Are you looking to add a little humor to your on-ice entertainment? Are you looking for new ways to promote QSR and casual dining partners?
The Atlanta Thrashers recently held a hilarious on-ice race between three fans competing as Applebees entree items... As you watch the race, you will notice that the Thrashers called on the team's mascot and an inflatable sumo wrestler to add some unpredictability and excitement for fans.
Is your hockey organization looking for new ways to "go green" on game day? Are you looking for new ways to promote partners who support green initiatives during the game?
A pair of green men have become local legends at Vancouver Canucks games after being shown on CBC television taunting players from opposing teams seated in the penalty box. When opposing players are forced into the box, the "green guys" come up with creative ways to distract the players and attract the attention of fans seated throughout the arena. The Canucks' "green guys" have established an official Facebook page that has generated 14,000+ followers and features a collection of pictures, videos, and fan discussions.
It is hard to depict whether the "green guys" initiative is a team-run initiative (if so, it's becoming a tremendous ploy to drive fan excitement), but whoever is behind the stunt is doing a tremendous job attracting a loyal following.
If league rules permit, other hockey organizations (from all levels) should consider turning the penalty box into a "green experience":
A team partner that supports green initiatives can feature "green-specific" signage in the box, brand two (2) green men seated adjacent to the box (who are there to drive attention to the cause), and distribute green vouchers/giveaways to select sections any time an opposing player is put in the penalty box ... A cheap, creative way to drive awareness for green initiatives!
Check out the Vancouver Canucks' "green guys" in action below:
Are you looking for new ways to leverage hair salon/cosmetic surgeon/exercise and fitness partners? Are you looking for ways to drive fan excitement during stoppages of play?
Take a quick moment and watch an interesting episode that took place at a recent Patriots game when WR Randy Moss caught a glimpse of a fan look-a-like (wearing a Randy Moss mask) on the video board at Gillette stadium...
Teams looking for new ways to leverage cosmetic surgeons, fitness centers, and hair care salon partners, should consider taking a page from the classic makeover segments featured on daytime talk shows that have proven to be a hit with viewers. Properties can feature a "Fan Makeover" or "Fan Look-A-Like" segment during games that will surely drive fan excitement (although it needs to be done in a classy manner).
To execute the initiative, teams can collaborate with a non-traditional partner whose business focuses on physical attributes (hair care, surgeons, fitness partners, tanning salons) to create a segment where three (3) fans who are chosen prior to the game have their new appearances revealed on the video board during halftime festivities or select stoppages of play. Teams can drive fan excitement by giving fans makeovers to resemble players, coaches, popular team personnel, or celebrities that are attending the game.
Consider new ways that you can bring non-traditional partners to life in memorable ways on game day!
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
Are you looking for new ways to leverage cpg companies and non-traditional partners? Are you looking to create game entertainment that caters to all fans in attendance?
The Dallas Mavericks recently teamed up with retail partner Academy Sports + Outdoors to feature an All-Star baby race during the 3rd quarter of a recent home game that turned out to be a huge hit with fans. The contest pinned four (4) babies sporting Dallas Mavericks gear racing (slowly) across a mat in front of thousands of the team's supporters.
The Mavericks did a tremendous job executing the promotion by leveraging the PA announcer to drive fan excitement and featured some great camera angles of the action on the video board.
The All-Star baby race served as a great way for Academy Sports + Outdoors to distinguish the fact that it is the Official Headquarters for the Dallas Mavericks for all fans (men, women, kids, babies, etc.). The collaborating parties could bring the promotion to life slightly more by assigning sections to each of the four babies (with the winning baby's section receiving $5 gift cards while all other participating sections receiving a discount at purchase). Nonetheless, Mavericks fans in attendance won't forget the baby race (and Academy Spots + Outdoors) the next time they are shopping for their kids!
Check out the Mavericks' classic All-Star baby race below:
Are you looking for new ways to leverage partnerships in an effort to drive retail traffic? Are you looking for new ways to leverage mascots and non-traditional characters?
adidas recently drove awareness and traffic to its flagship store on Orchard Road in Singapore by executing a terrific Stars Wars guerrilla marketing stunt. The exhibition, designed to promote the launch of adidas' 2010 Originals x Star Wars collection, featured approximately 20 Stars Wars characters (led by Darth Vader) raiding the adidas store, purchasing goods, and engaging with consumers while walking the streets of Singapore with branded adidas bags in tow. adidas teamed up with the 501st Star Wars Costume Group to execute the stunt.
Sports properties looking for new ways to drive traffic and buzz at retail should consider ways that they can benchmark adidas' creative Star Wars stunt. For example, properties and retail partners can easily team up to hire a team of actors wearing football equipment (resembling the team's players) running through a mall and into a desired store location during a busy shopping weekend.
Retail partners can even drive team affiliation awareness by featuring actors (in uniforms) doing touchdown celebrations/plays at high-traffic street corners and offer tickets/discounts to passerby consumers. Consider ways that you can leverage mascots and non-traditional characters (e.g. actors in uniform) to drive traffic and awareness to your location. For the price of store appearance by a premier player ($750+ for 90 minutes), retailers can deliver as much (if not more) value with a set of qualified actors performing a unique marketing stunt!
Are you looking for new ways to commemorate the history of your organization? Are you looking to feature a memorable piece on the videoboard uring an upcoming game?
The New York Giants celebrated their final regular-season game at Giants Stadium by featuring a special video to the tune of Bruce Springsteen's hit song "Wrecking Ball" on the jumbotron. The three (3) minute clip featured countless pictures and video memories from the historic venue and honored a collection of the finest players to ever play for the Giants organization.
Are you looking to create a new, unique mobile marketing campaign? Are you looking for new ways to leverage an alcoholic beverage provider?
In 2008-09, Heineken toured the globe with a captivating mobile marketing tour called the Heineken Extra Cold Experience. The campaign toured major cities across the globe (spanning multiple continents) in an effort to promote the fact that Heineken can be served "extra cold" to drive refreshment.
To demonstrate how consumers feel while drinking an Extra Cold Heineken, the company created a mobile tour experience that featured a collection of engaging elements, including:
A Big Igloo Experience (Where Premiums Were Distributed)
An Ice Bar (With Free Samples)
A Live Stage
Live DJ Entertainment
Heineken Models
Lounging Stations and Giant Ice Cube Chairs
Heineken supported the campaign with a tremendous Facebook Fan Page filled with tons of pictures, videos, and consumer feedback.
Check out a few videos that detail the incredible experience Heineken is offering consumers (and how they created it):
Check out the Heineken Extra Cold Experience campaign microsite below (geared towards the European marketplace):
Are you looking for new ways to drive global awareness and leverage key holidays? Are you looking for ways to break the traditional mold of sports marketing?
Red Bull is kicking off the Year 2010 and a new decade of excitement with a New Years Bang that will surely generate watercooler discussion on Monday. Red Bull's "New Year. No Limits." campaign will feature stunt artist Travis Pastrana testing the laws of physics by attempting a 171-foot long distance jump in a rally car.
The stunt, set to take place at the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, California, will be featured live on ESPN on New Years Eve at 11pm. The stunt will grab the attention of millions of consumers who are turning on their television (or watching at a local bar/establishment where ESPN is always being shown) for some quality New years entertainment.
Red Bull's "New Year. No Limits." festivities demonstrate how a brand can "own" a holiday with a captivating moment in sports, despite a tremendous amount of clutter (traditional New Years Eve coverage, bowl games, anticipation for the NHL Winter Classic, NFL/NBA/NHL, etc.).
ESPN is supporting coverage of the event with mobile text updates for those consumers who will be situated away from the television. To drive anticipation for the event, Red Bull created an incredible microsite (as shown below) that features viral content, live Twitter feed integration, details about the stunt/party information/locale, and additional press.
Check out the microsite and some of the viral pieces below:
Are you looking for new ways to leverage a grooming/hair care partner? Are you looking to create a captivating campaign around your team's playoff run?
Molson Canadian created a humorous "Official Guide to Playoff Grooming" vignette to support its NHL activation in 2009. The company supported the campaign by asking fans to submit their own unique hockey grooming styles on the Molson Canadian Facebook page (www.facebook.com/molsoncanadian) for the chance to win a Molson Canadian beer fridge. Hundreds of fans responded to the call-to-action and the campaign turned out to be a nice success.
Check out Molson Canadian's Official Guide to Playoff Grooming clip below:
Are you looking for new entertainment acts to feature during intermission? Are you looking for new ways to leverage lottery partners?
The New York Rangers have teamed up with the NY Lottery over the past few years to feature a Human Puck Race competition during intermission that has proven to be a hit with fans. During Rangers games, fans can stop by the New York Lottery table to enter a drawing to compete in a 3-man Human Puck Race on the ice for a chance to win a select prize ($30K cash instant ticket, $50K grant instant ticket, etc).
The Rangers do a tremendous job building crowd excitement with some recognizable sound effects and a captivating in-arena PA announcer calling the shots.
Check out the videos below to see how the contest is executed:
NACMA Members... Here are a few social media resources, viral thought-starters, and social media best practices that should help you drive your business!
Are you looking for new ways to leverage paint and home improvement vendors? Are you looking to create new video board vignettes to feature in your arena?
The Indianapolis Colts teamed up with Sherwin Williams to create a "Paint Your Face Cam" that is featured on the video board at Lucas Oil Stadium. While fans likely would not want to paint their face with the same paint materials they would purchase at their local home improvement store, the feature does a great job tying paint into the game experience. It is simple, yet memorable on game day.
Check out a picture of the activation tactic below:
Are you looking for new ways to peak consumer interest on game day? Are you looking for ways to support a new product launch?
adidas recently called on a tremendous team of soccer freestylers to support the launch of the new World Cup Football Jabulani in Sweden. Check out adidas' impressive display of skills below:
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):
Are you looking for the latest trends in sports and social media? After realizing that 2009 wasn't actually so bad, are you looking to have a new outlook on life heading into 2010?
We wanted to share two (2) tremendous e-books that were released today. Both are excellent reads, so please be sure to check them out and pass them (or the link to this article) along to all of your colleagues and friends in the industry who also may be interested.
The first e-book we would like to highlight is a compilation of the top sports and social media trends to follow in 2010. Social media enthusiast Jason Peck did a terrific job bringing the thoughts of 16 sharp individuals together with this piece. Check it out below:
The second e-book we would like to profile was created by marketing guru Seth Godin and 69 of the brightest minds around the globe... This is a tremendous read that will give you a new perspective on life and business heading into 2010 (it is best to view the e-book in full-screen mode; scroll through the document by clicking your mouse on the right page). Enjoy!
Are you interested in learning how brands are leveraging sports in the Far East? Are you looking for new ways to drive awareness at X-Games and skateboarding events?
Nike and Mountain Dew have done a tremendous job aligning with skateboarding events to establish a presence in the Far East. The enclosed video details the two (2) brands' branding and activation at a recent SMP Skate or Ride Event in Shanghai, China.
Are you looking for new ways to leverage University partners? Are you looking for ways to enhance your partnership recaps?
The following clip does a tremendous job summarizing all of the assets that Meritus University receives as part of its ongoing partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Check it out below (as well as the related footage in the right panel of detailed activation shots):
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Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 09:49PM 
