Jason Peck recently teamed up with a number of sports and social media industry thought leaders to create an insightful ebook that details Sports and Social Media Predictions for 2011.
I highly encourage you to take a few minutes to read through the free piece, as I am sure you will gain some valuable nuggets of information that you can share with clients, colleagues, and friends. The 2011 Sports and Social Predictions document features opinions, thoughts, and predictions from 17 industry professionals.
Check out Jason Peck's site, Take a Peck, as well, which serves as a tremendous industry resoure for all professionals working in sports and social media. Hats off to Jason, Ash Read, and all the thought leaders who contributed to create yet another terrific industry resource!
Happy Holidays from Partnership Activation! Thank you for coming to check out the December Issue of the Partnership Activation 2.0 Newsletter. After checking out the newsletter/site, I hope you have some time available to spend with family and friends, for that is the most important thing in life.
As 2010 comes to a close, I am truly excited to share this month's newsletter with you. It is pretty amazing that we are coming up on the 30th Issue of the Partnership Activation 2.0 Newsletter. I want to say thank you for all your support, especially to those of you who have shared it with friends and colleagues on numerous occasions via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, word of mouth, etc.
This month's newsletter features a collection of insights, including:
The Nike Vault - Los Angeles
Creative Promotional Tactics From Across the NHL
Sports Authority Leverages Social Media to Engage Shoppers on Black Friday
Leveraging Signage in New Ways
Explore Engage's Augmented Reality Experiences
Hot Off the Press: Sponsorship Mag
Creativity In the Sports Marketplace
December 2010 Partnership Activation Rising Stars
Social Media Watch: Panthers Purrsuit
A Close Look at Fan Engagement at the Consol Energy Center
International Sports Business Watch: The 98th Grey Cup
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.
Recent economic times have sponsors and team partners analyzing contractual agreements closer than ever before. With millions of dollars oftentimes on the line, an increasing number of brand managers are scrutinizing all aspects of their partnerships, from category exclusivity designations, to the utilization of tickets and hospitality assets, to premium giveaways. As the industry continues to tighten its controls and make smarter business decisions, inventory controls, measurement, and CRM systems will become more important than ever before.
In an effort to help industry professionals make smarter business decisions, Partnership Activation is launching an Industry Profiler series that provides an in-depth look at some of the industry’s finest sponsorship tools and services. To kick off the series, Partnership Activation will take a close look at PropertyPort, an asset inventory and proposal management system developed by Conxeo (recently known as Sponsor Direct.
Created in 2007,PropertyPort has emerged as one of the industry’s leading sponsorship management systems, primarily in Minor League Baseball. The application, originally designed as an inventory controls system for properties to manage sellable assets, has evolved into an extremely valuable platform that offers proposal management systems, inventory controls, CRM systems, and communication portals. PropertyPort has a very simple interface that is customizable and easily utilized by various departments within an organization.
Here is a quick look at the portal’s features and functionality:
PROPOSAL MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY CONTROLS
Gone are the days of managing proposals, stadium inventory, and measurement via Excel spreadsheets and email. Specialized inventory and proposal management systems like PropertyPort serve as functional platforms designed to assist teams with creating formalized proposals within minutes, gain a complete understanding of all sellable inventory in real-time, and ensure that metric tools are assigned to meet all goals and objectives set forth within the partnership.
CRM SYSTEMS
PropertyPort features an embedded CRM system that allows team representatives to manage their communications, leads, propensity to close, status updates, and projected totals. With a format similar to Microsoft Outlook, the PropertyPort CRM system is very user-friendly and serves as a nice complementary asset for persons using the inventory management tool.
COMMUNICATIONS PORTAL
PropertyPort recently unveiled its newest feature, communications portal, to help sports organizations talk to their corporate partners or any third party in a defined space. The communications portal is designed as a workflow, where both teams and sponsor representatives can easily identify pending project deadlines, view back-and-forth communications, and manage a real-time conversation online. To date, the communications have been well received by both team and sponsor contacts, as it eliminates a lot of unnecessary emails and miscommunication that can take when sending emails and various spreadsheets.
Outside of the various means of functionality, the most appealing aspect of the PropertyPort system is the rate card provided to teams and sponsors. PropertyPort is one of the most cost-efficient systems in the marketplace, with standard systems being made available to minor league organizations starting at just $1.500. Check out their full rate card of pricing here.
Enclosed are some screenshots of the PropertyPort system. Check out the Conxeo website for more information on PropertyPort and additional services they offer for stakeholders in the sports marketplace.
Note: Partnership Activation is not affiliated with Conxeo and the PropertyPort system in any manner. Please feel free to leave sentiments in the Comments section below about your experiences using the PropertyPort system.
The Nashville Predators and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt are teaming up to fight cancer by featuring four (4) branded coin drop machines around the concourse of the Bridgestone Arena to collect change throughout the season. Predators fans are asked to donate their spare change to the special coin drop stations on gameday throughout the season.
Check out a video detailing the coin drop machines, produced by Ellsworth Systems, at Bridgestone Arena below:
But that's not all... The Predators support their partnership with the Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in a number of different ways. In July 2010, the team presented a donation of $125,000 to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt that will be used towards an endowed pediatric cancer fund. Check out a quick video that highlights their partnership below:
A few days ago, the New York Knicks officially launched an innovative social media oriented site that has become a hot topic of conversation in the digital sports space. The site, KnicksNow.com, is a team-operated community that provides real-time social media insights and nuggets of information in a concise, digestible format.
KnicksNow.com offers a tremendous amount of high-quality content in a simple format - two aspects of digital media that fans are looking for. The site features a plethora of videos, high-res images, post-game interviews, blog posts, relevant tweets, live Facebook integration, content sharing features, headlines, quotes, daily photo uploads, and caption contests. Fans can feature @thenyknicks in their Tweets throughout Knicks games for the chance to be featured on KnicksNow.com.
Per Howard Jacobs, EVP of Marketing and Sales for MSG Sports, "KnicksNow.com is the next digital step in our total fan engagement strategy. It's the ultimate destination for our most passionate and loyal fans to access exclusive, behind-the-scenes content on the team and fully engage with other Knicks fans and our players in the dynamic, ever-changing conversation that's taking place across the social media landscape."
The interactive site could soon become a benchmark for organizations across all sports looking to host their social media initiatives all in one hub. Check out some screen shots of the site below:
Sports organizations are certainly going the extra distance to sell tickets these days.
On Wednesday, the Atlanta Thrashers launched a "Free Thrash!" viral campaign on their team website encouraging fans to purchase ticket packages around the holidays to free their mascot from jail.
While some may question the morality of a campaign, it seems to be paying off. The Thrashers have generated nationwide attention via major media outlets and have generated 14,000+ likes on Facebook. The marketing campaign is very unique but it will be interesting to see if the team is able to hit their ticket goals with such an indirect call-to-action...
But is it worth young fans potentially seeing their favorite team mascot in handcuffs and behind bars, especially in a day and age where sports organizations have a tough time keeping their players, mascots, and personnel out of legal troubles? Only time will tell. This campaign is very risky and could be very fruitful or might backfire in a big way.
Here's how they did it:
8:05am (Wednesday, Dec. 15th): The Thrashers released a staged news report (viral piece) that featured the team's mascot, Thrash, getting arrested and placed in the back of a police car after stealing a zamboni and leading Gwinnett County police on a slow-speed interstate chase. Thrash was apparently frustrated that the team wasn't getting the attention it deserved after moving into fifth place in the Eastern Conference and decided to steal a zamboni from the team's practice facility in Duluth, GA and drive it 25 miles down the interstate to Philips Arena
11:05am (Wednesday, Dec. 15th): The Thrashers released a second viral piece from the Gwinnett County Courthouse that featured a judge offering an ultimatum that the Thrashers must sell 5,000 additional tickets to the remaining December home games to get Thrash released from jail. Fans have an option of choosing (1) of (2) options to help Thrash out:
Purchase tickets to any of the team's five remaining games in December
Share the holiday spirit and make a $50, $100, or $250 ticket package donation to a local charity
The Thrashers are continuing to drive momentum around the Free Thrash! campaign with Facebook and updates and the release of a few special videos, like the one enclosed below:
Sports organizations looking for new ways to leverage social media to drive ticket sales should take a close look at a terrific new package the Phoenix Suns are offering local businesses.
Per Darren Rovell of CNBC.com, the Phoenix Suns recently unveiled a Suite and Social Night package that allows companies who opt to host their Holiday Party in a Suns suite to derive incremental value through the team's social media channels. The team's pitch is, Host your holiday party in a Suns Suite and become a digital marketing partner at the same time. Choose a package, pick a night, leave the rest of us."
(2) Facebook status updates from the Phoenix Suns (reaching 225K+ potential customers through their Facebook channel)
(3) Twitter mentions from @PhoenixSuns, delivering a direct message to the Suns' $45,000 Twitter followers
A mention in the Suns' Post E-Newsletter, a periodical that is sent to 55,000 avid fans
The Suite and Social night package really serves as a terrific way for teams to leverage and derive value from their social media channels during a time when there is some speculation about their true worth. It will be interesting to see if fans are receptive to the sponsored gameday messages, but if the Suns position them the right way, there shouldn't be any backlash... and it serves as a great way to drive additional value for team partners on gamedays!
Nike invited nearly 100 media members from across the globe to Dallas, TX for its 2010 Nike Football Media Summit. Nike organized the Summit in an effort to unveil its new, innovative technology, apparel, products and footwear designed specifically for football players competing in the professional, collegiate, and high school sports realm.
Nike held the event at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, an iconic venue that certainly played hand-in-hand with the innovative products and technology Nike had available to unveil to athletes and sports fans across the world. The Football Media Summit was hosted by Desmond Howard and featured five current NFL athletes – Clay Matthews, Ndamukong Suh, Stephen Jackson, Felix Jones, and Dwayne Bowe - on hand to directly speak to how Nike apparel takes their performance to the next level. .
Partnership Activation was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the tremendous event and provide you with an in-depth look at the new technologies and uniforms Nike was showcasing on display. Check out a gallery of photos from the entire event here.
The primary focus of the 2010 Nike Football Media Summit centered around four specific sectors of football where Nike is leveraging insights and new technologies to completely revolutionize the game. Armed with 30+ years of football insight, research, and first-hand feedback from athletes, Nike has developed all the tools necessary to meet the needs of the best athletes in the game.
Attendees (media, guests, and brand personnel) were also treated to a number of additional perks, including:
Nike ID Customization Stand – Attendees were given an opportunity to experience Nike ID firsthand by customizing a pair of shoes and a jacket that they will receive free in the mail in a few weeks
Tour of the New Cowboys Stadium – Attendees were given a complete hour-long tour of the new Cowboys Stadium, which included the Cowboys locker room, Cheerleader locker room, press box, the Legends suite, the post-game press conference area, the Miller Lite Club, the cheap(er) seats, and various in-stadium destinations (Jerry Jones’ suite was the only restricted area)
Field Access – Attendees were provided the opportunity to roam the field at the new Cowboys Stadium and take pictures at the 50-yard line and along the sidelines
Player Access – After the morning session, media members were given 30-45 minutes to speak specifically with each of the five (5) NFL athletes and ask particular questions about their performance, apparel, and other off-the-field interests
Introduction to the Nike Boom! Mobile App – Nike featured representatives on-hand to educate guests about the new Nike Boom! Mobile app that it introduced for athletes at all levels. The free smartphone app allows athletes to create custom music playlists that can be embedded with motivational messages from Nike’s roster of prominent athletes – the app is pretty amazing
An Elaborate Lunch in the Miller Lite Club at Field Level of Cowboys Stadium
(1) Night Stay at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas
NEW PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGIES
The 2010 Nike Football Media Summit focused primarily on showcasing four (4) of its new, game-changing elements:
The Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon Cleat
Nike Football united its most innovative technologies to create the Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon Cleat, a premium cleat that will soon be highly demanded athletes playing football at all levels. Dwayne Bowe noted during the Summit that the cleat is the best piece of footwear he has ever suited up in.
The Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon cleat features a collection of new attributes that cannot be found on any other cleats in the marketplace, including:
Flywire - Provides speed without compromising support
Talons – Provides adaptive traction
Deflex Padding – Provides more lightweight ankle protection
Kurim – Provides structure around the ankle
Phylon with Nike Zoom Air – Provides cushioning while staying low to the ground
Z-bar – Provides ankle support and locks the foot to the footbed
Sidewall Shovels – Provides on-edge traction
Sharkteeth Traction – Provides additional traction when backpedaling
Ultra-durable Kevlar laces
The 2011 Nike Pro Combat Uniform
Nike unveiled its new 2011 Nike Pro Combat Uniform, which it considers to be the ultimate in lightweight, breathable protection for superior speed. The new uniform, featuring several products that were designed as a completely integrated system of dress, includes:
A New and Improved Nike Combat Base Layer
Flywire Collar Support
Chainmail Mesh
Deflex Padding
An Adjustable Carbon Fiber Plate
A Vapor Elite Football
Vapor Carbon Gloves
Exclusive Editions of the Nike Pro Combat Uniform
Nike unveiled four (4) exclusive editions of the Nike Pro Combat Uniforms specifically designed for the Florida, Oregon, TCU, and Boise State football teams. The event featured plenty of excitement around the new jerseys the Oregon Ducks will be sporting in the BCS National Championship game against Auburn as well as the uniforms that TCU will be donning against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
Nike SPARQ Training
Nike featured a live demonstration of its SPARQ training on the field at the new Cowboys Stadium. Nike invited a local Dallas high school football team (and its band) out to the event to showcase how it leverages its SPARQ training program to improve the speed, agility, and performance of 25,000+ high school athletes across the nation.
Check out some video of all the action below:
Introduction Ceremonies, Hosted by Desmond Howard
Introduction of the Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon Football Cleat (w/ NFL guest appearances)
Introduction of the 2011 Bowl Jerseys for Oregon (BCS), Florida, TCU, and Boise State
Introduction of the 2011 Nike Pro Combat Jerseys
Walking Onto the Field at Cowboys Stadium (Kickoff of the 2010 Nike Football Media Summit)
Ndamukong Suh Discusses His Top 5 iPad Apps
Dwayne Bowe Talks Fantasy Football
A Tour of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Locker Room
Nike SPARQ Training On-Field at Cowboys Stadium
Look for more pictures and video to come from the 2010 Nike Football Media Summit. Thanks again to everyone at Nike who made the event truly special for everyone involved.
Nike unveiled four (4) exclusive editions of its Pro Combat Uniforms at the 2010 Nike Football Media Summit. The apparel was specifically designed for Oregon, Florida, TCU, and Boise State football programs. Here is a quick look at the composition of each of the designs:
Oregon
The new Oregon uniforms focus on the feet of one of the fastest teams in the country. Color and graphics are concentrated on the lower leg and feed, creating a blur of Volt as the Ducks sprint down the field. The eye-grabbing Volt represents a burst of electricity and introduces a new color to the Ducks’ uniform, evolving Oregon’s traditional palette of Thunder Green and Lighting Yellow. Numbers on the base layer sleeve give a personalized finish to the look.
Florida
Traditional collegiate sport aesthetic meets state-of-the-art innovation in the updated Florida uniform. Classic jersey numbers and horizontal shoulder stripes evoke a retro look and speak to Florida’s proud heritage as a perennial football powerhouse. The geometric fade pattern of the Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon cleat is mirrored by the base layer sleeve graphic.
TCU
The striking TCU uniform draws inspiration from the horned frog, the school’s fearsome mascot, notorious for assaulting predators with a stream of blood shot straight from its eyes. Horned frog symbolism is seen in a pair of red lines on the helmet and the distinctive lizard-skin print on the uniform paint. Eye-popping flashes of purple appear throughout the uniform and are concentrated at the lower leg and feet to emphasize speed.
Boise State
Boise State’s vivid uniform channels the bravado of a team that has charted a meteoric rise to prominence. Saturated in Game Royal, the home uniform echoes the iconic blue turf of Bronco Stadium and is accented by pops of Team Orange. The white away design is charged with bright blue and orange accents throughout. Boise State’s aggressive bronco-head logo appears at the shoulder and on the left side of the helmet. “Broncos” is emblazoned on the side of the right leg in reflective block lettering.
Crown Royal has rolled out some terrific tactics in 2010 to capture the attention and tastebuds of avid football fans nationwide. Without investing large sums of dollars in sponsorship rights and endorsement fees, Crown Royal has generated interest with a Jimmy Bowl promotional sweepstakes starring legendary NFL head coach Jimmy Johnson, and several unique out-of-home messaging campaigns.
Here is a quick snapshot of Crown Royal's presence in the NFL space in 2010:
BILLBOARDS
Sighting: ACC Championship - Charlotte, NC
Sighting: Washington Redskins Game - FedEx Field
NATIONAL SWEEPSTAKES
Crown Royal teamed up with legendary NFL head coach Jimmy Johnson to create a "Crown Royal Jimmy Bowl" sweepstakes that allowed two (2) lucky consumers to win an all expenses paid trip to compete head-to-head in a flag football competition with four (4) of their friends. The winners would be mentored by Coach Johnson, greeted by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and would enjoy a celebratory meal and the chance to watch footage of their game on the massive jumbotron. Consumers had to submit a submit a video entry on an official microsite for the chance to win.
To promote the sweeps (which ended Nov. 30th), Crown Royal featured a series of hilarious virals on their promotional microsite starring Johnson. Check out a few of them below:
In September 2010, Lamborghini and Callaway Golf announced a strategic partnership in an effort to share the resources of their world renowned Research and Development teams. The two companies celebrated the partnership announcement with the market introduction of a co-developed material referred to as Forged Composite. But the excitement didn't stop there...
A few days ago, Lamborghini and Callaway unveiled a new viral piece that features PGA Tour golfer Stuart Appleby competing in a head-to-head competition against a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 coupe at Sandown Racecourse. In the spot, Appleby tests whether he can drive a golf ball faster using a Diablo Octane club than a Lamborghini in a 250m competition. The viral serves as a terrific way for Lamborghini and Callaway to drive awareness and interest in the new Forged Composite material.
Kulula Air, a low-fare airline, recently drew waves of attention in South Africa when it branded one of its aircraft in support of a good cause - Movember. Kulula rallied behind Movember, a charity event held in November where men grow moustaches to raise funds and awareness for men's health, by painting a mustache on the nose of one of its planes.
Kulula also encouraged its staff members, entitled Movember ambassadors, to post pictures of their moustaches on the airline's Official Facebook Page in aid of the cause. Passengers could vote online for their favorite look.
The airline, established by British Airways in 2001, also generated attention in 2010 when it launched a campaign describing itself as the "Unofficial National Carrier of the You-Know-What", an ambush marketing stunt around the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The campaign was instantly shut down by FIFA but Kulula developed a creative follow up tactic, offering affordable flights for everyone except for FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was offered a free seat for the duration of the World Cup.
Sports organizations looking for new ways to utilize railing signage at their stadium venues should take a close look at a recent marketing tactic implemented by Mentalgassi, a collective team of three German street artists. Mentalgassi teamed up with Amnesty International to create and feature a series of unique lenticular fence posters on railings across London that helped plead an inmate's innocence.
Lenticular printing is a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. The technology was created in the 1940's but has evolved within marketing campaigns in recent years to demonstrate speed and increased depth.
Mentalgassi's tremendous lenticular tactics demonstrate how sports organizations can create unsuspecting illusions that grab the attention of fans in-venue and can act as some terrific new inventory to promote team the products and services of partners. We see a slightly different version of messaging in the sports marketplace with stair signage, but nothing to the effect of the lenticular messaging that Mentalgassi demonstrated with the Amnesty International campaign.
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of excitement generated around the emergence of augmented reality and the opportunities marketers have to leverage it as an engagement tool. Augmented reality has become noticeably more mainstream, with a number of major brands experimenting with the technology to better understand how it can be used to drive engagement, education, and sales.
As sports marketers, it's important to at least have a simple grasp of the technology, how it's being incorporated, and what opportunities exist in the sports space.
Sports properties, brands, and individual athletes can look to engage fans via augmented reality in several different settings, including stadiums (scoreboard, concourse kiosks/displays, suites, mobile street teams), mobile locations (laptops, iPads, mobile phones), and at home (computers, television screens/video game portals with Internet access, etc.).
The following examples detail how brands, sports properties, and individual athletes can bring a static messaging gameday piece (piece of paper, product label, flyer, billboard, product packaging, ticket, fan loyalty card, parking pass) to life for fans in new ways via augmented reality. As the industry begins to tap into augmented reality, these examples will become more constructive, impactful, and engaging...
Footwear / Apparel (adidas, Nike)
Consumer Packaged Goods (Gillette)
Food Products (Pringles)
Technology / 2.0 (Yahoo)
Automotive Brands
Alcoholic Beverage Brands (Tsingato, Leveraging Beer with NBA Label)
Energy Drinks (Red Bull, Leveraging Lindsay Vonn Red Bull 6-Pack Packaging)
In mid-November, Reebok released a series of new virals starring Penguins center Sidney Crosby that have intrigued hockey fans across the globe for the past few weeks. The spots, designed to promote Reebok's hockey gear (particularly the new 11K Sickick III hockey stick), are extremely well produced.
Both videos, "Sidney Crosby Pyramid Trick" and "Crosby Testing Out His New Stick", are very realistic in nature and make it very hard to decipher whether they have been doctored in any way... But it appears that they have been slightly. As Blake Rosekrans of GMR Marketing pointed out, in the "Sidney Crosby Pyramid Trick" piece, there are no pucks where Crosby is shooting from at the :13 mark but when the camera pans back to him (:18 mark) there are two pucks on the ice.
Regardless, the campaign was extremely well executed and has served as a terrific way to drive buzz and traffic to the Reebok Hockey Facebook page (which was embedded on the YouTube page for both virals). Both virals have generated 100K+ views and will continue to generate buzz.
Reebok recently teamed up with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment to launch its new ZigTech trainer in the UK with a magnificent live digital billboard show. Reebok featured Nicole Scherzinger, the popular lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, on the billboard via a live stream interacting with a crowd of consumers on hand to watch the publicity stunt.
Per UTalkMarketing.com, Reebok featured Scherzinger on hand for an open photo session and then escorted her to a private area behind the screen where she interacted with the public via two way cameras that were attached to the digital billboard. The event signaled how brands can utilize digital out-of-home billboards to leverage their athlete/celebrity endorsements in new ways in conjunction with special events, product launches, gameday events, etc.
As the technology becomes more readily adopted, team partners can leverage this to take their retail player appearances to new heights as well as special gameday events for large crowds of fans. The stunt was terrific because Reebok demonstrated how to bring a relatively static medium to life at one of the most notable shopping centers in the United Kingdom.
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Saturday, December 25, 2010 at 02:55PM 
