the world, into the viewing party experience.   

Fans could win the chance to watch the World Cup games live in the Sure Fan Zone by registering online on the company's website.

 

Looking to Integrate TV Characters and Personalities Into Your Event?

Is your property looking for new ways to entertain fans? Are you looking for unique ways to leverage television characters and personalities in an effort to drive fan excitement?

The Los Angeles Kings have utilized Cartman, a character on the hit television show South Park, as a means to entertain fans during its home games at the Staples Center. The team features Cartman in a :30 vignette on the jumbotron that leads Kings fans to scream "Go Kings Go".

The success of the Cartman skit opens the door for a number of new opportunities to leverage television shows, movies, and other media at sporting events. There is an untapped opportunity for properties to seek new revenue streams through media partnerships - everything from sponsorship dollars (in-venue signage/integration) to cross-promotions to premium giveaways on-site.

Check out how the Kings have effectively used Cartman as a means to drive fan excitement over the past few years:

Looking to Leverage Health Care Partners?

Are you looking to leverage health care partners in-venue? Are you looking to create health care messaging that resonates with fans?

Utilize the Jumbotron to show clips of hazardous things that can happen to fans while tailgating on game day (as demonstrated in the clip below).

By showing fans the accidents that can occur (in a funny way) while tailgating, supporting health care partners can drive home a message that not only resonates with fans but reminds them WHY they need health insurance and health care support in the first place.

Health care partners can support these short viral clips by tagging them with a unique web page (e.g. www.RedskinsFansontheIR.com) that drives fans to learn more about their team affiliation, coverage and services.

Turn Your Venue Concessions into Commemorative Items...

Are you looking for ways to commemorate an historical event at your venue? Are you looking for new ways to provide relevance for your brand?

While America was sleeping, the rest of the world recently tuned in to watch the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix last weekend. The event was spectacular - Formula One cars raced through the city streets at night at speeds of 185mph+. But one of the most unique aspects of the race's festivities was the way that event organizers decided to brand water bottles distributed at the event:

This is such a great idea. Hopefully in the near future, we will see more teams work with concessions partners to create commemorative products that fans can receive at concessions stands. Why not create a limited edition concessions product that is only sold at the stadium on a historic night?

Beverage and food providers can work with teams to create unique branded products that highlight team records, player records, and historic nights at the ballpark/arena. This is a great way to deliver incremental value to fans in a non-traditional manner... Look for new opportunities where your property can deliver incremental value for fans and supporting partners!

Note: Singapore paid $150MM to host the Formula One event over the course of five years. Sixty (60) percent of the fee is being paid by the government-owned Singapore Tourism Board and the remaining forty (4) percent is coming from a private company., Singapore GP Pte.

Is Your Brand in the Hands of Consumers?

Are you looking to put your brand in the hands of more consumers? Are you looking for new ways to make your brand top-of-mind when consumers attend sporting events?

The Washington Wizards found a unique way to do this by featuring AOL branded beers in the AOL Executive Suite at the Verizon Center. The picture on the right of the AOL branded beerwas taken at a Wizards game in 2007 when the the team hosted the Detroit Pistons. This creative branding tactic opens up a variety of sponsorship ideas within the realm of sports.

Branding cups (especially in the suite/100 levels) for specific fans/consumers is a new inventory piece that teams can sell to supporting partners. While this may not appeal to some brands (e.g. automobile partners), others may love the fact that they can have their logo in the hands of consumers consistently throughout the duration of a sporting event.  

If your team/organization is looking for a company that specializes in branding plasticware, etc. take a minute to check out BrandedCups.com

Looking to Leverage Medical Partners?

Are you looking for unique ways to leverage medical partners in-venue?

As medical and pharmaceutical companies become bigger spenders within the sports landscape, teams will be asked to deliver additional assets and value. A simple answer for this? The stretcher.

Soccer teams and tournaments have already begun selling the stretcher as a branding piece. As the video demonstrates below (:47 mark), team/tournament representatives sold Coca-Cola on using the stretcher as a branding piece.

It is a little unclear as to why a company like Coca-Cola would want to brand the stretcher (does watching an injured person being carted off the field make consumers want to go buy a soft drink?), but it could be a serve as a valuable branding tool for a medical company/hospital who is looking to demonstrate their quality care for patients.