Have You Brought on a Wine Partner?

Are you looking for new ways to leverage wine partners? Are you looking to fill new sponsorship categories?

Wolf Blass, an Australian wine brand, is leveraging its official sponsorship of the RBS 6 Nations Cup (a globally recognized rugby tournament) with a $2MM marketing campaign designed to highlight similarities between the brand and the sport. The campaign draws attention to three (3) brand attributes - quality, passion, and character - that closely associate with the sport of rugby and resonate well with fans.

Wolf Blass will feature its sponsorship-related messaging through a variety of channels - television, print, outdoor, online, and at retail. The company is complementing its messaging with a promotion that enables consumers the chance to win "Ultimate Sports Prizes" via an in-store neck collar promotion (including VIP ticket packages to the Ryder Cup, premiership football matches, etc.).

Wolf Blass' partnership with the RBS 6 Nations Cup should serve as a benchmark for U.S. sports organizations looking to fill the wine category and fully leverage a partnership. Look for more examples to come in the near future.

Check out some of Wolf Blass' outdoor messaging below:

A special thanks to Matthew Carlton of XtremeInsight.com for his insights and contributions to this column. Source: Marketing Magazine.

Snowbranding... Just in Time for the Winter Olympics

Are you looking for new guerrilla marketing campaign ideas? Are you looking for new ways to leverage winter sports events to drive awareness for your product or service?

Brands looking for new, cost-effective ways to drive awareness during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and other winter sports festivities should check out the guerrilla marketing concept below called snowbranding. The piece shows how a group in Leipzig used a few tools to engage consumers in wintry conditions. The tactic of snowbranding is quite simple, yet it can serve as a way for brands to really stand out to consumers (that is, if it's worthy enough for them to withstand the cold to pay attention).

Check out the cool "snowbranding" guerrilla concept below!

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